NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

NPR News: 05-09-2025 10AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Look, we get it. When it comes to new music, there is a lot of it, and it all comes really fast. But on All Songs Considered, NPR's music recommendation podcast, we'll handpick what we think is the greatest music happening right now and give you your next great listen. So kick back, settle in, get those eardrums wide open, and get your dose of new music from All Songs Considered, only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. The U.S. Supreme Court says that former Justice David Souter died at the age of 85. Souter was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and won Republican backing.

But Souter surprised many by often siding with liberal justices. Souter retired in 2009. Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first mass of his new papacy today in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. The Vatican says he will be officially installed in a mass on Sunday, May 18th. Russia is marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany

in World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to crowds gathered in Moscow. Today, all of us are united by feelings of joy and sadness, of pride and gratitude. We bow our heads to the generation that crushed the Nazism. At the cost of millions of lives, they want peace and freedom for the whole of humanity. He was heard here through a BBC interpreter, but Putin's remarks are being overshadowed

by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Trump administration is officially granting refugee status to more than 50 white South Africans. As Kate Bartlett reports, they're expected to begin arriving in the U.S. next week. The group of white South Africans could arrive at Dulles Airport as early as Monday, three sources with knowledge of the matter told NPR, which has also seen an email confirming the arrangements. The sources all work for the U.S. government, so did not want to be named out of fear of retribution. This comes just three months after President Trump signed an executive order claiming Afrikaners faced persecution in South Africa and could apply

for refugee status in the United States. Afrikaners are the descendants of mainly Dutch colonists. The South African government says there is no evidence they are being persecuted and has accused the US administration of being taken in by disinformation. For NPR News, I'm Kate Butler in Johannesburg. Stocks opened higher this morning as the U.S. and China prepare for trade talks. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow's up about 100 points. U.S. officials will be meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Geneva this weekend. In a social media post this morning, President Trump floated the idea of reducing the tariff

on Chinese goods from 145 to 80%. That would still be a much higher import tax than the US has typically levied. China says exports to the US dropped more than 20% last month after Trump intensified his trade war. China found other markets for its products, however. The country's overall exports continue to climb. The trade war is keeping some international travelers from visiting the U.S. The travel website Expedia says bookings to the U.S. from Canada have dropped by nearly

30 percent. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News. A federal judge holds a hearing today in Vermont for a Tufts University doctoral student. The Trump administration is seeking to deport Rameza Ozturk. A federal appeals court has already ordered the administration to take Ozturk out of detention in Louisiana and move her to Vermont while her case is decided. Ozturk has not been charged with any crime.

She published an essay criticizing her university over the war in Gaza. Some states are passing new laws that make it harder for voters to place issues on their ballots. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports Republican lawmakers leading these efforts say they are working to reduce fraud. Kelly Hall is with the Fairness Project, a group that uses ballot measures to pass economic and social justice policies. She says laws limiting citizen-led ballot initiatives

are not new, but her group is seeing more of them this year than ever before. That is in no small measure, I think, a response to the high-profile nature of reproductive rights ballot measures. Republican-led governments in Arkansas and Florida have already passed such laws, which they say prevents groups misleading voters and fraud. Both states had citizen-led efforts last year aimed at getting abortion rights protections passed through ballot measures.

The new restrictions in both states are also being challenged in court. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. India and Pakistan have continued to attack each other. They've used drones, projectiles, and military aircraft. They've struck areas that have not been hit in about half a decade. India began the latest round saying it was retaliating for the killing of 26 tourists. I'm Corva Kuhlman, NPR News. Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.