NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

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The scary new movie Sinners from the director of Black Panther finds Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers. It's got vampires, it's got great music, and it's a fun one to see with a big crowd. This is the most excited I've been about a movie in a very long time. We'll tell you why you should see Sinners on the biggest screen you can. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. The first American pope was elected on Thursday by secret ballot inside the Sistine Chapel. As NPR's Sarah Ventry reports, from the Vatican the crowd was shocked

when Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. The packed crowd of tens of thousands was audibly stunned when the identity of the new pope was revealed. Max Gleason is a 21-year-old Catholic American college student studying in Italy who came with two of his friends to find out who the new pope would be. I didn't know a whole lot about who was going to be the next pope. I didn't have a ton of guesses, but my one thought beforehand was like, it's just not going to be the American, but super excited. The new pontiff appeared emotional during his first public

appearance in his new position as the head of a church that serves 1.4 billion people worldwide. Sarah Ventry, N PR News at the Vatican. Catholics around the world are rejoicing over the election of a new pope, but perhaps nowhere more than in the United States. Pope Leo XIV has a missionary background and hails from South Suburban Chicago. As WBEZ's Anna Sovchenko reports. Father Gregory Sakowicz is the rector of the Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago, and he was giving communion when he learned from the congregation that Cardinal Robert Francis Privos was elected pope. Sakowitz said Cardinal Privos' earlier ministry in Peru shows that

he will be a voice for the voiceless. Pope Leo XIV, I'm going to say this, I think he's going to be very strong on the immigrant, human rights, and the earth, the care for the earth. He also said his nationality as an American pope doesn't define him as he's a child of God. For NPR News, Amanda Savchenko in Chicago. A federal court has struck down Alabama's congressional map saying it purposely discriminates

against black voters. The ruling comes in an ongoing voting rights case that resulted in the state getting a second black member of Congress. More from NPR's Debbie Elliott. A panel of three federal judges says the Alabama legislature intentionally drew its congressional district map to dilute black voting strength, which is unconstitutional and violates

the Voting Rights Act. The court enjoined the state from using the map in future elections. The ruling comes in a lawsuit that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed that Alabama's congressional map was discriminatory in a state where African Americans make up about a quarter of the population. Black voters who sued called the ruling a testament to the persistence of generations of black Alabamians who pursued political equality at great cost.

Debbie Elliott, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. President Trump has announced a trade deal with Britain. Trump says the U.S. will lower tariffs on steel and aluminum from Britain in exchange for increased beef and other farm exports to the U.K. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the deal will protect U.K. businesses and jobs. Details of the deal are still being finalized.

U.S. trade talks with China are set to begin this weekend. The United States and Ukraine are calling their deal on critical minerals and natural resources a win for both nations. As NPR's Joanna Kakissis reports from Kyiv, Ukrainian lawmakers still want more clarity on security guarantees for their nation. The deal will allow the U.S. to develop and profit from Ukraine's critical minerals and natural resources, while also investing in the country's reconstruction. Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko, who is also a colonel in Ukraine's armed forces, said he remains concerned that the deal does not have explicit security guarantees.

So this is an open question, he told NPR. Maybe these security guarantees are addressed elsewhere in separate technical agreements that we have not seen. Lawmakers added a paragraph saying that the deal would cover all Ukrainian territory, including Russian-occupied areas. Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv. Fox News host Janine Pirro has been tapped to serve as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

Pirro is a former judge who also served two decades as district attorney for Westchester County in New York. This is NPR News. John McHenry On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog and get to what's important in the news.