NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-07-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

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This is out of her glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart. If this story had never happened... All of us wouldn't be here right now. Sammy wouldn't be here. Nina wouldn't be here. Wally wouldn't be here. Anyone that we know wouldn't be here. So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true?

This American Life, surprising stories every week. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, global markets are plunging again in reaction to President Trump's trade war. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, Asian and European markets plunged overnight. Dow futures are down more than 800 points or more than 2 percent. The U.S. stock market last week lost more than $6 trillion in value over two days, and investors are bracing for the pain to get even worse. Oil futures and the price of Bitcoin have also plunged. Goldman Sachs is the latest investment bank to warn that President Trump's sweeping tariffs

could tip the U.S. into a recession within the next year. That echoes the warnings of many economists. And now, some leaders on Wall Street have started publicly asking Trump to rethink his tariffs. Billionaire fund manager Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump during last year's election, said on X, quote, we are heading for a self-induced economic nuclear winter. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington today to meet with President Trump. Netanyahu's office says the two are planning to discuss a new hostage deal after a ceasefire

with Hamas broke down. And NPR's Hadil Al-Shelchi reports they are also expected to talk about Trump's tariffs on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to discuss with President Trump the 17% tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Israel. Netanyahu had tried to avoid getting slapped with these tariffs by removing Israeli customs duties on American products.

A new ceasefire deal will also be on the agenda. Despite American intervention, talks broke down last month that Israel renewed its offensive in Gaza. They've been partly stalled because Netanyahu has been preoccupied with investigations by Israel's internal security agency into his corruption charges and into some of Netanyahu's aides who are being accused of receiving payments from the Qatari government. Netanyahu denies all the charges. Hadeel Al Alshalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The Senate voted over the weekend to pass a budget for the federal government. Now,

as NPR's Mara Liason reports, the measure must be reconciled with a version passed earlier by the House of Representatives. The Senate vote was 51 to 48. Every Republican except Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Susan Collins of Maine voted for it. Every Democrat voted against it. It would make the $5 trillion of first-term Trump tax cuts permanent and add another $1.5 trillion of cuts, presumably to fulfill Trump's promises to cut taxes on tips and overtime.

The blueprint also includes an increase in the debt ceiling and more money for border enforcement and the military. Now the Senate goes into budget negotiations with the House, which passed a budget that has much deeper spending cuts, including $880 billion that can only come from Medicaid. Mara Eliason, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The military government in Myanmar says the death toll from the recent earthquake has soared above 3,500 people. The 7.7-magnitude tremor rocked the city of Mandalay.

Now Myanmar officials are warning the country is going to get heavy storms for the next several days. In the U.S., the powerful storms that have been pummeling much of central, midwestern, and southern states have now pulled away. But dangerous flooding remains. Parts of a dozen states are under some kind of flood caution from Ohio to Texas. That's because the rain has swollen rivers and streams. Numerous rivers are in major flood stage. Areas at risk include Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. For the first time this year,

Hollywood has a blockbuster film. And as NPR's Bob Mandela reports, it actually looks like a block. Minecraft the Movie is a kids' flick inspired by a video game. Anything you can imagine is possible. As long as what you imagine can be built out of blocks. Reviews were mixed and estimates suggested an opening weekend of around $55 million,

but Minecraft topped that on its opening day. This place makes no sense. It will close out the weekend with about $157 million in North America alone. That's almost double this year's previous biggest opening, and it's the highest opening ever for a movie based on a video game. Minecraft is doing nearly as well overseas. Its worldwide ticket sales after three days total more than $300 million. Bob Mandelo, NPR News. On Wall Street, in pre-market trading, Dow futures are down 850 points. It's NPR.

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