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Episode Date: April 19, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The Supreme Court is ordering the Trump administration to temporarily halt plans to use the wartime Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members from a detention facility in North Texas. The brief order overnight followed an emergency appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Here's NPR's Jemena Pastille. Justices wrote that the government is directed to not remove any member of the, quote,

punitive class of detainees from the United States until further order from the court. These would be some of the Venezuelan migrants being held at the Blue Bonnet facility in Texas. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen says the Kilmar Obrego Garcia case is not just about one man, it's about protecting constitutional rights. Van Hollen spoke to reporters following his return to the U.S. from El Salvador, where he met with Obrego Garcia after a meeting was initially rejected. Obrego Garcia is the man the Trump administration has acknowledged it mistakenly deported. Van

Holland says he has been moved from the Salvadoran prison for gang members to a detention center with better conditions. The Trump administration reclassifying 50,000 federal workers to make it easier to fire them. The move follows mass firings under Elon Musk's department of government efficiency. And here's Danielle Kurtzleben has more. Danielle Kurtzleben The Office of Personnel Management proposed a rule that would move the reclassification process forward. Trump will still have to sign another executive order to implement it. The policy is also known as Schedule F, and it would remove federal civil service protections from around 2% of the federal workforce, according to the White House.

Those workers would instead be at-will employees who serve at the pleasure of the sitting president. The president wrote about the policy on social media on Friday saying, quote, if these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the president or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News. Nat. On Wall Street, stocks slumped this week as the chairman of the Federal Reserve offered a cautious forecast about the economic outlook. NPR's Scott Horsley reports all of the major stock indexes ended the week in the red. President Trump's new tariffs continue to cast a shadow over the stock market. Ordinarily, investors would have been cheered by a report showing stronger

than expected retail sales, but much of the gain was dismissed as shoppers stocking up before the steep new import taxes took effect. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned the tariffs are likely to cause at least a temporary jump in inflation. Trump wasn't happy with Powell's remarks. In a social media post, he said Powell's termination cannot come fast enough. Economists and other central bankers were quick to defend Powell, but the dust-up was another source of worry for investors.

Both the Dow and the Nasdaq lost 2.6 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.5 percent. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And from Washington, you're listening to NPR News. Florida State University says it will open a support center today following Thursday's shooting that left two people dead and six others injured. Thousands of students, staff, and faculty turned out for a vigil last night. Tallahassee police have not released a motive, but they have identified the government as

a 20-year-old Florida State student who is the stepson of a sheriff's deputy. He was shot and wounded by police. The first round of the NBA playoffs tips off this weekend with four games today and four tomorrow. The number one seed in the West is the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have the best record in the league atop the Eastern Conference of Cleveland Cavaliers, and Pierce Becky Sullivan has a preview. Beth Dombkowski The NBA playoffs are getting more chaotic. Call it bad luck or call it parody. either way, only three number one seeds have reached

the finals over the past five years. And this year is shaping up to be a tough road for the Thunder and the Cavs, who won 68 in 64 games this season respectively. The West is stacked with contenders and game-changing players like the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Luka Doncic, though they'll have to get through the Minnesota Timberwolves with Anthony Edwards. In the East, the Cavs have a serious challenger of their own in the talented Boston Celtics, who hope to be back-to-back champions.

For Detroit, the goal might be more modest. The Pistons, coming off a league-worst record last year, are hoping to get their first postseason win since 2008. Becky Sullivan in PR News. Hockey's Stanley Cup playoffs also get underway today with two first-round games. The St. Louis Blues play the Winnipeg Jets this evening, and then the Colorado Avalanche play the Dallas Stars. I'm Joel Snyder.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.