NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-23-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, Wall Street markets opened markedly higher this morning,

following remarks from President Trump. He said he had no intention of firing the head of the Federal Reserve. Investors are also delighted with comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. Yesterday, he suggested there needs to be a de-escalation of the tariffs between the US.S. and China. Today, Besant addressed the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C.

He says China should turn away from an economic model that is only focused on exports. China needs to change. The country knows it needs to change. Everyone knows it needs to change. And we want to help it change because we need rebalancing too. There's still enthusiasm on Wall Street. Currently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 900 points. The Trump administration is shutting down data collection for a landmark

federally funded study about women's health. And Piers Robstein has more. The Health and Human Services Department is cutting off funding for all the centers that have been collecting data about tens of thousands of women who have been participating in the Women's Health Initiative for decades. The project has produced a series

of landmark discoveries about women's health, including the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women. Scientists say the decision cuts off crucial research at a time when the nation needs to study older women and chronic disease more than ever. Rob Stein in PR News. Some Democratic lawmakers have visited an immigration detention center in Louisiana to check on two activists detained by the

Trump administration. They include former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. He led protests against the war in Gaza. The other is Rumeza Ozturk. She's a Tufts University student who was yanked off the street by masked immigration agents. Louisiana Democratic Congressman Troy Carter says the Trump administration wants to deport them, apparently for alleged anti-Semitism. These individuals exercise their First Amendment right, freedom of speech. In Ramaisa's case, she merely wrote an op-ed. In the case of Khalil, here's an individual who says clearly in his actions, prove that he is not anti-Semitic. He merely wants peace for his homeland.

He spoke to NPR's Morning Edition. Officials from several countries are meeting in London to discuss potential peace steps in Ukraine. But these talks have been downgraded from a high level. Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out of the conference. The State Department cited logistical issues. Meanwhile, Vice President Vance said today the U.S. has given Ukrainians and Russians a proposal about ending the war.

He says it's time for both of them to say yes, or the U.S. will walk away from the process. You're listening to NPR. Public viewing of the body of Pope Francis has begun. The Ponte V's body is lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The Roman Catholic College of Cardinals has begun several days of mourning for the Pope who died Monday at the age of 88. The funeral for the pontiff will be this Saturday. World leaders are planning on attending, including President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. Around the world, coral reefs are suffering from the worst bleaching event on record. As NPR's Jacob Fenston tells us, 84 percent of the planet's reefs are affected from Florida to Fiji.

Coral reefs are intricate and important ecosystems, brightly colored due to algae living symbiotically inside them. But when oceans are too warm, the algae release toxins, causing the coral to kick them out, turning reefs white. Last year was the Earth's hottest on out, turning reefs white. Last year was the Earth's hottest on record, driven by the burning of fossil fuels. According to the International Coral Reef Initiative, the current bleaching event started in early 2023, and it's unknown when it will end. Coral can recover from bleaching

if ocean temperatures drop soon enough, but bleaching is often deadly. In 2005, the US lost half its reefs in the Caribbean due to a mass bleaching event. Coral reefs are valuable, protecting shorelines from erosion and sustaining fishing and tourism industries worth billions of dollars. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow is now up 950 points. You're listening to NPR. Do you remember when discovering a new artist felt like finding buried treasure? points. You're listening to NPR.