NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-17-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, Ankora Vakulman, a standoff between the Trump administration and the federal courts is escalating. NPR's Kristen Wright reports President Trump's key issue of immigration is at the center of the disputes. Two federal judges presiding over separate deportation cases are clashing with the Trump administration. They've scolded the government over its response to judicial orders and set quickly approaching deadlines for the administration to give deportees the chance to challenge their removals or the government could face potential contempt charges. In the case of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, illegally deported from Maryland to a Salvadoran prison,

the administration must soon explain to a judge how it's complying with a Supreme Court order to facilitate his return to the U.S. Right now, the executive and judicial branches are squarely at odds over the reach of their constitutional authority. Kristen Wright, NPR News, Washington. President Trump is meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney later at the White House today. They're expected to talk about tariffs. Last week, Trump paused significant tariffs

for 90 days on most nations, but he kept in place his first worldwide tariffs of 10%. The president is again pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. He's also suggesting he plans to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and Biers Daniel Kurtz-Leibn has more. In a social media post, Trump criticized Powell for not having lowered interest rates recently, a move central banks use to boost the economy.

He then wrote, quote, Powell's termination cannot come fast enough. Trump appointed Powell to the chairmanship in 2018, and President Joe Biden reappointed him in 2022. Powell's current term is up in May 2026. In a Wednesday speech, Powell said that there might be both higher inflation and slower growth amid Trump's tariffs. Those two goals are in tension. Fixing one could mean making the other worse.

Powell said it's unclear which the Fed would focus on. While Fed policymaking is independent of the president, Trump has many times criticized the Fed's choices under Powell. Danielle Kurtzlaven, NPR News. Much of Puerto Rico is still without power after a blackout across the whole island. It's the second such blackout in fewer than four months. And Piercerio Martinez Beltran has more. The blackout started at noon on Wednesday

and left 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico without electricity. Slow progress has been made. Puerto Rico government officials say they expect has been made. Puerto Rico government officials say they expect 90% of the island to have power again by Friday or Saturday. It's not clear what caused the blackout. The last time the island was in total darkness was on New Year's Eve. Today, roads are chaotic. Gas stations have lines as people scramble to get fuel for generators and ice. Puerto Ricans are continuing to call for the government to cancel the contracts with the

companies that oversee the generation and distribution of power. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Carolina, Puerto Rico. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 1.5%. This is NPR. Relief groups are increasingly alarmed at conditions in Gaza. Israel has been blocking all relief supplies to the Palestinian enclave for the past six weeks. The UN says there is a rise in acute malnutrition among Gaza residents. The number of Palestinian children who participate in therapeutic feeding programs has been slashed by two-thirds.

The North and South Poles periodically shift this can weaken Earth's magnetic field and let in more ultraviolet radiation. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, new research suggests the last time this happened, ancient humans may have developed new sun protection strategies. About 41,000 years ago, the magnetic North Pole started drifting. This weakened Earth's magnetic field to as little as 10% of its current strength in parts of Europe and the Middle East. That would have exposed those regions to higher levels of harmful solar radiation, according

to new research in the journal Science Advances. Around that time, people in those regions began more frequently tailoring clothes to more fully cover their bodies, and using ochre, a mineral-based pigment with sun-protective properties. Neanderthals didn't use these technologies. The researchers suggest that difference might, in part, explain Neanderthals' downfall. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. The National Weather Service is warning that critical to extreme fire weather conditions now exist in the central and southern U.S. News.