NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-07-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: May 7, 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. Lakhshmi Singh Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakhshmi Singh. India is defending its strikes on parts of Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled territory early Wednesday. Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishra has more on India's actions, marking

the most dramatic escalation and tensions the nuclear-armed neighbors have faced in years. These actions were measured, non-ascalatory, proportionate, and responsible. They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India. India accuses the Pakistani government of being complicit in militant attacks,

including deadly violence against tourists in India, Minister Kashmir last month. But Pakistan's Minister of Information Atollah Tawar argues Pakistan itself has repeatedly been the target of terrorist attacks. Atollah Tawar We've been saying that the Pehel Gama incident deserves an investigation, a fair and impartial investigation. India ran away from the investigation and now they've run away after attacking civilian population in Pakistan. But we've responded back and we've shot down some planes. We stand against terrorists, we stand against terrorism, we've given 90,000 lives in the war against terrorism and we played our part to make the

world a safer place. The top Pakistani and Indian officials were heard on the BBC. Houthi rebels in Yemen say they will keep striking targets in Israel. That is despite a deal announced by President Trump ending the weeks-long strikes between US forces and the Iranian-backed militants. More from NPR's Kary Khan. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salamalam says the U.S. deal does not include Israel. In a social media post, Abdul says Israel targets will continue to be hit in solidarity

with Palestinians in Gaza. A missile fired from Yemen landed near Tel Aviv's airport Sunday. Israel quickly retaliated. Trump's announcement of a deal mediated by Omanda and hostilities took Israelis by surprise. That's according to an official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another comment by Trump Tuesday that only 21 hostages in Gaza are still alive drew condemnation from relatives of those held there. Officially Israel says 24 are living.

The hostage families are demanding Israeli officials release any new information. Kari Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv. WYPR Scott Macione reports a federal appeals court will soon decide whether it was legal to fire roughly 24,000 federal probationary employees without notifying states. A panel of three judges listened to arguments from 19 states about how they believed they were harmed by the White House's mass layoffs. The states are seeking the reinstatement of the employees. They say without proper notification, they had to rush to provide benefits like unemployment

insurance. The White House says it did not initiate an official reduction in force and therefore did not need to notify the states beforehand. That's Scott Massione reporting. From Washington, this is NPR News. We're expecting to hear shortly from the Federal Reserve, whose policymakers are concluding two days of meetings. The Fed is widely expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged. President Trump has been pressuring the central bank to reduce rates, but the Fed says it needs to examine the overall economic impact of Trump's sweeping tariffs.

Yesterday the US trade gap was reported to have widened in March to $140.5 billion as businesses and consumers tried to get ahead of Trump's sweeping tariffs. The government data released showed imports surged in March to nearly $419 billion. The increase among exports in the same month was much lower. A derelict roadside attraction in Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most endangered historic sites in the U.S. That's according to the annual list from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Here's NPR's Nettie Ulubi. The list shines light on interesting and important places suffering from damage or neglect.

Phoenix's Mystery Castle is one, says National Trust President Carol Quillen. We're not preserving these places so that they can be roped off and frozen in amber. Instead, she says the goal is to keep them activated. Other places on the list this year include a historic lodge at the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve and the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in Virginia. Tribal members and their ancestors have lived there for more than 15,000 years, but rising sea levels may make the area inaccessible within this century. Neda Ulibi, NPR News.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.