NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-25-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: April 25, 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. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, President Trump is expected to depart this hour for Rome. He and First Lady Melania Trump will attend Pope Francis' funeral tomorrow. The Pope died on Monday.

Trump's focus is to attend the ceremony at the Vatican, but other world leaders will also be there. NPR's Deepa Sivaram reports Trump may have side conversations with them. Piers Dipa-Shivaram, NPR News, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times,

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York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New the two meet since the blowout meeting in the Oval Office in February. A meeting with European Union President Ursula von der Leyen could also be possible amid ongoing negotiations over tariffs. Trump's visit to Rome and the Vatican marks his first foreign trip of this term. His next will likely be a visit to the Middle East next month. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News. In an interview published this morning by Time magazine, President Trump says he is in active trade talks with China and has spoken to China's president.

The Chinese government said yesterday any report of trade talks with the U.S. is false. The top Democrat on a House Oversight Committee wants to know why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gutted its public records office. The staffers there were fired, along with thousands of other health agency workers earlier this month And pierre Sidney lupkin has more Representative Jerry Connolly a democrat from Virginia sent a letter to CDC's acting director on Thursday He raised concerns about the 22 staffers who handled and fulfilled public records requests Their work has been mandated by Congress since the 1960s under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. In the letter, Connolly asked how the agency would continue

to comply with public records laws. He also asked for information on outstanding requests and communications between the Trump administration and CDC officials. NPR asked CDC for comment but didn't get an immediate response. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December will be in federal court today in New York. From member station WNYC, Ben Fierherd reports, federal prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty if there's a conviction. Luigi Mangione will be arraigned in federal court in Manhattan today, a week after he

was indicted for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He is expected to enter a not guilty plea at the hearing. This will be Mangione's first court appearance since Attorney General Bondi released a public statement directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case. Bondi said on April 1st that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty in an effort to carry out President Donald Trump's agenda. Mangione's attorneys are asking a judge to take the death penalty off the table. They argue Bondi's statement about the death penalty was blatantly political in violating Justice Department protocols. For NPR News, I'm Ben

Feherd in New York. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Today is World Malaria Day. The World Health Organization says that since the late 90s more than 2 billion cases have been prevented worldwide. But the WHO says malaria still kills one person every minute and most deaths happen in Africa. The National Endowment for the Humanities is offering grants to artists for President Trump's National Garden of American Heroes. As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, the news comes just a few weeks after the federal government canceled hundreds of Humanities grants to organizations across the country.

The grants are for artists to create life-size statues out of marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass. Plans call for statues of 250 individuals – Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Duke Ellington, Sacagawea and Babe Ruth – among them. The National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts will devote a total of $30 million to the project. The American Federation of Government Employees Union writes that it's horrified the Humanities Endowment is being used as a quote, propaganda pipeline instead of preserving the full American experience. The National Garden of American Heroes is set to open next year for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

The video game company Nintendo finally started to take pre-orders for its Switch 2 gaming system overnight. It's already sold out among U.S. retailers. Nintendo delayed the pre-order event this spring because of tariff uncertainty. The Switch 2 will still be released on June 5. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. Do you remember when discovering a new artist felt like finding buried treasure? I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.