NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-07-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A new inflation report is coming out this week in the middle of worldwide market anxiety over President Trump's use of tariffs that he argues will make U.S. manufacturing far more competitive. NPR's Rafael Noms monitoring the volatility in the U.S. markets. One of the big consequences of tariffs is that they're very likely to make things much more expensive but this tariffs come at a time when the Federal Reserve is still trying to bring down

inflation. We'll get the latest snapshot on inflation on Thursday, a day after President Trump's reciprocal tariffs are set to kick in. Too soon to reflect the tariffs' full impact, but an important number nonetheless. And although tariffs remain the main driver of markets, investors will also pay attention to the start of the earnings season. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are reporting results on Friday. Raphael Numb, NPR News. President Trump's sweeping government cuts and tariffs have ignited mass protests in

the streets and fears are rippling through financial circles. But NPR's Domenico Montanar reports Trump is holding the line. We did hear from President Trump last night on Air Force One after a weekend of playing golf in a seniors tournament and the first thing he wanted to tell reporters was that he won. He did talk about those tariffs, which is a big reason that the protests have gained steam in the first place. He was asked about the market going down and if there's a threshold of pain that he's willing to tolerate from the markets and have to take medicine to fix something, he said. But for a lot of people who crossed over to vote for Trump,

they were hoping that the medicine would be to bring prices down. NPR's Tomeka Montanar reporting. Across the United States, hundreds of affordable housing renovations are at risk after the Trump administration froze a billion dollar program. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the program's goal was to make older places more livable and energy efficient. In Emporia, Virginia, Trinity Woods Senior Living desperately needs new central air conditioning. Their old system died three years ago. Resident Dena Moore says summers are too hot even for bingo nights. Last year it was a god awful. The Department of Housing and Urban Development had awarded them and hundreds of other places

money for an upgrade, potentially including solar panels. But now, HUD says energy efficiency does not fit its mission. Julia Gordon oversaw the HUD program under President Biden and says it would help private industry that's providing badly needed affordable housing. This is how government works at its best. Legal challenges allege that freezing this congressionally approved funding is unlawful. Jennifer Lutton, NPR News. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down nearly 400 points or more than 1 percent at 37,934. It's NPR News.

Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. NPR's Maria Godoy reports new research finds regular exercise can help survivors live longer. While colon cancer death rates overall have been falling, survivors still tend to have a shorter life expectancy than the general population. Researchers surveyed nearly 3,000 colon cancer patients about their exercise habits during and after treatment. Dr. Jeff Meyerhart of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says for patients who were three years cancer-free, exercise made a big difference.

Those patients not only had a better overall survival if they were more physically active, they actually looked like they had a slightly better overall survival if they were more physically active, they actually looked like they had a slightly better overall survival compared to the general population. Even patients whose cancer recurred had improvements in survival if they were doing the equivalent of a brisk walk for about an hour a day on most days. Maria Godoy, NPR News. The residents of Birmingham, England are facing another day of rubbish and rats. Rats bigger than cats, as one apparently vexed resident tells CNN. Today, garbage collectors in the city tried and again failed to reach a labor agreement

they're expected to try again tomorrow. For now, streets in the city of more than a million residents are lined with overflowing trash bins, growing piles of rotting garbage, and a stink for the ages. U.S. stocks lower. The Dow is down 409 points, or more than 1 percent at 37,905. It's NPR News.