NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-17-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen met with officials in El Salvador yesterday, but the Maryland Democrat was not able to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He's been imprisoned. The Trump administration says it made a mistake in deporting Abrego Garcia last month from Maryland. State Delegate Ashanti Martinez says migrants in his community are watching this case closely. When they look at a situation like Kilmar,

they're very much impacted and saying, could this be me next? What is really happening right now? And, you know, what is our government doing to protect us? The U.S. Supreme Court has instructed the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. But U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says he won't be coming back to the U.S., claiming he is a gang member.

His lawyers deny that charge. In a related matter, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg says the Trump administration is likely in criminal contempt. He says the administration purposely ignored his order to turn around planes deporting migrants to El Salvador. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Paris today. He'll meet with President Emmanuel Macron and the French foreign minister. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports Rubio is accompanied by President Trump's Russia-Ukraine envoy

Steve Witkoff. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR's President of the United States of America, in a statement, the French presidency said Macron will meet with the American delegation to discuss, quote, putting an end to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. But the U.S. and Europe are farther apart than ever on how to end the war. Europeans are stunned as the Trump administration continues to treat Russian President Vladimir Putin as an honest broker, even as the Kremlin continues to shell Ukrainian cities, killing scores of people.

President Macron has said Europe can never let Russia win the war in Ukraine. France and Britain say they are ready to lead a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a truce. Putin has already rejected any such force. Eleanor Beardsley in Pure News, Paris. Leaders in California are asking a federal court to halt President Trump's tariffs. They argue in a lawsuit that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing them. From member station KQED in San Francisco, Marisa Lagos has more. Governor Gavin Newsom says the 10% across-the-board tariffs as well as higher tariffs levied against Mexico, Canada, and China are not legal and are hurting both businesses and consumers. He appeared at a family-owned almond farm

in California's Central Valley Wednesday morning. No state is poised to lose more than the state of California. So that's our state of mind. That's why we're asserting ourselves on behalf of 40 million Americans. The suit argues Trump needs congressional authorization for actions with such broad economic consequences. White House spokesman Kush Desai responded in a statement saying Newsom should be focusing on California's problems. For NPR News, I'm Arisa Lagos in San Francisco. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are down 500 points. This is NPR.

Two New York corrections officers have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. It's in connection with the beating death of a prisoner last month. This happened while some New York prison guards were staging an unapproved strike. Ten people in all have been arrested in the prisoner's killing. Students in schools run by the Defense Department are suing the administration for calling for the removal of books and changing curricula. Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman reports the changes are based on the president's executive order to remove gender ideology and divisive concepts.

Jessica Henninger has three children in a school run by the Department of Defense education activity in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She says books and curriculum have been removed and a project celebrating Black History Month canceled. My husband fights for our constitutional rights and our freedoms in this country. And to see those rights being taken away from my children was just absolutely something that I could not abide. The curriculum list marked Do Not Use includes a fourth grade reading called A Nation of Immigrants. Other DOD-led academies have also cut books, including nearly 400

from the U.S. Naval Academy. A spokesperson for DODEA told NPR he cannot comment on active litigation, but the military schools are committed to providing an excellent educational experience. For NPR News, I'm Sylvia Goodman in Louisville, Kentucky. Officials in Kenya have charged two teenagers from Belgium with smuggling ants. The teens allegedly packed test tubes with thousands of ants. Kenyan officials say this is illegal wildlife trafficking. The teenagers say they were collecting the ants for fun. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.