NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-08-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now, with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. Roman Catholic Cardinals meeting at the Sistine Chapel

are still deciding on the next pope. Black smoke rose from the chapel's chimney yesterday, indicating an inconclusive first vote on the successor to Pope Francis. White smoke would indicate a pope has been chosen. Pakistan's army says India launched a drone attack overnight targeting a military site near Lahore. A spokesman says several soldiers were wounded.

This comes a day after a missile attack by India killed more than two dozen people, something Pakistan's prime minister described as an act of war. North Korea has launched several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea. It marks Pyongyang's first missile launch in nearly two months. As NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, North Korea has been ramping up production of arms, some of which have been exported to Russia for use in Ukraine. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff says multiple missiles were launched from the east coast town of Wonsan.

They flew about 500 miles to the east towards Japan and landed in the sea. Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said his government had launched a stern protest with Pyongyang. It's North Korea's second missile launch under the second Trump administration. North Korea has not launched any long-range missiles capable of hitting the U.S. since last October. It has not tested a nuclear weapon since 2017. North Korean state media have recently reported on leader Kim Jong-un's visits to factories

producing tanks, warships and munitions. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. The House has given tentative approval to a plan for the federal government to sell thousands of acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada. As NPR's Kirk Sigler reports, the provision was added back into a budget bill sparking criticism from Democratic lawmakers. The amendment authorizes the sale of more than 10,000 acres of federal lands. Most of the proposed sale appears to be aimed at building housing outside Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada and St. George, Utah, which Republican Celeste Malloy represents. Many of the difficulties we face at a local level are of course related to the fact that the county is surrounded by

federal land. Malloy is related to the rancher Cliven Bundy, whose family led armed standoffs over control of federal lands. Democrats say the amendment that still requires a full house vote is part of a broader far-right plan for a wholesale transfer of federal public lands. Kirk Ziegler, NPR News. The Federal Reserve is leaving interest rates unchanged. The Fed wrapped up its latest policy meeting yesterday by keeping its key rates steady.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted the risks of inflation and unemployment moving higher have gone up. The Fed has kept rates unchanged for three consecutive meetings despite pressure from President Trump to lower them. This is NPR News. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is among officials from the Trump administration, preparing for high-level talks with a delegation from China. They're slated to meet this weekend in Geneva, Switzerland. Benson has described the talks as a precursor to potential negotiations over trade and tariffs.

Toyota is reporting record sales for the fiscal year that ended in March. Still, its latest quarterly earnings were down from the same period a year ago. The Japanese automaker says it remains concerned about the effects of President Trump sweeping tariffs on future earnings. Homeland Security Secretary Christine Noem was in Illinois yesterday where she criticized the governor and the state's sanctuary policies. Mawa Iqbal with member station WBEZ has more from Springfield. Flanked by Republican state lawmakers, Noem blasted Illinois sanctuary policies, which limit state, county, and local police cooperation with

federal immigration authorities. Governor Pritzker has created a sanctuary here for those criminals and invited them here with free health care, free housing, free assistance, and facilitated them being protected from being brought to justice. In a statement, Governor J.B. Pritzker defended the state's sanctuary status, saying Illinois quote, doesn't need to abuse power or ignore the constitution to keep our people safe. For NPR News, I'm Mawa Iqbal in Springfield, Illinois. Hockey fans in Utah have spoken. After multiple rounds of voting by fans, the state's NHL team has its permanent name,

the Utah Mammoth. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington.