NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-25-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: April 25, 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. This American Life, surprising stories every week. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. President Trump says he was not happy with Russia following deadly airstrikes on Ukraine's capital, Kiev. But Trump stopped short of calling Russia an obstacle to peace. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has more. In an Oval Office meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Trump said he wasn't happy that in the midst of talking peace, missiles were flying. But he says he still thinks Russia

is ready to make some concessions. Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country, pretty big concession. But Russia doesn't even control parts of Ukraine that it claimed to have annexed in the early stages of this war. And European countries don't want to see Russia rewarded for its land grab. Norway's prime minister says he exchanged ideas with Trump on what he calls a complex picture in Ukraine and thanked him for trying to negotiate a ceasefire. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell is criticizing President Trump's sweeping tariffs, noting that they amount to attacks on all consumers. McConnell told a group of business leaders in Kentucky that his state relies on international trade, not just for crops, but also for bourbon sales. We've had bourbon wars in the past and it's very easy for a foreign country to have a bourbon war because they don't make it and we do.

Ninety-five percent of it is made in Kentucky. McConnell says tariffs also didn't work in 1930 when a protectionist trade law called the Smoot-Hawley Act was enforced. That law raised tariffs on thousands of imports and plunged the nation further into depression. The Trump administration has a new target for its efforts to gut U.S. foreign aid. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, a lesser-known agency focused on boosting economic growth in low to middle-income countries could be essentially shuttered. The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent aid agency started during the

George W. Bush administration. It focuses on boosting the private sector in low to middle-income countries through targeted investment, projects like improving the electrical grid in Cote d'Ivoire or making it easier for Indonesian small businesses to get loans. That work could come to a halt. This week, the Department of Government Efficiency directed the agency to drastically cut its staff of about 320 and end all its contracts. That would significantly reduce the scope of the agency, which has received broad bipartisan support for decades. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

President Trump has signed an executive order to increase deep sea mining. The order directs the Commerce Department to expedite reviews for exploring and identifying opportunities for private mining on the ocean floor. This is NPR. The Department of Health and Human Services is restoring contracts with regional centers that have been following the health of tens of thousands of women for decades. Funding for the landmark study was cut in response to the administration's demand that all federal agencies reduce their spending by at least 35 percent. But an outcry from researchers prompted the administration

to reverse the decision. The National Institutes of Health says it is taking immediate steps to ensure that the studies continue. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied public assistance for two counties in Kentucky and individual assistance for six counties affected by flooding in February. Stan Engel of Member Station WEKU reports that this comes as the governor awaits word

on recovery funds for flooding that happened earlier this month. Kentucky is still waiting to hear from Washington about whether or not federal aid will be provided for victims of flooding that hit much of the state this month. Governor Andy Beshear says the state has to have federal assistance to be able to help its people recover. There's no magic bullet to get around it. If it's denied, then the president is saying that that money will not be available to help our families rebuild.

He says he'll appeal the denials. Kentucky has faced two major flooding events in the past three months. Governor Beshear requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump on April 11. For NPR News, I'm Stan Engold in Richmond, Kentucky. U.S. futures are higher in after hours trading on Wall Street. On Asia Pacific markets, shares are also higher. This is NPR News.