NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

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You're listening to the NPR Network. Live from NPR News, I'm Lachie. A living, breathing record of your neighborhood, the country, the world. Told by thousands of local journalists who live in the places where stories unfold. Backed by a national newsroom that puts it all in perspective. Hear the whole country's story.

Hear ways of thinking that challenge your own. Hear the bigger picture with NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump has complicated the question of how high he wants tariffs on Chinese goods to go, suggesting lowering those taxes from 145 to 80 percent. That announcement comes as top U.S. economic officials prepare to meet with their Chinese counterparts and peers Daniel Kurzleben has more. In a morning social media post, President Trump wrote, quote, 80 percent tariff on China seems right, up to Scott Bee, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is meeting with Chinese economic officials this weekend about tariffs. White House Press Secretary

Caroline Levitt addressed the president's post. The president still remains with his position that he is not going to unilaterally bring White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt addressed the president's post. Caroline Levitt, White House Press Secretary, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York

Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New

Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New Times, New York Times, New York Times, New Yorkleben, NPR News, The White House. Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has died. The Republican appointee from New Hampshire became a favorite of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, often voting with them on issues like abortion, church-state relations, freedom of expression, and the accessibility of federal courts. Justice Souter retired from the bench in 2009 with then-President Barack Obama on C-SPAN, praising him as a fair-minded and independent jurist.

He came to the bench with no particular ideology. He never sought to promote a political agenda. And he consistently defied labels and rejected absolutes, focusing instead on just one task, reaching a just result in the case that was before him. Souter's retirement gave Obama his first Supreme Court vacancy to fill, Obama appointing Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Former Justice David Souter was 85 years old. Newly elected Pope Leo XIV

celebrated his first public mass as head of the Catholic Church this morning at the Vatican. MPR's Jason DeRose reports from Rome. The Bible readings for the mass in the Sistine Chapel were in English, Spanish, and Latin. Two of them read by women. Pope Leo began his homily in English before switching to Italian. I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done,

the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out upon all of us. He preached on the story from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus tells the disciple Peter that he will build his church upon him, the rock. The sermon went on to warn of the dangers of practical atheism, the idea that one leads one's life

without concern about God. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. The Vatican says Leo will be formally installed as the next pope at a mass on Sunday, May 18th. Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street today. The Dow was down 119 points. You're listening to NPR. The Pentagon, under the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth, is calling for all

military leaders and commands to review any library books that address diversity, racism, or gender issues by later this month and essentially pull those it finds from the shelves. As we're going to a memo out today, the move follows similar efforts to remove such materials from libraries at military academies. The social media platform X is claiming the Indian government threatened to jail its employees if it did not block more than 8,000 accounts. Indian authorities have so far not commented on the claim. NPR's Omkar Khandekar reports. 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. Scientists say two wooden spears found in Germany made of spruce and pine may be younger than scientists first thought and could have been used by Neanderthals instead of their ancestors. Previous estimates had

dated the spears to 300,000 years ago, but new analysis indicates they're not that old, but still could be among the oldest known hunting weapons. The finding was published in the journal Science Advances. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.