NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-20-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: April 20, 2025

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These days, there is a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider This from NPR is a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world. Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. A second round of indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. concluded on Saturday with both sides saying some progress was made. The talks are centering on Iran's nuclear weapons program. NPR's Jackie Northam says Iran does not hold the best hand in the negotiations. Iran is not in a position of strength right now. Since the start of the Gaza war 18 months ago,

Israel has decimated Iran's main proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, and it took out key Iranian air defenses when the two countries traded missile fire this year. And since Trump returned to office, the US has been carrying out frequent strikes on the Hussis, which were also aligned with Iran. The next round of talks begin on April 26 in Oman. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, meanwhile,

have killed more than 90 people over the past 48 hours. That's according to Gaza's health ministry. People from communities across the country gathered once again Saturday to demonstrate against President Donald Trump's policies. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, people are already feeling the effects of major changes to the federal government, as Elizabeth Caldwell of Member Station KWGS reports. More than 200 people gathered at a busy Tulsa intersection to protest everything from the

crashing of the stock market to Social Security cuts. April Nesbitt is a biology professor at East Central University. She drove more than two hours from ADA because a federally funded internship program was eliminated for her science students. Some of them have worked on cancer meds, some of them have worked on disease studies. It has to be healthcare related. Everything is healthcare related. I've had students who worked on antibiotics and discovering novel antibiotics. Nesbitt says the students will have to find other jobs

for the summer, which will most likely not be focused on science. For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Caldwell. Constituents of Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson held a so-called empty chair town hall Saturday at a suburban Milwaukee high school. As Mayon Silver from WUWM reports, organizers had invited the senator to hear feedback about cuts to federal programs and services and other Trump administration efforts.

Organizers placed stuffed and rubber chickens in an empty chair to reflect their view that the senator was, quote, too cowardly to show up. Many of the 350 people who attended were livid about cuts, detentions and other immigration efforts and what they say is consolidation of power into the hands of a few. Angela Schneider from a GOP-leaning suburb of Milwaukee addressed Johnson directly. This is how democracies fall. Stand for democracy, not dictatorship. Stand for your oath. Johnson's office said in a statement

that he appreciates invitations, but is unable to accept them all. He pointed organizers to tell-a-town halls. For NPR News, I'm Ayaan Silver in Milwaukee. And this is NPR News. The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the use of an 18th century wartime law to deport any Venezuelans currently being held in Northern Texas. The court acted on an emergency appeal by the ACLU,

which contended that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart such removals. Vice President J.D. Vance met with senior Vatican officials Saturday, including Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State. The Pope, however, did not attend. The meeting came as tensions continue over Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and cuts to aid programs. Megan Williams reports from Wurlm. The Vatican said the talks focused on shared commitments to protect religious freedom and an exchange of opinions on issues relating to migrants, refugees and prisoners.

The Pope and other Vatican officials have sharply criticized the Trump administration's mass deportation plans and cuts to foreign aid. The Pope has called the American crackdown on migrants a, quote, disgrace and publicly rejected the theology Vance used to defend it. The Vice President in Rome over Easter attended a family mass at St. Peter's on Friday. The Pope, recovering from pneumonia, is limiting appearances. For NPR News, I'm Megan Williams in Rome. Si Woo Kim shot a 66 on Saturday to take the lead after three rounds of the Heritage PGA

Tournament taking place in South Carolina this weekend. His only major issue in the round was a bogey on the final hole. Andrew Novak and Justin Thomas are tied in second, sitting just one stroke off the lead while defending champion Scottie Scheffler is four strokes back going into Sunday's final round. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.