NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-22-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: April 22, 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. Shea Stevens Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Mourners have been slowly gathering outside St. Peter's Basilica in Rome to mourn the passing of Pope Francis. As NPR's Lauren Freire reports, there was a solemn hush in the square outside the church Monday as the faithful processed the news that Francis had died.

Lauren Freire People have lit candles and placed them at the base of a pillar in the center of St. Peter's Square. It's only several dozen, maybe a few hundred people, and they're standing in hushed silence until one woman breaks out into a song. People stand at attention quietly here. NPR's Lauren Frayer in Rome. Harvard is suing the Trump administration to prevent the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding to the university.

Details from NPR's Janaki Mehta. The lawsuit alleges the government is trying to, quote, leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard. This comes after Harvard refused to comply with a long list of demands from the Trump administration to overhaul its admissions, hiring, and other policies, including diversity, inclusion, and equity programs. The administration fired back by freezing more than $2.2 billion

in federal funding and threatening to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. In the past week, it has also threatened to eliminate visas for international students at Harvard. Now, the nation's oldest university is taking on the White House in court. Harvard's president, Alan Garber, said the consequences of the Trump administration's attack would be, quote, severe and long-lasting. Janaki Mehta and PR News.

Millions of Americans could see their wages, tax refunds, and other benefits garnished starting May 5th when the Education Department plans to begin collecting on defaulted student loans. An estimated 5.3 million student loan borrowers are said to be in arrears. President Trump has now endorsed two candidates in the 2026 Arizona governor's race. They are Congressman Andy Biggs and lobbyist Karen Taylor Robeson. From member station KJZZ, Cameron Sanchez has more. Karen Taylor Robeson received Trump's endorsement back in December, boosting her campaign to

challenge incumbent Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. Since then, she's campaigned as the only Trump endorsed candidate. But now Trump has announced that he's also supporting Congressman Andy Biggs, who Trump said unexpectedly entered the race. Historically, Trump's endorsement has been valuable in primary elections. Biggs was quick to thank the president on social media. In 2022, Taylor Robeson ran for governor, but lost in the primary election to Kerry Lake.

In that race, Lake touted Trump's endorsement. For NPR News, I'm Cameron Sanchez in Phoenix. The Supreme Court is weighing arguments over the preventive health care requirement in the Affordable Care Act. The plaintiffs argue that the provision is unconstitutional because the volunteer medical board that recommended it had not been approved by the U.S. Senate. This is NPR. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says her city is facing a nearly $1 billion shortfall as

it deals with the cost of rebuilding from the fires that destroyed whole communities in January. In her State of the City address, Bass released a budget plan that calls for the layoffs of more than 1,600 employees across many city departments. But the mayor says the job cuts would be a last resort. Federal regulators are suing Uber over that company's handling of subscriptions to its Uber One service. The Trump administration alleges the ride-sharing company overstated the savings and makes the subscriptions

difficult to cancel. NPR's Elena Seljuk has details. The Federal Trade Commission accuses Uber of misleading customers about its Uber One subscription service, which offers discounts on ride bookings and deliveries. The agency says Uber, quote, promises people savings of $25 a month without accounting for the monthly cost of the subscription itself. The complaint also accuses Uber of billing consumers before the promised date and making cancellations convoluted.

Uber, in a statement, argues that subscription processes are clear, simple and lawful, and cancellations take most people 20 seconds or less. This is the first FTC action against a major tech company in the new Trump administration. The agency has continued to pursue cases launched under President Biden as well, including against Amazon. Alina Seluk, NPR News. Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million to settle an opioid case. The Justice Department accuses the drugstore chain of illegally filling prescriptions for opioids

and other controlled substances over a 10-year period ending in March 2023. This is NPR News. Aviv Regev is the co-founder of the Human Cell Atlas. It's a huge leap in understanding how human cells work. She says it's like upgrading from a 15th century map of the world to Google Maps. If I want to develop a medicine that would only go to the place where something is broken, I need to know how to get there. The new wave of biotechnology that's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.