NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 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 Corva Coleman. Pope Leo XIV is celebrating his first official mass of his papacy at the Vatican. Amen. The new pope is celebrating the mass for the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals. Pope Leo speaks Italian, Spanish, and English. He later, during the mass, chose to speak to the Cardinals in English.

He told them that they have called him to carry the cross and to be blessed. Leo was selected yesterday by the Roman Cardinals. He is an American, and NPR's Jason DeRose says he is the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. Robert Prevost was born in Chicago and is 69 years old. While he's from the U.S., he spent much of his ministry elsewhere, serving as a missionary, pastor, bishop, and archbishop in Peru. Prior to his election, he told the official Vatican news agency

that church leaders should walk with their flock. The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them. Pope Leo has also been a Vatican administrator, working in the office that vets bishop appointments from around the world and serving on the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. President Trump calls the selection of the first American as pope a, quote, great honor.

Trump says he looks forward to meeting Pope Leo. The Trump administration has officially granted more than 50 white South Africans refugee status in the US. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg, the Afrikaners are expected to land in the US 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 US 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 U.S. administration of being taken in by disinformation. For NPR News, I'm Kate Butler in Johannesburg. India and Pakistan have continued to attack each other. They've used drones, projectiles, and military aircraft. They've hit areas that have not been struck in about half a decade.

About 50 people have now been killed. India began the latest round of fighting, saying it was retaliating for the killing of 26 tourists by militants. It's an attack it blames on Pakistan. Pakistan rejects this. This is NPR. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he wants to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. He's proposed an enormous plan that would overhaul the current technology now in

use. Duffy did not specify how much this would cost. It's believed it could be about 12 billion dollars, but a group of aviation experts says that it feels emergency funding is also needed. They think that extra funding is needed to be more than $18 billion. Over the last few weeks, California beachgoers have been treated to a beautiful marine life wonder. Hundreds of thousands of glittering sea creatures have washed ashore, and Pierre's Vanessa Romo reports on what they are and why they're

on the beach. The small creatures can grow up to four inches long and look like oval mini sailboats. Their gelatinous bases can range in color from a vibrant blue to purple with a transparent sail on top. That's what allows them to be blown across the surface of the open sea in huge numbers. Professor Matthew Bracken of the University of California Irvine says their arrival is part of the spring transition when winds shift from north to south. He says when you spot a Vilela what you're seeing is not a single organism. This is a large

colony with a whole bunch of individuals each specialized to a different purpose. With dangling tentacles they're related to jellyfish and Portuguese Man O' War. But Velelas are nowhere near as dangerous. Vanessa Romo, NPR News. Weather forecasters say the Los Angeles area will get a mini heat wave this weekend. They warn temperatures could rise to the high 90s through Saturday. I'm Korova Coleman, NPR News.