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

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Supreme Court has weighed in on allowing the Trump administration to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants, saying it is permissible, but only if there is a court hearing held before deportations take place. In a divided 5-4 decision today, the court said the administration must give migrants it claims are gang members. Time to go to court, but the court's conservative majority said those hearings must take place in Texas. It's unclear what the order means of those already sent out of the country to a prison in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. The question of what happens next in President Trump's global trade war remains an open one

with little sign he's backing down. During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Prime Minister indicated Israel would end any levies against the US. Trump also spoke with the leader of Japan today. His MPs Franco Ordonez reports little progress appears to have been made with other world leaders. Trump also used the opportunity to attack others that he said have been unfair to the US such as the European Union. He said an offer by the EU to cut tariffs against the US on autos and other industrial goods was just not good enough.

He very pointedly said that the EU needs to do much more. And he said a key thing that they need to do is buy US energy. Trump also threatened to hike tariffs against China even higher. President Trump today said he's directing a national security panel to take a fresh look at Nippon Steel's bid for US Steel. It's a bid President Biden blocked back in January on national security grounds. The White House directive sent the share of US Steel

up nearly 14%. Trump administration last month filed a motion to extend two deadlines in US Steel and Nippon Steel's lawsuit against a national security panel to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms. The Trump administration's cuts at the CDC have an impact on global health programs for HIV and tuberculosis. MPR's Fahmuthanis reports the cuts come as part of a widespread reduction at several federal health agencies.

At CDC's Global Health Center, seven branches in the Division for Global HIV and Tuberculosis were completely eliminated, both staff and leadership, around 130 people, according to half a dozen CDC employees who spoke to NPR. Among the branches that were eliminated was maternal and child health. That team was made up of epidemiologists and physicians who focused on preventing babies from getting HIV from their mothers and keeping children with HIV around the world alive and on treatment to suppress the virus. Public health experts say they're concerned about a resurgence in HIV AIDS cases around the world if these cuts aren't reversed.

Batmatt Hanus, NPR News. Stocks was mostly lower for a third straight session amid concerns about the Trump administration's tariffs. The Dow fell 349 points, the S&P 500 was down 11 points, the NASDAQ closed up 15 points. You're listening to NPR. Rising floodwaters are continuing to cause problems across the south and areas of the

Midwest today, more rain threatening already waterlogged areas with rivers rising in many spots. Storms are already being blamed for deaths of at least 23 people. From Texas to Ohio, utilities have been working to shut off power and gas as cities deploy sandbags to try to protect homes and businesses. Forecasters say flooding has hit areas in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Russia says it still supports the idea of a U.S. negotiated ceasefire in Ukraine, but insists it has yet to receive answers to questions

about the plan from the White House. MPR's Charles Maynes reports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says how to enforce the ceasefire plan, much less prevent Ukraine from exploiting the stoppage to remilitarize their questions still hanging in the air. Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised those and other issues in rejecting President

Trump's bid for a ceasefire following a phone call in March. At the time, Putin also insisted a deal address the root causes of the conflict, in effect to Russian demand that Ukraine end its NATO ambitions and cede territory seized by Moscow. Trump has since expressed growing frustration with Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine, threatening massive tariffs and sanctions if he feels the Kremlin is dragging its feet on negotiations. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow. The death toll from a measles outbreak that hit West Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas and Oklahoma has now risen to three. Since the outbreak began, the number of cases more than doubled compared with a year ago.

Once thought to have been virtually eradicated in the U.S., cases began rising this year, primarily among unvaccinated individuals. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.