NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-30-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

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Have you or someone you love been confused by the push to make America healthy again? Then you, my friend, are in dire need of our new series. On It's Been A Minute from NPR, we're delving into some of the origins, conspiracy theories, and power grabs that have led us to this moment and what it could mean for our health. That's on the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. Lyle from NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is trying to distance himself from bad economic reports as he marks 100 days in office. At a cabinet meeting today, Trump blamed the economy on his predecessor, former President Biden. NPR's Deepa Sivaram with more.

In the months since Trump took office, consumer confidence in the economy has tumbled. The stock market has taken a roller coaster ride downhill and the U.S. GDP has contracted. Trump started the meeting by saying it wasn't his fault. We saw some numbers today and I have to start off by saying that's Biden. That's not Trump because we came in on January, these are quarterly numbers. Trump also downplayed the looming effects of his trade war with China on the cost and availability of goods, saying that things like children's dolls might cost a couple

dollars more. Trump's cabinet meeting went on for roughly two hours, which largely consisted of cabinet members complimenting the president on his work in the first 100 days of the administration. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, The White House. Reporter's were also in the room. One asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio if he'd been in touch with the government of El Salvador about returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported due to, as the White House describes it, an administrative error. Well, I would never tell you that. And you know who else I'll never tell? A judge. Because the conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the President of the United States

and the executive branch, not some judge. So we will conduct foreign policy appropriately if we need to. But I'll never discuss it. And no one will ever make us discuss it because that's how foreign policy works. Meanwhile, a Columbia University student is out on bail and fighting deportation. Mohsen Madhawi, a green card holder, was recently detained as he was in the process of finalizing his U.S. citizenship. NPR's Sergio Martinez-Puertran reports that today, a federal judge in Vermont ordered

Madawi's release while the case is pending. Madawi was one of the leaders of the protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza. He has been accused by the Trump administration of undermining its effort to combat anti-Semitism and was arrested earlier this month by immigration agents after finalizing his naturalization interview in Vermont. Federal Judge Jeffrey Crawford said Monday Madhawi's two-week detention, quote, so far demonstrates great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime. So he ordered his immediate release.

Madhawi said his release sends a message that, quote, we the people will hold the constitution accountable for the principles and values that we believe in. And he told the Trump administration he's not afraid of them because fear is replaced by love. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News. President Trump says he's spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

and congratulated him on his election saying Carney's, quote, could not have been nicer. He says Carney will quote come through the White House very shortly within the next week or sooner. The outcome of Canada's election was widely seen as a response to President Trump's tariff and sovereignty threats against Canada. From Washington, this is NPR News. Florida is on the verge of banning fluoride from public drinking water. Governor Rondy Santas is set to sign or veto the legislation after it won final approval in the state legislature yesterday. The only other state that's banned fluoride in public drinking water is Utah.

The action's in line with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push against fluoride in public drinking water is Utah. The actions in line with health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push against fluoride in tap water that he and others have said pose a public health risk. Many dentists and other public health officials dispute the claim. They argue fluoride replaces minerals lost during normal wear and tear and helps prevent cavities. Hollywood is getting ready for a new round of summer movies.

NPR's Neda Ulubi reports there is a lot at stake for the film industry. The summer season that starts 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 Smerfs. 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. Box 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.

Netta Ulubi, NPR News. The Dow has closed up 141 points. It's NPR News.