NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-24-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: April 24, 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. President Trump is again saying he intends to lower tariffs on goods from China. Trump also says he could announce even more tariffs in the coming weeks, depending on negotiations with U.S. trading partners. In an Oval Office appearance with Commerce Secretary

Howard Lutnick, the president was hesitant to suggest any timeline for possible trade agreements. What's happened is, Howard, how many countries have we spoken to already? Ninety. Ninety. And they all want to make deals, and we're going to make deals, but they're going to be fair deals. Trump says a trade deal with China will depend on what that nation brings to the table. A dozen states are suing the Trump administration to stop the tariff policy. The plaintiffs want the import taxes declared illegal.

The suit was filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. White House officials are accusing Democratic Attorneys General of engaging in a witch hunt against President Trump. Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a similar case arguing that the terrorists will harm his state's economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says the U.S. wants to remain a leader in the global economy, even as Trump's terrorists cast a cloud over worldwide trade. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on Besson's remarks

on the sidelines of a global economic summit. Besson addressed a gathering of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, two institutions set up in the wake of World War II to foster peace and global prosperity. Besson accused the IMF and World Bank of straying from their core missions to tackle problems such as climate change. He urged the World Bank to finance more nuclear and fossil fuel projects in developing countries. Energy abundance sparks economic abundance. That's why the bank should encourage an all-of-the-above approach to energy development. The IMF has downgraded its forecast of global economic growth this year, largely as a result

of President Trump's trade war. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. People across Chicago gathered at the city's Roman Catholic Cathedral Wednesday for a mass honoring Pope Francis. From member station WBEZ, Adora Namigday has the story. Chicagoan Catherine Moon showed up to the mass despite struggles with her Catholic faith. We have a real issue with people who still want to stay in the church, myself being one of them.

My husband calls them cafeteria Catholics. I am one. Still she wanted to pray for the pope with other Catholics like Kevin Kopp. I want to be here because I think Pope Francis was a really good leader for our church. More than 50 Chicago-area clergy and interfaith leaders also paid their respects. For NPR News, I'm Adora Numi-Gudday in Chicago. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR.

The retrial of Harvey Weinstein has begun in New York. The 73-year-old former movie mogul is charged with rape and sexual assault of three women, including one who was not a part of the original trial. New York's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence last year citing judicial error. Weinstein is also challenging a similar conviction in Los Angeles. More than 30 top AI experts have signed an open letter asking the Attorneys General of California and Delaware to block OpenAI's restructuring bid, which is needed to finalize a $40 billion deal with SoftBank. From member station KQED, Rachel Myro has details.

The open letter says that OpenAI has not publicly explained how its plan to restructure into a for-profit advances its stated purpose of safely developing AI for the benefit of humanity. Former policy and ethics advisor at OpenAI, Paige Headley, is among the signers. It promised the public and Congress and the world at large that it was different. It would act responsibly. You could trust it and I think we should hold it to those promises. In a statement an OpenAI spokesperson wrote, our for-profit will be a public benefit corporation similar to several other AI labs like Anthropic where some of these former employees now

work. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Myhro in San Francisco. D.C. Longtime Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says he will not seek reelection. After five terms, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber says it's time to pass the torch. Durbin's announcement comes as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate. This is NPR News. Hey, it's A. Martinez. Even as the host of a news show, it can be hard to keep up with the Senate. This is NPR News.