NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-08-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

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99% of the U.S. population lives within listening range of at least one public media station. And everyone can listen to NPR podcasts free of charge. That means you get completely unpaywalled access to stories, prize-winning reporting, and shows that represent the voices in every corner of the country. Hear the bigger picture every day on NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington on K Cora Coleman, stock prices are climbing. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials are up nearly a thousand points. This follows three days of steep losses.

Investors are worried about President Trump's tariffs. NPR's Scott Horsley says Trump will impose new levies tomorrow. As things stand right now, products from the EU are going to be slapped with a 20% tariff tomorrow. Japanese goods are facing a 24% tariff and imports from China could be looking at tariffs of over 100%. NPR's Scott Horsley reporting.

The US Supreme Court says the Trump administration can continue deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members from the US under the Alien Enemies Act. This power has typically been used by a president during wartime. NPR's Jasmine Garst reports Trump used it last month to deport hundreds of migrants. Attorneys for the men deported and sent to a notorious detention center in El Salvador say the use of this act at a time of peace is illegal. They argue many

of those being targeted have no criminal history. The court's conservative majority didn't rule on the constitutionality of using the Alien Enemies Act. Instead, the justices said lawyers had filed in the wrong court. Ultimately, the Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to continue using the act to deport alleged gang members, but with conditions. It made clear officials must give migrants adequate notice that they are being removed under the Alien Enemies Act so they have time to challenge it. Jasmine Garst, NPR News, New York.

Separately, the Trump administration is being challenged over the mistaken deportation of a man from Maryland to El Salvador last month. A lower court judge ordered that the man be returned to the U.S. by yesterday. But Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked that. His move gives the high court time to consider that case more fully. The Trump administration is revoking what's been called

President Biden's zero-tolerance policy for federally licensed firearms dealers who break certain rules. NPR's Martin Costey has more. The ATF, whose acting director is also the FBI director, Cash Patel, has repealed what the Biden administration called the enhanced regulatory enforcement policy. Mark Collins of the gun control group Brady says the stricter enforcement was meant to crack down on dealers who, for example, willfully failed to do required background checks. We know from all the data that it is a very small minority of gun dealers that are overwhelmingly providing the guns

that are being used in crime. Collins laments the end of Biden's zero policy enforcement, but gun rights groups are hailing the move. In a statement, the NRA said the Biden policy had been, quote, a direct attack on the firearms industry, unquote, and that the repeal showed the Trump administration's, quote, commitment to the Second Amendment. Martin Costi, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq is now up more than 500 points. This is NPR. President Trump says that he will have his annual physical examination on Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center near Washington. Trump says he has never felt better.

President Trump has dismissed U.S. Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield. She was the U.S. military representative to NATO. No explanation was given for her dismissal. Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He's condemned this and Trump's firing of 10 generals and admirals without explanation. Powerful storms have pushed out of the central

and southern U.S., but as NPR's Giles Snyder reports, flooding threats are elevated in several states. Flood warnings remain in effect from Texas to Indiana, and they're especially widespread in Kentucky, where Governor Andy Beshear says more than 500 roads throughout the state were still closed Monday evening. The storms dumped rain for days and a preliminary National Weather Service count says they spun off more than 150 tornadoes. Weather is blamed for killing more than 20 people. Forecasters say that storm system responsible for the extreme weather is moving off into the Atlantic, but rivers and streams are so swollen they warn

that the flood threat, especially in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, could persist for days. Trial Snider MPR News. A team of three has arrived at the International Space Station. American astronaut Johnny Kim and two Russian cosmonauts are being welcomed aboard the ISS. They launched earlier today from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz booster rocket. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington. Having news at your fingertips is great, but sometimes you need an escape. And that's where Shortwave comes in.

We're a joy-filled science podcast driven by wonder and curiosity that will get you out of your head and in touch with the world around you. Listen now to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.