NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-07-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

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Tariffs, recessions, how Colombian drug cartels gave us blueberries all year long. That's the kind of thing the Planet Money podcast explains. I'm Sarah Gonzalez and on Planet Money, we help you understand the economy and how things all around you came to be the way they are. Para que sepas. So you know. Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Trump administration plans to deport migrants to Libya, that according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. It's still unclear what the nationalities of the deportees are, when the flights might

commence or whether the migrants were granted due process. A second official tells NPR the aircraft, one aircraft, would not be full. The plan, which was first reported by Reuters, is in line with the administration's hardline response to illegal immigration. A large crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square is watching for smoke to billow from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Earlier today, 133 cardinals took part in a procession to the Sistine Chapel where the men are now sequestered and tasked with selecting a new pope by two-thirds majority vote. If the resulting smoke from burned ballots is white, a pope has been selected.

If the smoke is black, voting continues. A group of nine senators, eight Democrats, and Vermont's Bernie Sanders are calling upon the controlling owner of CBS not to settle lawsuit filed by President Trump against the network. NPR's David Falkenflick reports Trump sued CBS last fall as a private citizen over the editing of a 60 minutes interview of then Vice President Kamala Harris. Sherry Redstone, the controlling owner of CBS's corporate paramount global, is trying to sell the company. CBS's lawyers are fighting Trump, who alleges election interference and is seeking $20 billion. Media lawyers tell NPR that Trump has no case,

yet Redstone's legal team is negotiating a possible settlement. The senators warned Redstone, quote, rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him to back down on his war against the media and a free press. It will only embolden him. People with ties to CBS say Redstone wants to avoid angering the administration. The company's sale hinges on approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

David Folkenflick, NPR News. A jury still deliberating in the second Greece state murder trial involving three former Memphis, Tennessee police officers. They're accused in the beating death of Tyree Nichols. WKNO's Katie Reardon has more. The police surveillance footage captured officers in January 2023 restraining, kicking, and punching Nichols as they take him into custody following a traffic stop. He died three days later.

Two of the five men originally indicted, who are also black, have agreed to plead guilty. In closing statements Monday, prosecutor Melanie Headley said everyone had a duty to intervene. They're all out there. They're all doing it together. Attorneys for the defendant say Nichols resisted them and that officers struggled to handcuff him due to the heavy use of pepper spray and chaos of the arrest. For NPR News, I'm Katie Reardon.

It's NPR News. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve have voted to hold interest rates steady. That was widely expected. The central bank is keeping a close eye on possible economic fallout from President Trump's sweeping tariffs. The president has imposed import taxes on nearly everything the US buys from other countries, which could rekindle inflation. Newark Liberty International Airport is facing another day of delays and cancellations and PRS Jack Lindy has reports a host of issues is being blamed for the disruptions that have lasted more than a week.

Bad weather, a busy runway, clothes for renovation, and short staffing among air traffic controllers. All of these issues are being blamed for the massive slowdown at Newark International Airport. It's gone on for several days. Most seriously, about a week ago, controllers lost all contact with a plane, leaving them unable to hear, see, or talk to the plane and its pilots for several seconds. Officials are now calling for an investigation into what went wrong. And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is calling for a full modernization of the U.S.

air traffic control system. Officials say the Trump administration will release a plan to do just that. It's expected later this week. Jacqueline Diaz, NPR News. US stocks are mixed this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 201 points, or roughly half a percent, at 41,030. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast NPR News.