NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-07-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

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You're listening to the NPR Network. Live from NPR News, I'm Lachie. A living, breathing record of your neighborhood, the country, the world. Told by thousands of local journalists who live in the places where stories unfold. Backed by a national newsroom that puts it all in perspective. Hear the whole country's story.

Hear ways of thinking that challenge your own. Hear the bigger picture with NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A Tennessee jury has acquitted three former Memphis officers in a high profile police brutality case. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports they were accused in the beating death of motorist Tyree Nichols in 2023. Jurors found fired Memphis police detectives,

Taderia Spien, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, not guilty on a host of state charges, including second degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. Two other officers had pleaded guilty in the case. Key prosecution evidence was video showing the officer's punch, kick, and use police batons and pepper spray on Nichols after a traffic stop. Nichols was black, as are the now former officers involved.

Defense lawyers argued they acted in keeping with Memphis Police Department policy because Nichols ran a red light and failed to stop when officers pursued him. Attorneys representing Tyree Nichols' family called the verdict a devastating miscarriage of justice. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. A crowd in Vatican City on day one of the conclave to choose a new pope. Black smoke pouring out of a chimney at the Sistine Chapel. It means the more than 130 cardinals meeting to choose a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion member church did not elect anyone on the first ballot.

The smoke was seen at around 9 p.m. local time, just four hours after Cardinals entered the chapel and took their oaths of secrecy. The Cardinals will resume the process tomorrow, returning to the Sistine Chapel and voting four times a day until one of the men secures the necessary two-thirds majority or 89 votes. Walt Disney Company's announced plans to build its first theme park in the Middle East. As NPR's Net Willoughby reports, it will be the company's seventh theme park globally and its first since Disney Shanghai opened in 2016. Disney Abu Dhabi does not yet have an opening date, but it will be on an island in the United

Arab Emirates that's become a theme park destination, with ones owned by other U.S. companies such as Warner Bros. and SeaWorld. Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our entire portfolio. That's Disney's Josh DiMaro, who runs its experiences sector in a company video. Disney experiences include its theme parks and cruises and now account for 60% of the company's profits. Neda Ulibi, NPR News. The interest rate setting Federal Reserve has wrapped up its two-day meeting in

Washington with no move on short-term interest rates it controls. Central Bank brushing off demands from President Trump at cut rates, though also saying the risk of a rise in unemployment and escalating inflation have increased. Those are the Fed's two main mandates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says for now, though, the economy remains healthy. Many economists expect the Fed will likely reduce rates at least a few more times this year. Stocks gained ground on Wall Street.

The Dow is up 284 points. This is NPR. Israeli airstrikes in Gaza are being blamed for the deaths of at least 92 people including children and two journalists. The strikes today targeting a crowded area in central Gaza City near a busy market. An attack earlier at a school killed 16 people according to hospital officials. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes they come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed

doubts over the survival of three hostages previously believed to be alive in Gaza. Weight Watchers, the international company built on providing social support in losing weight has filed for bankruptcy. And Bershuki Noguchi reports the company's burden with debt as its customers turn to medications instead. Weight Watchers was started by a housewife struggling with overeating in the 1960s. It gained a worldwide following using a method to track food intake using a point system and encouraging members to attend regular support meetings to stay on track.

But in recent years, the company struggled to keep up as new obesity medications like Wigovia and ZetBound entered the market. Weight Watchers hopes to shed over a billion dollars in debt in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy while it continues operations. The company is trying to pivot by focusing more on offering telehealth prescriptions for the newer drugs. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News. House Republican lawmakers have added another item to their sweeping tax cut package, a

measure that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, proposal prompting outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who worry it's part of a push to increase drilling, mining and logging. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News. You may have heard that President Trump has issued an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to NPR. This is the latest in a series of threats to media organizations across the country. NPR remains committed to serving the public.

And in this pivotal moment, we need your support. Donate today at donate.npr.org. Thank you.