NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-17-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. Florida State University is telling people to shelter in place as police respond to reports of an active shooter at the Student Union on the Tallahassee campus. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital says it's received several patients from the incident. Italian Prime Minister Maloney is meeting with President Trump at the White House this hour. Ahead of the meeting, Trump praised the U.S.-Italian bond. We have a very good relationship together and as countries we have a very good relationship. He also says he expects Italy to work out a trade deal with the U.S. And Piers Dieppa-Sciverom has more.

Maloney, head of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, was the only leader to attend Trump's inauguration this year. But relations with Europe have been tense after Trump announced 20 percent tariffs on European imports, which he then reduced to 10 percent to allow for negotiations to take place. Maloney last visited Trump at his Florida home in January, and she's set to host Vice President J.D. Vance in Italy in the coming days. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News,

The White House. Two federal judges have temporarily blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds for climate and environmental projects. And Piers Michael Copley has more. Courts are pushing back against the Trump administration's efforts to cut off billions in grant funding that Congress approved during the Biden administration. In Rhode Island, a judge said the funding freeze appears to be unlawful and told the government to restart payments to nonprofits while a lawsuit plays out. And in the district of Columbia,

a judge temporarily blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from unlawfully suspending or terminating grant funding. The judges said the EPA hasn't provided evidence of wrongdoing by the grant recipients. The EPA said it's reviewing the ruling. Other agencies named in the Rhode Island case declined to comment or didn't respond to messages seeking comment. Michael Copley, NPR News. A bunch of Puerto Rico is still without power after a blackout across the whole island. It's the second such blackout in nearly four months. NPR's Cereo Martinez Beltran reports more than half

the utilities' customers have had their power restored. 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 90 percent 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. Wall Street's trading in mixed territory at this hour. The Dow is down 248 points, the NASDAQ up 41, the S&P 500 up 38. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The world's leading body that regulates the sport of cricket says it will dedicate a fund to support the exiled Afghan women's team. And Piers Diyahadid reports this comes after years of criticism. The International Cricket Council's announcement comes more than three years after the Taliban

seized power of Afghanistan. Because the Taliban don't allow women to play sports, most female Afghan athletes, including cricketers, sought asylum abroad. Most cricket players went to Australia after prominent sportswomen lobbied on their behalf. But the International Cricket Council has long faced criticism from women's rights activists for admitting Afghanistan as a member, even though allowing women to play is a condition of joining the council. The council didn't say how much money would be in the fund for the exiled women players,

when it would begin, or how long it would last. D. Hadid, MPR News, Mumbai. A federal judge says Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising. In a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against the online giant, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brink-Emma found that Google unlawfully monopolized two markets for publishers' ad services and the market for ad exchanges. The ruling could allow prosecutors to call for a breakup of Google's advertising products. Google's facing another court challenge next week on the Justice Department's request to

sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.