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

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

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These days, there's a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider This from NPR is a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world. Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR that Pakistani artillery fire damaged a Sikh temple and injured more than 40 civilians in Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir. The artillery barrage came after Indian missiles struck multiple locations in Pakistan. Long-simmering tensions between India and Pakistan have spiked since a group of gunmen

killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India blames Pakistan-based militant groups for the attack, and has said its missiles last night targeted the militants' training camps. Pakistan says India's strike mostly killed civilians, including women and children. Omkar Khandekar, NPR News, Mumbai. There are a lot of new tariffs in effect, or about to come online. Some of that cost is being eaten by exporters in other countries. NPR News, Mumbai. One of the people who responded is Sandy Alonzo. She ordered a replacement for her old wheelchair. Only China makes it. By the time it arrived in Tampa, she was facing a 145% tariff.

She ended up paying nearly $6,000. $3,500 in tariffs alone. I'm just sitting here going, wow, I can't believe I've just paid this much for this chair. Small businesses also sent in screenshots of new price hikes they've had to pass on to customers. They say sharing tariff data is a choice and sometimes a political one. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington. The new survey shows two-thirds of Americans who don't own a home say they are priced out of the market. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the research also finds fewer people plan to buy a home in the near future.

A Gallup survey finds just over half of non-homeowners do say they plan to buy in the next five to 10 years, but that's a major drop from a decade ago. Renters say the biggest reason by far is cost, including the down payment. Housing experts say spiking rents have made it harder to save up for that, plus mortgage rates and median home prices remain high.

Gallup does find fewer people expect home prices to rise in their area over the next year, but an overwhelming majority still say it's a bad time to buy a house. That negative shift happened in 2022, after decades when people in the United States were mostly positive about home buying. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington. Stocks ended a mostly choppy, tradie day on Wall Street, closing modestly higher. All three of the major indexes up on a day the Federal Reserve took no action on interest rates. The Dow rose 284 points, the NASDAQ was up 48 points, the S&P gained 24 points. This is NPR. Utah made national headlines for becoming the first state to ban

fluoride in public water systems earlier this year. That law goes into effect today. Utah seems to have set the stage for other states to follow Sage Mellon-River station KUER and Salt Lake City reports. Under the law, which is now in effect, Utah cities are no longer allowed to add fluoride to drinking water. The mineral is known for preventing cavities, but lawmakers in Utah's Republican supermajority argued there are more risks associated with fluoride than benefits. And removing fluoride is something that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has championed. Since Utah approved its ban, six other states have proposed doing the same. Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has championed. Since Utah approved its ban, six other states have proposed doing the same.

For NPR News, I'm Sage Miller in Salt Lake City. Law enforcement and judges in a number of states who have had to deal with repeat offenders when it comes to speeding violations may have a new tool in their arsenal. It's a device that can actually be installed to prevent a vehicle from accelerating far past the speed limit. Virginia has become the first state to approve the tool for reckless drivers. Similar measures are awaiting governor's signatures in Washington State and Georgia. Legislation was inspired by a Seattle crash where a teen traveling

at 112 miles an hour killed a woman and three children when he slammed into their minivan. He's serving a more than 17-year sentence, though will be required to use the device once he is freed on probation. Crude oil futures prices lost ground today as investors price in a buildup in gasoline inventories, oil down more than a dollar a barrel to settle at $58.07 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.