NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-04-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

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Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR Politics podcast makes politics a breeze. Every episode will break down the day's headlines into totally normal language and make sure that you walk away understanding what the day's news might mean for you. Take a deep breath and give politics another chance with the NPR Politics podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Janine Herbst Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump says he doesn't know if every person in the U.S. is entitled to do process under the Constitution as his administration focuses on deporting people in the U.S. illegally.

In a broad-ranging interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Trump also says he's not worried about a recession. This amid his trade wars with several countries. And Piers Azma Khalid has more. Trump put in place these sweeping tariffs on many countries throughout the globe and then he pulled back on them but he still has left a 10% tariff on many imports from around the globe with the goal of negotiating trade deals. Last week, different economic advisors came out and alluded to the fact that they were very close to a deal, but we still haven't seen a deal. And I will say that trade deals take a really long time to figure out in terms of the nitty-gritty details.

And here's Azmahalled reporting. Some military veterans say they're seeing more delays in healthcare from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Chuck Warmbach of member station WUWM has more from a round table held by Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin this weekend. Ryan McCants is an Army veteran who sustained what he calls pretty gnarly injuries during deployment in Afghanistan.

He often relies on VA health care for both physical problems and mental health concerns. McCants says access to care has become more difficult over the last few months. Specifically, I just called three days ago to try to schedule a new appointment with my therapist. I can't get in until August, mid-August, to see my therapist. VA Secretary Doug Collins is scheduled to testify this week before a Senate committee. He's promised a proposed cut of up to 15 percent of the agency's workforce would not harm the quality of veterans' health care.

For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee. Israel is vowing retribution after a missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen landed near Israel's main airport today. NPR's Carrie Kahn has more. Sirens went off in many cities in central Israel, including Tel Aviv, early Sunday morning, sending Israelis into bomb shelters and halting flights at the international airport. The missile or debris from it fell in a field near Ben Gurion Airport. Most missiles from Yemen are intercepted, but some have penetrated Israeli airspace and caused damage.

A Yemeni official posted on social media that the attack is a warning to international airlines to not fly into Israel's main airport. Since the start of the Gaza war in solidarity with Palestinians, the Houthis have sent missiles into Israel. Israel's defense minister says forces will no longer use restraint against Yemen, adding, quote, whoever harms us, we will harm them sevenfold. You're listening to NPR News. In Brazil, authorities say they foiled a planned bombing at a free outdoor Lady Gaga concert and the two people are in custody.

Police say the suspects were recruiting participants to carry out attacks using improvised explosive devices targeting LGBTQ people. Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security says the plot was allegedly organized by a larger extremist network that operates online to radicalize young people and provoke hate crimes. Gaga played to some 2 million people, the biggest attendance for a female artist beating Madonna's draw of 1.6 million people at her free concert in Brazil last year. Thunderbolts, Marvel's latest team-building exercise, is off to a decent start at box

office around the world. And Piero's Bob Mandello has more. For a film about decidedly minor Marvel characters, Thunderbolts did just fine. You feel fulfilled? Yeah, so fulfilled. By the end of the weekend, it will have taken in about $76 million in North America and another $86 million overseas, for a total of $162 million in three days. That's hardly huge for a Marvel movie, but Thunderbolts wasn't hugely expensive to produce.

It's expected to play well for much of the summer. Also performing well, the third weekend of the blues-inflected vampire film Sinners. We're gonna kill every last one of you. In three weeks, Sinners has now collected almost 180 million dollars just in North America. Bob Mandelo, NPR News. And I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.