NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-07-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. President Trump says he won't back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports for most of the world, speaking in Air Force One Sunday. He said they'll stay in place until other countries even their trade with the U.S. And he says he's not concerned about major stock market losses that have occurred around the world since he announced those tariffs. Now what's going to happen with the market, I can't tell you, but I can tell you our country has gotten a lot stronger.

And eventually it'll be a country like no other. It'll be the most dominant country economically in the world. Not long after Trump made his comments, markets opened in Asia where shares nosedived. Tokyo's Nikkei index quickly dropped almost 8 percent. Taiwan says it will not pursue retaliatory tariffs against those placed upon them by the Trump administration. Instead, officials say they'll pursue more investment in the US. NPR's Emily Fang has more. The US lapped a 32% base tariff on Taiwan, though that does not cover the semiconductor chips the US relies on Taiwan for. Taiwan had tried to head off these American tariffs. Its top

semiconductor making company, TSMC, promised to invest $100 billion more in the US to build semiconductor facilities in Arizona. Now Taiwan's President, Mai Ching-ge, says Taiwan will buy more from the US to reduce its trade deficit and reduce any other non-trade barriers and export controls. He has also promised subsidies for Taiwanese companies affected by the US tariffs and said Taiwan quote must stand firm and not be shaken by this turmoil. The Asian island relies on the US for defense against China which is threatened to invade Taiwan. Emily Fang and Pure News, Washington. Four days of continuous rain has brought deadly flooding to several states in the Midwest.

At least 18 deaths have been blamed on those storms so far. In Kentucky, meanwhile, the governor is asking people in several communities to move to higher ground. Karen Zarr with Member Station WUKY reports. So many roads are closed in Kentucky because of flooding. 250 barricades have been delivered from Chicago to divert traffic. Governor Andy Beshear says the water in several communities is still rising. The rivers have encrusted in many areas of the state

and so there are a day, if not several days left on this event. Swiftwater rescue teams have been working around the clock. Flooding is being blamed for the deaths of a nine-year-old boy who was swept away while walking to the bus stop and a 74-year-old found in a submerged vehicle. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Lexington. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in Texas Sunday. His visit to the center of the measles outbreak there came just days after a second school-age child died from complications from the infectious disease.

Kennedy is an anti-vaccine advocate, but he said on Sunday that vaccines are the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles. You're listening to NPR News. Pope Francis made a surprise visit to St. Peter's Square on Sunday during a special jubilee mass. It was his first public appearance since leaving the hospital two months ago. He waved to the crowd as he was rolled unannounced to the front of the altar in the square. The University of Connecticut won the Women's College Basketball Championship Sunday with

a one-sided victory over South Carolina. As Steve Futterman reports, it was a historic win. After nearly a decade, UConn is back on top. The Huskies dominated the championship game, easily beating defending champions South Carolina 82 to 59. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and the lead just kept growing. UConn was led by A.Z. Fudd and Sarah Strong. They each had 24 points. The great Paige Beckers in her final college game had 17 points. And Beckers, after coming so close, finally gets the one thing she was missing, a national championship. This is the 12th title for the UConn women's program. It becomes the first basketball program, men or women to win a dozen championships.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Tampa. Alex Ovechkin made hockey history on Sunday when he scored a goal in the Washington Capitals loss to the New York Islanders. It was his 895th goal of his career and it allowed him to break the long-standing career goals record previously held by hockey great Wayne Gretzky. The 39-year-old Russian skater broke the record despite missing 16 games this season while he was recovering from a broken leg.

I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.