NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-24-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

NPR News: 04-24-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we sort through a lot of television, and we've found some recent TV comedies we really like that you don't want to miss. And we'll tell you where to watch them in one handy guide. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. The latest round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine concluded in London without an agreement. One of the sticking points is a U.S. proposal calling for Ukraine to give up territory,

including Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014. Speaking in India Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that the U.S. is losing patience with both sides. We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process. We've engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work. Vance echoed some of President Trump's position on Ukraine. Trump says Zelensky has a choice between peace or more years of fighting before losing his country altogether. A federal judge appears skeptical of President Trump's executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Cooey.

As NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, the firm is one of four that have filed lawsuits after being targeted by presidential executive actions. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell spent two hours grilling a Justice Department attorney over the executive order against Perkins Cooey. Trump's order takes several punitive steps, including suspending security clearances for the firm's employees and barring its attorneys' access to government officials and buildings. Judge Howell last month temporarily blocked enforcement of aspects of the order. At this hearing, she pressed the Justice Department

for details on the deals that other law firms have struck with the president to avoid punishment, as well as legal basis for targeting Perkins-Cooey for embracing diversity and inclusion in its hiring. At a separate hearing in the same courthouse, another federal judge heard arguments from the law firm Wilmer-Hale that also has sued over a similar executive order targeting it. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. A federal judge is giving Justice Department lawyers until Monday to explain why Mohsen Madhawi should not be released from detention. Madhawi is a Columbia University student facing deportation for pro-Palestinian activism. The president of the Palestinian Authority is calling on Hamas to disarm and hand over its responsibility for Gaza.

NPR's Jane Araf reports from Amman. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was speaking in the West Bank capital, Ramallah. Hamas and Abbas's party, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, governing part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have long been rivals. Abbas blamed Hamas for giving Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza and said Hamas should release Israeli hostages. Israel has tried to destroy Hamas throughout the war in Gaza and has also said it would

not accept any role for the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, who is 89, has been under pressure to step down. He's expected to appoint a successor this week. Jane Araf, NPR News, Amman. This is NPR. A federal judge has delayed final approval of a $2.8 billion settlement of the antitrust case against the NCAA and its members. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilkin is giving all sides 14 days to resolve a dispute over a proposed limit on the number of players that each team can have on its roster. Wilkin

says that some college athletes could lose their spot if the roster limits are implemented and is suggesting that current athletes be grandfathered in. European Union regulators are imposing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines against Apple and Metta for alleged violations of EU digital services laws. Terry Schultz reports that the U.S. tech giants are the first to be fined under a 2022 law that's aimed at increasing competition in the sector. The European Commission says Apple is being fined $570 million for violating the Digital

Markets Act by preventing app developers from communicating directly with consumers about sales and alternative products. Meta must pay nearly $230 million, the commission says, for requiring users to either allow their personal data to be used for targeted advertising or pay for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Renier rejected a Metta representative's complaint that U.S. companies are being unfairly targeted. We don't care who owns the company. What we're caring about is our consumers, our citizens, our businesses. Metta says it intends to appeal.

For NPR News, I'm Terri Schultz in Brussels. US futures are flat and after hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News. Having news at your fingertips is great, but sometimes you need an escape. And that's where Shortwave comes in. We're a joy-filled science podcast driven by wonder and curiosity that will get you out of your head and in touch with the world around you. Listen now to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.