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

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

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This is out of her glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart. If this story had never happened, All of us wouldn't be here right now. Sammy wouldn't be here. Nina wouldn't be here. Wally wouldn't be here. Anyone that we know wouldn't be here. So what happens when Lily's mom tells her the story is not true?

This American Life, surprising stories every week. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The White House is blaming Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for the stalled peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration has been eager to end the now three-year-old conflict, as NPR's Osmek Khalid reports. In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, President Trump insisted a deal to end the war is very close, but he slammed Ukraine's leader for making quote, inflammatory

statements that he says make it difficult to settle the war. Trump was referring to Zelensky's comments that Ukraine will not recognize Russia's control of Crimea. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters the president's patience is wearing thin. In order to make a good deal, both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy. And unfortunately, President Zelensky has been trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press. She added that Zelensky seems to be moving in the wrong direction. Asma Khalid, NPR News, The White House.

Juvenile incarceration rates in the United States hit historic lows during the pandemic. But according to recent federal data, those numbers are now rising. And as NPR's Meg Anderson reports, the gap between Black and Native American children and their white counterparts is the widest it's been in decades. In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, Black children were nearly six times more likely to be held behind bars than white children. Native children were nearly four times more likely. Nate Bayliss of the Annie E. Casey Foundation says being incarcerated

as a child can have lasting effects. The longer young people stay in detention, the less likely they are to, for example, enroll in school. Far less likely to ever graduate, more likely to be rearrested than young people who are not detained. They're also more likely to wind up in the adult system. Bayless says juvenile justice should steer young people toward a different path and that relying on detention makes that harder. Meg Anderson, NPR News. A relief rally continued today on Wall Street.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that all of the major indexes rose by more than 1 percent. Investors are cautiously optimistic there could be some easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says there's an opportunity for a big deal between the world's two largest economies, though so far the Trump administration has not offered to relax its triple-digit tariffs on imports from China. Boeing is one of the nation's largest exporters and one of the blue-chip firms that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The jetmaker's stock gained altitude after Boeing reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss. Tesla shares were also up after CEO

Elon Musk promised to spend more time running the company and less time in Washington. Tesla suffered a sharp drop in sales and profits in its most recent quarter. Scott Horsley in PR News, Washington. This is NPR. A federal judge in Vermont is holding hearings on whether to grant bail for a Columbia University student who's facing deportation because of pro-Palestinian activism. Mohsen Madhawi was arrested last week in Burlington when he showed up for a final citizenship interview.

Justice Department attorneys have until Monday to explain why Madhavi should not be released while this case is being litigated. The National Institutes of Health plans to include private health information in a study of rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. NPR's John Hamilton reports that the study is part of a larger federal effort to find the causes of autism. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya says the agency will create a national database of autistic people then look for factors that might have contributed to their diagnosis. The effort will use data from private doctors and insurance companies as well as government

health programs. One goal is to identify environmental exposures that could cause autism. But Dr. David Mandel of the University of Pennsylvania says that's unlikely. The exposure is probably in utero. And it looks like we're studying children after they're born. There's also concern that sensitive private information used in the study could become public. John Hamilton, NPR News.

Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church met today to finalize preparations for the funeral of Pope Francis and the conclave to succeed him. Thousands of people have been streaming through St. Peter's Basilica where the pope lies in state. Francis died Monday at the age of 88. His funeral will be held on Saturday. This is NPR News.