NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-26-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: April 26, 2025

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At NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we sort through a lot of television. And we've found some recent TV comedies we really like that you don't want to miss. And we'll tell you where to watch them in one handy guide. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. The funeral of Pope Francis begins this hour in Rome. He has broken with tradition in choosing not to be laid to rest at the Vatican. Instead, he will be buried at the St. Mary Major Basilica, NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports. This church of St. Mary Major has been

in Rome for 16 centuries. According to the tradition, the Virgin Mary inspired the construction of this church, appearing in a dream to an aristocrat Giovanni and to Pope Liberius, and she asked for a church in her honor in a place that she would miraculously reveal. The miracle of the snow's hail in August that landed on this hill is recalled every year. And during the liturgy, there's a shower of white petals that falls from the ceiling. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Rome. The Trump administration is restoring the status of hundreds, possibly thousands, of international students whose records it had eliminated from a crucial government database,

as NPR's Adrienne Florido reports those deleted likely would have had to leave the country soon. The SEVIS database is how immigration agents track student visa holders while they're in the country to ensure they're complying with requirements. If you're not in the database, it's harder to keep your legal status. In recent weeks, the government deleted records for thousands of students, many of them sued, saying it was over minor infractions like arrests that resulted in no charges. But now the Justice Department has announced the government will restore those students'

records, at least until it devises a formal policy for removing them. A lawyer for one student called it a sigh of relief, though legal fights to protect international students from deportation will continue. Adrian Flodiva, NPR News. One of the country's well-known aerobatic pilots died in an air show crash in Virginia Thursday. Pilot Rob Holland crashed while doing a normal practice maneuver and setting up to land as he prepared for the weekend's annual show at the Langley Eustis Base.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dan Boggs spoke with reporters. We have moved the aircraft at this time. We'll be taking it to an offsite location. And over the next two to three days, we will be doing a detailed examination of the flight controls, the engine, any avionics that may be installed on the aircraft. Behind the scenes, we'll be also looking at the pilot qualifications.

Officials with the air show say they plan to continue the event this weekend. Americans' confidence in the state of the economy is falling according to the monthly survey from the University of Michigan. Since January and the beginning of the Trump administration, the survey has declined by 32 percent. It is the steepest three-month drop in more than 30 years since the U.S. was rocked by a recession in 1990. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News. President Trump says Russia and Ukraine are, in his words, very close to a peace deal to end the more than three-year-old war and the two nations he said should meet very soon for high-level talks.

Trump made the remarks on social media just before arriving in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. He went on to say, quote, most of the major points are agreed to stop the bloodshed now. His statement came after Russia's President Putin and the top U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met at the Kremlin on Friday. Stocks regained some of their lost ground this week after the White House offered reassurance that the job of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is safe. NPR's Scott Horsley reports investors are also hoping for an easing in those trade tensions.

Markets breathe a sigh of relief after the president said he does not intend to fire the Fed chairman. It's not clear Trump even has that authority. But the president rattled markets days earlier when he said Powell's termination cannot come fast enough. Investors were also reassured by comments made by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, suggesting triple-digit tariffs on imports from China may not last. While there's no concrete sign of a thaw in U.S.-China trade relations, the Dow rose two and a half percent during the week, the S&P 500 jumped 4.6 percent, and the Nasdaq gained nearly 7 percent.

All the indexes are still down from April 2, though, when the president launched his worldwide tariffs. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. A federal district judge has sentenced former Republican Congressman George Santos to 87 months in prison and fined him nearly $600,000. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News. Support for NP. 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.