NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-21-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

NPR News: 04-21-2025 2AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You have your job, but you also have a life. And you're not just one thing. Neither is the Here and Now Anytime podcast. Every weekday, we break down the biggest story of the day and something else, like a new trend everyone's talking about. It's Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. A Republican senator is now criticizing the Trump administration's handling of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia's deportation to El Salvador.

John Kennedy of Louisiana also says he'll watch President Trump's response to court orders. NPR's Luke Garrett explains. Senator Kennedy told NBC News Abrego-Garcia never should have been sent to court orders. NPR's Luke Garrett explains. Senator Kennedy told NBC News Abrego Garcia never should have been sent to El Salvador. Look, this was a screw up, in my opinion. The administration won't admit it. Kennedy also said Abrego Garcia should have received a hearing before his wrongful deportation to a Salvadoran prison. But when asked whether he believes Trump is in defiance of a court order to facilitate the man's return, Kennedy said,

I don't believe that President Trump will defy a federal judge's order. If he does, I'll call him out on it. And Kennedy called Trump's proposal of sending Americans to El Salvador not, quote, appropriate or moral. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. The Israeli military has released its investigation into the deaths of 15 Palestinian medics last month. They were killed by Israeli forces who said they were not using their emergency vehicle lights to identify them as non-combatants. A video released later showed those lights were on. MPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi says the investigation led

to few consequences. First the military said that the field commander who started the shooting was going to be fired from his position. The commander of the brigade will receive a reprimand for making the decisions that happened after the shooting, including the burial of the medics. And then we press the spokespeople, what if anything is going to change after this incident? They just insisted that this event was a quote, operational misunderstanding. They said, we trust in the good intentions of our soldiers, that they already have mechanisms in place to keep this from happening, but then we also know that Palestinians in Gaza and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Israeli military of mishandling its

own investigations. That's NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reporting, one deputy commander was fired because of that incidence. At some of the holiest sites in Jerusalem, Christian Sunday celebrated Easter under another year of tight restrictions. MPR's Carrie Cahn has our report. Bells rang out in many Christian sites in Israel, including the annual Holy Fire Ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The Greek Orthodox ceremony has been held for hundreds of years at the church where

tradition holds Jesus was crucified and resurrected. This year, like last Easter, the second since the war between Israel and Hamas began, the number of pilgrims and worshippers was limited. Palestinian Christians living in the occupied West Bank must possess permits to travel into Jerusalem's old city. Israel says the restrictions are critical for security. More than 50,000 Christians live in West Bank cities. The government says it issued 6,000 permits. Keri Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv. And you're listening to NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. Houthi militants in Yemen say U.S. airstrikes on the nation's capital have killed 12 people

and wounded at least 30 others. The U.S. Central Command has not commented on the report, but if true, it's the latest attack in America's increased airstrikes there. The Houthis say the attack hit a market in Sana's Shub district. The shipping company DHL is suspending deliveries of high-value packages beginning later today to people in the US. The company blames the move on tighter customs checks announced alongside the tariffs introduced by President Trump. The BBC's Ben King reports.

DHL Express will suspend deliveries to the US of all parcels to private individuals worth more than $800 from Monday. It says that from the 5th of April, the US changed the rules so that all parcels valued at more than that require formal customs clearances. The company said it had been working diligently to deal with the increased customs workload this short notice change had created. Tomorrow it will suspend deliveries to, it says, maintain its high quality service commitment. DHL said express deliveries to business and other services would be unaffected. That's the BBC's Ben King reporting. The vampire movie Sinners was at the top of North

American box offices this weekend bringing in 45.6 million dollars in its debut weekend. The movie was directed by Ryan Coogler, who also directed Creed and Black Panther. It cost $90 million to produce. A Minecraft movie, meanwhile, finished close behind in second with $41.3 million. It's brought in more than $720 million worldwide in its three weeks on movie screens. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. Hey, it's Amartinez. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.