NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-07-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

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Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's been talking about, or catch the show that the internet can't get over? At the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we chase that feeling four times a week. We'll serve you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, and more. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, catch the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm C culture happy hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kori Fakulman. Roman Catholic cardinals have held a public mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

They're returning to the Sistine Chapel to open their conclave. The cardinals will now go into seclusion to choose the next pope. Fresh fighting has erupted between India and Pakistan. India has fired missiles into Pakistan, India says, it's retaliating for a deadly militant attack last month. India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri says his country targeted nine Pakistani sites he claims are linked to terrorist groups.

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. He was heard on the BBC. Pakistan says it had no link to last month's militant attack. Pakistan is claiming it has shot down some Indian warplanes, but this has not been confirmed. A jury is continuing deliberations this morning in the second-degree state murder trial involving

three former Memphis, Tennessee police officers who were arrested in the attack. but this has not been confirmed. A jury is continuing deliberations this morning in the second degree state murder trial involving three former Memphis, Tennessee police officers. The men are accused in the beating death of black motorist Tyree Nichols. From member station WKNO, Katie Reardon reports, jurors were repeatedly shown camera footage from the violent arrest.

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. We'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. New research is underscoring the risk of carcinogens that are found in commonly used personal care products such as lotions and shampoo. The study has been published today in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters. NPR's Will Stone reports the study focuses on chemicals that release

formaldehyde. The label may not say formaldehyde but that lotion or soap might still contain preservatives that release formaldehyde, but that lotion or soap might still contain preservatives that release formaldehyde. In fact, the study found among black and Latina women, more than half were using products with these chemicals. The two most common were DMDM-hydantin and diazolidinylurea. The study's author is Robin Dodson, a researcher at Silent Spring Institute. It's important that people know when they're exposed to a carcinogen because really there's

no safe level. Dodson says their analysis of an EPA consumer product database shows that 8 percent of personal care products had formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing chemicals. Will Stone, NPR News. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are higher. This is NPR. The historically stable Taiwan dollar has strengthened against the U.S. dollar at its fastest clip in decades. This is a sign of uneasiness over concern about the stability of the U.S. economy. NPR's Emily Feng reports

the concern is based on multiple rounds of tariffs imposed by President Trump, including on Taiwan. Emily Feng, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, of tariffs imposed by President Trump, including on Taiwan. Worries about the U.S. have led Taiwanese insurance companies and pension funds to sell off their U.S. dollar-backed securities, leading in part to an 8% gain of the Taiwanese dollar against the U.S. dollar. Taiwan sent a delegation for its first round of tariff negotiations with the U.S. this month.

Taiwan buys more and more U.S. goods, but it does have a trade surplus with the U.S. because the U.S. buys so many advanced semiconductor chips made on the Asian island. A weaker U.S. dollar would actually help make U.S. exports to Taiwan cheaper. That the U.S. asked the Taiwan government to intentionally depreciate the U.S. dollar against the Taiwanese currency, Taiwan's central bank explicitly denied this. Emily Fang and Peer News. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson will discuss President Trump's tariffs this weekend with Chinese economic officials in Switzerland. Besson says the goal is to de-escalate the trade situation with China. For the second time in just over a week, a U.S. fighter jet assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman has been lost in the Red Sea.

The F-A-18 Super Hornet failed to land on the deck after an equipment failure. The jet tumbled into the water. The crew aboard ejected safely. Last week, another fighter jet was being towed aboard the Truman when it fell overboard. This is NPR. On the next Thru Line from NPR. For the presidency, I'm indebted to almighty God. I'm in charge of the country and I need to serve all the American people

and not just the political machine. The origins of the modern civil service. Listen to Thru Line wherever you get your podcasts.