NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-02-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR. Bottom line, especially if they make chemicals, fertilizer, and equipment more expensive. You know, it's just a government interference into the markets that affect our lives every day.

Kage says he hopes public backlash over tariffs will push Republicans to once again embrace free market principles like they did before Trump became the GOP's leader roughly a decade ago. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum in St. Louis. NPR and PBS say they will challenge President Trump's executive order that directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board to stop federal funding for the major public broadcasters. NPR's David Falkenflick reports it's not clear that the president has the authority to do

that under the law. No government official can dictate what public broadcasters spend their money on once they've Spoken Flick reports, it's not clear that the president has the authority to do that under the law. No government official can dictate what public broadcasters spend their money on once they've received it. So when President Trump says, you know, he puts out an edict in this executive order saying CBB must cease funding NPR and PBS and basically tell any public broadcasters on a local level that received their funds that they can't send money back to the big networks, that would seem to be in violation of congressional law. Danielle Pletka NPR's David Foe conflict. The order also instructs

the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies to investigate, quote, whether NPR and PBS have engaged in unlawful discrimination, referring to the network's DEI policies. Rights groups say a drone has struck a ship carrying aid to Gaza today off the coast of Malta. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi has the latest. The vessel was carrying volunteers from over 21 countries according to the group Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 12 crew members and four civilians were attempting to take food and other supplies to Gaza.

The strike came just after midnight on Friday and video posted online showed red flames engulfing a boat. The Maltese government said there were no casualties. The Israeli army did not comment. Israel has blocked all aid, including food, from entering Gaza for two months now. It says it's a tactic to pressure Hamas to accept a new deal to release more hostages. In 2010, Israeli troops stormed a Turkish ship carrying aid to Gaza. Nine people were killed on board. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The government's latest big jobs report shows a cooling but resilient market against the backdrop of trade wars and government-wide cuts. The Labor Department says the U.S. economy gained 177,000 jobs in April. That's fewer than the downwardly revised 185,000 jobs created the

month before. The unemployment rate in April held steady at 4.2%. U.S. stocks are trading higher this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 534 points or 1.3% at 41,287. The S&P is up 82 points, 1.5%. And the NASDAQ has risen 1.5% or 272 points. From Washington, this is NPR News. Redwood, a new musical conceived by and starring Tony winner Idina Menzel, announced it was closing early. Scheduled to run through August, the show is now closing in mid-May after it did not receive any Tony nominations.

More from Jeff London. Despite Idina Menzel's considerable star power and a rave in the New York Times, Redwood has struggled to find audiences since it opened in February. The original story of a woman who travels to the California forest to deal with grief was one of 13 shows this season to not receive a single Tony nomination. For some, like the popular revival of Othello with Denzel Washington, this snub doesn't matter. It's already recouped its cost and brings in over $3 million a week.

But for others, whose box office figures are lower than their running costs, receiving few or no nominations means they may close prematurely as well. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. Danielle Pletka A federal judge in Texas ruled that President Trump's use of an 18th century wartime law to deport certain Venezuelan immigrants is unlawful. The judge who was appointed by Trump found that the administration overstepped its authority. Haley's Comet comes around every 75 years, but every year its debris makes for major meteor showers. Experts say the Ada acquired showers peaking. They're telling Sky Gazers

they could see 10 to 15 meteors per hour on Monday and Tuesday. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Do you think you have ADHD? You're not alone. After the pandemic hit, there was a huge jump I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.