NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-30-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

NPR News: 04-30-2025 10AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Imagine, if you will, a show from NPR that's not like NPR, a show that focuses not on the important but the stupid, which features stories about people smuggling animals in their pants and competent criminals in ridiculous science studies, and call it Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Because the Good Names Were Taken. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Yes, that is what it is called wherever you Get Your Podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Stocks opened lower this morning as the Commerce Department reported a drop in economic output

during the first three months of this year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled nearly 700 points in early trading. It's not the economic report card the Trump administration was hoping for. As the president marks 100 days in office this week, the nation's gross domestic product shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first quarter. That drop was largely driven by a surge of imports as businesses and consumers raced to stock up before the President's tariffs took effect.

Imports are a negative for GDP. Personal spending, which is the biggest driver of economic activity, grew less than half as fast as during the previous quarter. Other economic scorecards are also flashing warning signs. The S&P 500 index is down sharply since Inauguration Day, and consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic. Scott Horsley in Peer News, Washington. Trump is apparently blaming former President Joe Biden for the poor economic report. Writing online, Trump says, quote, This will take a while, has nothing to do with tariffs.

Trump also tells people to, quote, Be patient, followed by three exclamation points. Trump had a more direct message for his fans last night near Detroit. At a rally, he celebrated his first 100 days in office. This is the best, they say, 100-day start of any president in history, and everyone is saying it. We've just gotten started. You haven't even seen anything yet. It's all just kicking in. In his first 100 days, Trump has signed scores of executive orders. He's fired hundreds of thousands of federal workers, slashed DEI efforts, and infuriated foreign allies.

Trump supporters say he is taking the steps that they want. But polling of Americans suggests falling support for the president. The U.S. Supreme Court will tackle a naughty conflict between church and state today. That issue is a test case from Oklahoma. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports it is over whether overtly religious schools may also be publicly funded charter schools. On one side of the case are two Catholic diocese in Oklahoma. Representing them is lawyer James Campbell.

You can't create a public program and then just simply say that no religious organization can apply. On the other side is the state's Republican Attorney General, Gantner Drummond. Religious liberty is really the freedom to worship. It is not taxpayer-funded, state-sponsored religious indoctrination. A decision in the case is expected by summer. Nina Totenberg in PR News Washington. The House is expected to vote today on a Republican effort to get rid of a California plan to block most sales of gasoline-powered cars by the year 2035. The plan had been approved by the EPA under former President Biden. California officials say they need this to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

You're listening to NPR News. In Southern California, thousands of union employees of Los Angeles County are expected to continue their strike today. Members of the Service Employees International Union are walking out for 48 hours. Steve Futterman reports they want to bring attention to the collapse of contract talks. On day two, numerous county services will again be impacted, including libraries, parks and non-urgent health clinics. With so many workers out, many county offices are at a standstill.

On Tuesday, thousands took to the streets to march and take part in a rally. One of those speaking was Eloy Alvarez. Are we not going to take it anymore? Are we going to stand up and fight? The union wants higher wages. The county says the union demands are not sustainable. This is just a two-day walkout, but the union warns there could be similar and lengthier actions if substantive progress isn't made. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.

The state of Florida is poised to ban fluoride from its public water systems. Utah has already done this. Opponents say fluoride is endorsed by medical professionals as a public health achievement that prevents tooth decay. Scientists say they've discovered an invisible molecular cloud of gas not that far from Earth. It would seem gigantic in the night sky, if we could see it. Scientists say molecules in the gas cloud can collapse, and if they do, they can form baby stars. Scientists picked up on this find when they scoured the sky with special equipment to read ultraviolet light. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.