NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-16-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

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This month, Shortwave is diving into the science of psychedelics. Chances are you've heard of drugs like LSD and magic mushrooms or psilocybin. Now some researchers are making new drugs inspired by psychedelic compounds with a key difference. They're taking out the trip. We just move things around a little bit here and there. Hear about how it works on Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. What Works on Shortwave, the Science Podcast from NPR. Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge in Washington has found the Trump administration disobeyed his order to

turn back two planes, carrying migrants it was deporting to a prison in El Salvador last month. NPR's Adrian Fleeter reports Judge James Boasberg ruled there was probable cause to find the government in criminal contempt of court. On March 15th, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 so the government could quickly deport without due process people

it said were members of a Venezuelan gang. It loaded two planes and they took off for El Salvador. The ACLU sued and Judge Boasberg ordered the government to turn the planes around. It didn't. Boasberg has been trying to determine whether the government purposely ignored his order.

He's now ruled that it did. The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders, he wrote. He's given the government until April 23rd to rectify the contempt or to identify the specific people who defied his order. Adrian Fledido, NPR News. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today declared that autism is an epidemic in the U.S.

and he vowed to quickly identify the cause. Here's NPR's Rob Stein. Kennedy is citing new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as evidence that autism is epidemic in the US. The number of children diagnosed with autism increased from 1 out of 36 to 1 out of 31 kids between 2020 and 2022, according to the new CDC report. Kennedy says he's launching a new research project to identify an environmental toxin that he thinks is to blame. Independent experts say the autism numbers are up because of better diagnoses and the cause is likely a complex combination of factors including genetic predisposition. Rob Stein, NPR News.

Hamas is rejecting new Israeli ceasefire in Gaza. The proposal calls for disarming the militant group as a condition for ending the war. NPR's Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. The new Israeli proposal is to pause the war in Gaza for a month and a half, free about half of Hamas's living Israeli hostages within the first week, and negotiate the disarmament of militant groups. A Hamas official tells NPR the group rejects the proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity

because Hamas was still preparing a formal response to mediators. But in a statement, Hamas and other Palestinian groups said their weapons were for self-defense. They said the ceasefire proposal did not include guarantees to end the war and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza. Israel's defense minister says Israel is changing tactics and won't withdraw troops from areas they capture in Gaza. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Shares of chipmaker Nvidia and other tech firms took a tumble today after a computer chip company said tight U.S. government controls

over exports will hurt its business. This is NPR. The Trump administration proposed today to limit what it means to harm endangered species. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert explains, the move could make it easier to damage habitats endangered species rely on. The Endangered Species Act prohibits the take of endangered species. By law, take means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect a species.

For decades, federal agencies have interpreted this definition to include harming the habitats endangered species depend on, since habitat loss is the biggest driver of species loss. Now, the Trump administration wants to narrow that interpretation. Their proposal would only prohibit harmful actions directed immediately against a particular animal, not their habitat. The change could make it easier for developers to build on habitats used by endangered species. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. The Trump administration says it wants to eliminate a tax filing program being offered by the Internal Revenue Service.

That system currently allows for direct filing of tax returns to the agency. The Associated Press in saying the administration plans to eliminate the program, citing individuals familiar with the matter. The free filing program was put in place under the Bush administration, where some Republican lawmakers complained the IRS program is a waste of money, noting other free-filing programs are available. Stocks took a tumble on Wall Street today amid continued concerns about the Trump administration tariffs. The Dow fell 699 points.

The Nasdaq dropped 516 points. The S&P was down 120 points. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.