NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-04-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: May 4, 2025

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Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. British police have arrested eight men in two separate counter-terrorism operations

spanning several cities in the UK. As Villamarks reports, seven of the men are Iranian citizens. Authorities said five of the men were arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, linked to a plot against a specific location that they did not name. Police say four Iranians, aged 29 to 46, and a fifth man whose nationality has not yet been confirmed were arrested on Saturday in London, Manchester and three other cities. The second, unconnected investigation was led by a counter-terrorism team inside London's Metropolitan Police, which also retains responsibility for national security and spying investigations.

The three arrested, all Iranian citizens, were taken into custody in London as part of a separate investigation and were detained under Britain's national security legislation. For NPR News, I'm Villam Margs. Flights have resumed at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. Air traffic had been halted for about an hour today after a missile attack claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Israeli media are showing a plume of smoke visible near the airport. The Vatican says preparations are nearing completion for the papal conclave set to begin Wednesday, and Paris Jason DeRose reports that cardinals are meeting now to discuss issues facing the church.

Cardinals from around the world have been convening in what are called congregations. The Vatican press office says several themes have emerged from those meetings, including how the Catholic Church and the Pope promote peace, how the next leader will need to address sexual abuse, and how the next pope should be prophetic so that, quote, the church will not shut itself in the upper room, but go out and bring light to a world desperately in need of hope. The Vatican says Cardinals understand that without addressing these concerns, the church is in danger of becoming what it calls insignificant. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome.

The US government broadcaster Radio Free Asia is laying off about 90% of its staff, saying it can no longer pay people after the Trump administration cut off funding access. NPR's Emily Fang has more. Since 1996, Radio Free Asia, or RFA, has broadcast in languages like Burmese and Chinese to a weekly audience of around 60 million listeners, many of whom live in repressive or authoritarian societies. In March, President Trump ordered the federal agency that distributes RFAs funds to wind down operations and cut off its congressionally appropriated funds, a move a federal judge

overturned last month, ordering their funds reinstated. But another appeals court put an administrative stay freezing that order this week. And now Radio Free Asia has laid off many of its staff who are already on unpaid leave, leaving only a skeleton crew to update RFAs' paired-back programming. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington. And from Washington, this is NPR News. At least one person was killed and more than a dozen others injured in a shooting in Houston last night.

Police say multiple people have been detained, but they are not certain if the suspect who initially started firing is among them. Police say gunfire erupted after an uninvited guest to a family party was asked to leave. Colorado River experts are providing a roadmap for solving the region's water crisis. Alex Hager of member station KUNC reports they're nudging policymakers who are at an impasse about sharing the river's water. California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed relatively modest cutbacks to their water use. Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming say they don't want to give up any water. Anne Castle, a co-author of the new recommendations, says all of the states need to engage in some shared

pain. There's lots of wonderful legal arguments about why it shouldn't be me that needs to use less water, but in order to have a viable and politically viable agreement, everybody has to do a share. The memo, written by academics and retired policymakers, also calls for better protections for tribes and the environment. They've long been left out of talks about sharing the river. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Tucson. Lady Gaga took the stage for a free concert in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach last night in what is believed to have been the biggest show of her career. City officials say more than 2 million people turned out.

Similar concerts are set to take place each May through at least 2028 to boost economic activity. I'm Charlie O'Sneider. This is NPR News. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR news.