NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-25-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

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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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. French President Emmanuel Macron is reacting to the Russian attack that killed 12 people in Kiev and injured dozens more. NPR's Eleanor Beersley reports that Macron says Russia should stop lying about wanting

peace. I salute American diplomacy, said Macron, but let me just recall the facts. There's an aggressor, Russia, and a victim, Ukraine. The Europeans are shocked at how the Trump administration is supporting Russia over Ukraine and tying itself in knots to make it look as if Russia is negotiating in good faith and Ukraine is the difficult partner. Macron also recalled how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to an unconditional ceasefire weeks ago.

The only question is whether Putin will agree, said Macron. If he would, the war could stop tomorrow. Eleanor Beardsley in Pierre News, Paris. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is criticizing President Trump's sweeping terror saying they amount to a tax on consumers. McConnell has told a group of business leaders in his home state of Kentucky that the 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 raised tariffs on thousands of imports and plungunge the nation further into depression. President Trump has signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department to expedite reviews for exploring and identifying opportunities for private deep sea mining. Senior aides say more than a billion metric tons of critical minerals could be at stake. Members and supporters of the National Rifle Association are in Atlanta for the group's

annual meeting. W-A-B-E's Raul Bali reports on the gun policy changes attendees want to see in Washington. Among the more than 800 exhibitors here in one of the massive halls at the Georgia World Congress Center are gun manufacturers, accessory makers and specialty companies. David Triana of Charleston, South Carolina backs easing federal regulations on the purchase of firearm suppressors, sometimes known as silencers, and that they be treated like any other accessory. Silencer became really popular through Hollywood because they wanted to push that they silence

guns, which is obviously false. Other things mentioned include abolishing the ATF and allowing one state's concealed carry permit to be accepted in all other states. The NRA's national meeting runs through Sunday. For NPR News, I'm Raul Bali in Atlanta. This is NPR. The state Senate in Texas has approved a bill to create the nation's largest school voucher program. The bill would allow the use of public funds to pay for private education and homeschooling. Critics say the program will drain money from public schools.

Three Americans convicted of participating in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo appear at a federal court hearing in Utah on Thursday. As Tilda Wilson reports, the Congolese government commuted the trio's death sentences and released them back to U.S. custody. Tilda Wilson, TLC News Anchor In a crowded Salt Lake City courtroom, 22-year-old Utahns Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson, as well as 37 year old Maryland native Benjamin Zalman-Paloon, pleaded not guilty to a series of federal charges related to their participation in a failed coup attempt. They face up to life in prison on charges including conspiracy to bomb

places of public use and conspiracy to murder and kidnap persons in a foreign country. Marcel Malanga is the son of Congolese political exile Christian Malenga, who orchestrated the coup and was killed in the conflict. His friend, Tyler Thompson, claims he was forced to participate in the coup at gunpoint. The date for their trial has not been set yet. For NPR News, I'm Tilda Wilson. Danielle Pletka California Governor Gavin Newsom says his state has a gross domestic product of $4.1 trillion, surpassing Japan as the world's fourth largest economy. Newsom cites the International Monetary Fund's 2024

World Economic Outlook data released this week. He filed a lawsuit last week to challenge the U.S. tariffs, saying that they are threatening California's progress. This is NPR. At NPR.