NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-30-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. Ukraine has agreed to give the U.S. access to its vast mineral deposits and other natural resources. As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, the agreement will help ensure continued U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. The deal caps months of negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine, which at times look very close to falling apart. The agreement is billed as an economic partnership, giving the U.S. a piece of Ukraine's rare earth and other critical minerals.

For Kyiv, it's seen as a sign that the U.S. will continue its economic and military support while the war with Russia grinds on. Treasury Secretary Scott Bissett says the deal signals to Russia that the U.S. is committed to a peace process centered on a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term. The deal comes just days after President Trump met one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. Jackie Northam, NPR News. A federal appeals court has voted to continue blocking DOJ access to social security data

while the matter plays out in court. NPR's Stephen Fowler has more on the filing. Mid-April, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that essentially blocked Department of Government Efficiency staffers at the Social Security Administration from accessing sensitive data. The government appealed and asked for that ban to be lifted while the appeal is considered. But now, a majority of the Fourth Circuit's judges has agreed to have the whole bench consider the motion to stay, and in a nine to six vote, the judges voted to keep the preliminary injunction in place. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta.

Danielle Pletka The Columbia University student detained for pro-Palestinian activism has been released. Mohsen Madawi was arrested earlier this month when he appeared for a citizenship hearing in Vermont. A federal judge denied the Trump administration's request to delay Madawi's release for another seven days. Los Angeles County has approved what lawyers say is the largest legal settlement for sexual assault in U.S. history. As Jordan Running of the LAist reports, the move comes after the state temporarily waived its statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse. The $4 billion settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021 with claims from two women who say they were abused as children in county foster care. The lawsuit grew to include 7,000 people who say they were sexually assaulted as children while at Los Angeles County facilities.

Mary Alice Ashbrook is one of the survivors involved in the settlement. Well, I'm grateful that we were finally heard. This happened to me when I was eight and nine. I was the kid that just sat under the tree and stayed quiet because I knew the ramifications if I didn't. Ashbrook, now 65, says she hopes the settlement will lead to reforms to protect children and the county's care. For NPR News, I'm Jordan Running in Pasadena, California. You're listening to NPR.

A federal judge says Apple has willfully violated a 2021 court injunction in an antitrust case that was brought by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers ordered the iPhone maker to lower the barriers to its exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions. Apple was also supposed to allow developers to display links to alternatives. Hollywood is getting ready for a new round of summer movies, and there's a lot at stake for the film industry. As NPR's Nira Ulibi reports, the summer season beginning this weekend usually accounts for around half of the year's box office revenue.

Nearly 50 movies are coming out in theaters this summer, and it feels like nearly all of them are part of massive franchises. Maybe we should make it quick. From Jurassic Park to a John Wick spinoff, from Mission Impossible to two Marvel movies, from Superman to The Swerves. One of the few major summer movies with blockbuster buzz that is not drawing from existing intellectual property is the film F1 about Formula One race car drivers.

There's 20 other drivers still out on that track. Fox office analysts are hopeful that the springtime success of a Minecraft movie and the horror film Sinners have primed audiences to return in person to theaters. Nato Ulubi, NPR News. On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed today with the Dow gaining 141 points, the Nasdaq lost 14. U.S. futures are higher in after-hours trading, when Asia Pacific markets share some mostly higher but down a fraction in Shanghai.

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