NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-20-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: April 20, 2025

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Do you remember when discovering a new artist felt like finding buried treasure? At All Songs Considered, NPR's music recommendation podcast, we put that kind of magic back into discovering new tracks. We're here to make the hunt for new music easy, delivering you the cream of the crop from every genre. We'll help you make music feel fun again, only on All Songs Considered from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The U.S. and Iran have finished a second round of talks in Rome

over Tehran's quickly advancing nuclear program. And as NPR's Jackie Northam reports, the two sides have agreed to meet again in a week's time. The four-hour talks were led by President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Wichoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arachi, who described the discussions as good and held in a constructive manner. President Trump says he wants to prevent Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon, and has

indicated he's willing to give negotiations a bit of time, but has not ruled out a military option if no deal can be reached. Iran's leadership says it will not give up what it sees as its right to enrich uranium for civilian use. Wyckoff and Arachi are expected to meet again next weekend in Oman which has been mediating the talks. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is trying to create the impression of an Easter truce, but Zelensky is accusing Russia of continuing to fire artillery and launch drone strikes despite the temporary ceasefire declared by Russian leader Vladimir

Putin. The truce is to end at midnight Moscow time. Massachusetts this weekend, thousands turned up in Concord and Lexington, the New England towns where the Revolutionary War began 250 years ago. There were reenactments, parades and memorials and some protested against the Trump administration, including Tracy Passantrio who said, there's no better place to protest current leadership. This is where our country sided with, you know, our freedoms and no better place to stand up for our freedom. Anti-Trump protests were not limited to Lexington and Concord. There were hundreds of demonstrations in cities across the country yesterday. Businesses and investors trying to

get ahead of President Trump's tariffs and their impact on the U.S. economy. As NPR's Maria Aspen reports, some of the country's biggest companies, including electric vehicle maker Tesla, will talk about their strategies this week. It's the height of corporate earnings season when big, publicly traded companies report their most recent quarterly results and talk about the future. But so far this spring, President Trump's tariffs are clouding the outlook. Investors are waiting to hear from Tesla, the carmaker run by billionaire Elon Musk, who is also one of Trump's closest and most powerful advisors.

But Musk has criticized the new tariffs, which are likely to damage his car company. Tesla's sales are already falling, as consumers protest Musk's role in cutting government agencies, programs, and workers. Other big companies reporting results this week include Google and Pepsi, which has operations around the world. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York. And from Washington, you're listening to NPR News. Two people reported missing in the city of Moore, Oklahoma following violent storms last night that prompted tornado warnings. Local media reports say first responders using drones are conducting a search after two vehicles were swept away by floodwaters.

A suspected tornado hit the town of Ada, Oklahoma, damaging multiple businesses. Easter Sunday at the Vatican. Tens of thousands have gathered in St. Peter's Square to celebrate Easter, but Pope Francis is not presiding. Francis is still recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia. And although he is making an appearance right now, the retired arch priest of St. Peter's Basilica led the open air mass. Francis has only appeared in public a handful of times since his 38-day hospital stay. Later today, a small town in Tennessee will celebrate their 200th annual Egg Fight competition from member station WETS. Chad Barrett says the fight started as a competition between two farming families.

The Peters Hollow Egg Fight in Elizabethan began in the early 1800s. Event organizer Jamie Peters told me it all started when residents of nearby hollers got in a debate on whose chickens laid the hardest eggs. Egg Fight contestants sit in a circle and tap eggs top and bottom with the person beside them until the winner remains with an unbroken egg. Only hen eggs are allowed, but longtime host Norman Peters says people have gotten crafty over the years. We've had a couple of questionable eggs like guinea eggs.

Because of their hard shells, Peters says you couldn't break a guinea egg with a rock. For NPR News, I'm Chad Barrett in Johnson City. This is NPR News. Cell phones, cars, coffee. How do these goods make their way to us from overseas and what will President Trump's Chad Barrett in Johnson City.