NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-26-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: April 26, 2025

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Want to know what's happening in the world? Listen to the State of the World podcast. Every weekday we bring you important stories from around the globe. In just a few minutes you might hear how democracy is holding up in South Korea. Or meet Indian monkeys that have turned to crime. We don't go around the world, we're already there. Listen to the State of the World podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. World leaders, dignitaries, and hundreds of thousands of faithful filled St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets in Rome today to bid farewell to Pope Francis. Crowds of people clutched rosaries and openly wept while holding photos of the pontiff and

handwritten notes. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports Pope Francis, known for his humility and advocacy for the marginalized, was a respected figure around the world. There was huge evidence of his global outreach here. There were representatives of many of the world's religions, and the mass was sprinkled with readings in many languages, not just Latin, Italian, and English, but also Arabic, Polish, and Chinese. Pope Francis made many foreign trips to Cuba, the U.S., several African countries, and the

Middle East. MPR's Sylvia Poggioli reporting, Pope Francis was later laid to rest at a basilica in Rome. A conclave to select a new pope will begin in the coming weeks. Negotiators from the United States and Iran wrapped up a third round of talks today in Oman to discuss Tehran's advancing nuclear program. The latest round of discussions are being described as positive and productive, with the two sides agreeing to resume talks again in Europe.

NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports, officials say while progress was made, there's still more work to be done. After the second round of talks last week, Oman said that the two sides agreed to enter a next phase aimed at reaching a deal that would also allow Iran to develop, quote, peaceful nuclear energy only. In an interview published in Time Magazine this week, President Trump said, quote, I think we're going to make a deal with Iran, but he hasn't ruled out military strikes if a deal isn't agreed to. During his last term as president, Trump pulled out of an Obama-era agreement, which

aimed to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News. Large-scale job cuts at the IRS don't appear to have affected this year's tax filing season. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. More than 140 million people filed tax returns by the week of the April 15th deadline and so far about 98 percent of those returns have been processed. That's slightly ahead of last year's pace even after the IRS laid off thousands of workers this spring. Refunds also appear to be going out on schedule. More than 60 percent of tax filers get money back from the

government. The average refund this year is more than $2,900. About one in six taxpayers waited until the last week to file, but that's not unusual and doesn't appear to have caused any backlog. Many more job cuts are looming at the IRS, though. That's likely to inhibit the agency's ability to go after wealthy tax cheats. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. It's NPR. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffrey says it's unlikely lawmakers will support any invasion of Greenland. Jeffrey spoke in Copenhagen while on a visit to Denmark with other members of Congress.

The relationship between our two countries is important, has been strong, and must remain that way moving forward. President Trump has repeatedly said he wants the U.S. to take over Greenland and has not ruled out the use of force. For decades, researchers asked whether they could trace climate change damages back to the biggest fossil fuel emitters. NPR's Julia Simon explains how a new study in the journal Nature came up with yes for an answer. The study finds chevron, for example, likely caused at least 1.98 trillion in economic losses from intensifying extreme heat between 1990

and 2020. ExxonMobil, it estimates, $1.91 trillion. The Dartmouth scientists who wrote the study used thermodynamics and other science plus economics to estimate every 1% of greenhouse gases causes $502 billion in damage from heat alone. They then use data from big fossil fuel producing companies showing their greenhouse gas emissions to make estimates of damages. A lawyer for Chevron says this quote, so-called attribution science is junk science. ExxonMobil did not respond. As states like Vermont sue big oil companies, researchers say science like this could play

a role in litigation. Julia Simon, NPR News. This is NPR News in Washington.