NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-05-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: May 5, 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 Kori Vaakulman. President Trump says he'll lower tariffs on China at some point, but in the meantime,

he's not promising relief for small businesses from the effects of tariffs. Trump spoke in an NBC interview yesterday and fears Luke Garrett has more. President Trump was asked by NBC News whether he'd lower tariffs on China in order to start trade negotiations. At some point, I'm going to lower them because otherwise you could never do business with them. Meanwhile, some small businesses that rely on Chinese imports say they're struggling with the 145 percent tariffs on some goods from China.

When asked if these businesses would receive government relief, Trump said, They're not going to need it. OK. They're going to make so much money. Are these tariffs? If you build your product here. Following Trump's new tariff policy against China and other nations, no trade deals have been made by the White House yet. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says trade should not be a weapon. He spoke Saturday for hours at his annual shareholders conference in Omaha. It was for his company Berkshire Hathaway, where he's CEO. NPR's Maria Aspin says Buffett believes the U.S. should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. Buffett didn't mention President Trump by name. But Buffett does often talk about how great America is. And he made a point of saying that if trade helps other countries become prosperous, it will also help our country become prosperous.

So if it is his last annual meeting for Berkshire Hathaway, he made it a memorable one. And Piers Maria Aspin reporting, it is likely to be Buffett's last annual meeting as CEO. At the end of the long meeting Saturday, Buffett surprised thousands of shareholders by saying he'll step down from his role at Berkshire Hathaway at the end of this year. He'll hand over control to his long designated successor, Greg Abel. President Trump is telling his administration to reopen the federal prison on Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. The Bureau of Prison says it was closed in 1963 because it was too expensive for the

government to operate on the island. Roman Catholic cardinals are in their final days of discussion leading up to the papal conclave. And Piers Jason DeRose reports from Rome, their decision will determine the direction of the Roman Catholic Church for years to come. The cardinals have been gathering in meetings called congregations.

Among the issues they're discussing, sexual abuse within the church, war and peace, and how the church can be less insular. Cardinal Michael Czerny says these meetings are key to getting to know each other and the needs of the church throughout the world. Learning to be church in our diversity is a real calling. Czerny calls global Catholicism's diversity a challenge but also a gift. He's among the 133 cardinal electors who will enter the conclave Wednesday to determine the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Israeli cabinet has voted for a plan to take control of all food aid that enters Gaza. Israel has cut off all relief access to the Palestinian territory for the past two months. Relief agencies say Palestinians risk starvation. This comes as Israel continues to strike Gaza. In a statement, the Israeli cabinet says if it controls the food aid, it can deny Hamas access to it. Israel has provided

no evidence of widespread theft by Hamas. Starting today, the U.S. government is resuming collection of student loans from borrowers who are in default. People who are behind in their loans may find their benefits and wages will be garnished. This payment system has been suspended since the start of the pandemic. Thunderbolts, Marvel's latest team-building exercise, is off to a decent start at box offices worldwide, and Pierre's Bob Mandello has details. 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.

Oh, we gonna kill every last one of you. In three weeks, Sinners has now collected almost $180 million just in North America. Bob Mandello, NPR News. I'm Krova Coleman, NPR News from Washington. You wanna follow what's happening in Washington, D.C., but you don't want to be scrolling your phone all day. Washington, DC.