NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

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Starting in the 1950s, there was a push to get meat onto Americans' plates at every meal. So you would have breakfast with maybe perhaps sausage offered. You'd have lunch where it would be deli meat sandwiches. And you'd have dinner that would center over a large cut of meat. The hidden forces behind our everyday decisions. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmelea Lange. President Trump writes, quote, 80 percent tariff on China seems right, up to Scott B. The president on Truth Social Today likely referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.

Besant and U.S. Trade Representative James O'Greer are scheduled to meet with the top Chinese economic official in Geneva this weekend. It's the first known dialogue between the two countries since Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent, escalating a trade war with China. NPR's Emily Fang says the weekend talks could be a chance for both sides to cool off, though China said it is prepared to fight the US levies to the end. They feel pretty confident, but tariffs are also hurting China. You know, it's been only a few weeks. At the same time, though, Beijing has been preparing for just such an economic standoff with the US for years. They've been shoring up their supply chains this week.

They just denounced monetary changes to cushion themselves economically a bit from, among other things, tariffs. NPR's Emily Fang reporting businesses in the United Kingdom are trying to figure out what a new U.S.-U.K. trade deal means for them. President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a deal yesterday but gave few details and have not signed anything publicly yet. We have more on this from NPR's Lauren Frayer in London. Stocks are up in British car companies, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, after officials said this deal cuts U.S. tariffs on most British cars. They said it also eliminates tariffs completely

for British steel and aluminum and cuts UK tariffs on ethanol from the U.S. But President Trump said other details are still being written up. For example, it's unclear whether U.K. tariffs on ethanol from the U.S. But President Trump said other details are still being written up. For example, it's unclear whether U.S. e-commerce firms like Amazon will get a break from the U.K. digital services tax. Speaking at a conference in Iceland, the head of the U.K.'s central bank calls the deal good news, but points out tariffs are still higher than before Trump took office. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. A new report from a consumer advocacy group examines how Elon Musk's businesses

might benefit from the Trump administration's downsizing of the federal government. Musk is the architect of Trump's cost-cutting entity known as DOGE. More from NPR's Bobby Allen. The group Public Citizen says in a new report that, quote, the wealthiest man in the world is working to dismantle the very same federal departments and agencies tasked with overseeing and placing checks on his businesses. The organization's analysis finds that Elon Musk has a direct business interest in at least 70% of the departments Doge has targeted for cuts, including laying off transportation

regulators who would oversee Tesla's autonomous vehicles and layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates Musk's brain implant company Neuralink. The group says Musk's SpaceX and X could benefit from additional Doge cuts. Musk did not return a request for comment. Bobby Allen, NPR News. From Washington, this is NPR. Elon Musk's social media platform X says the Indian government wants it to block more than 8,000 accounts or local staff could be jailed. As of this reporting, NPR's Omkar Khandekar says Indian authorities had not yet formally responded to the statement. The global communications team for X issued a statement overnight saying that it had received orders to block thousands of its users including news organizations. It did not name any of them. It came after India blocked dozens of Pakistani news websites and public figures online.

After it accused Pakistan of an attack that killed 26 civilians in April. It also ordered streaming services to remove Pakistani songs and films. X is currently fighting a case in India against the government's orders to censor its users. Omkar Khandekar, NPR News, Mumbai. Meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce says Secretary Marco Rubio has spoken with both leaders of India and Pakistan in a bid to diffuse tensions between the nuclear armed neighbors. Secretary Rubio, Secretary of State for India and Pakistan, India, and Pakistan, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India,

India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India,

India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India,, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India,. On Tuesday, India carried out airstrikes on Pakistan for what the country says was a response to a terror attack on Indian-controlled Kashmir last month that killed 26 civilians. Pakistan called India's strike an act of war. U.S. stocks trading lower with the Dow now down 112 points. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. 12 Points, I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.