NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-10-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: May 10, 2025

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Sean Combs was at the forefront of hip hop music and fashion, but now he's on trial for sex crimes. This weekend on the Sunday story from Up First, a look at the legacy of Sean Combs and how he protected it for years. There's a culture of fear and silence that really surrounded Combs for decades, and it's what allowed him to maintain control of his public image. The rise and dramatic fall of Sean Combs, that's on the next Sunday story from up first. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump is sending a missive to Russia and Ukraine. I have a message for both parties. Get this war ended. Trump speaking to reporters

in the Oval Office yesterday in a social media post, Ukraine's foreign minister, said Trump got on the phone this morning with President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland. They're in Ukraine today to show solidarity and to push for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Foreign Minister Andrzej Sabija said their conversation with Trump focused on peace efforts and was fruitful. Today marks the final day of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's self-declared three-day ceasefire. Officials from the US and China have begun

meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva this morning. Willem Marx reports on the first time the two sides have sat down for in-person talks since President Trump raised tariffs on some Chinese goods to as high as 145 percent, leading Beijing to retaliate. After weeks of frazzled financial markets and sometimes angry rhetoric, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besson is meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Het-Le-Feng beside Lake Geneva's sunny shoreline. Besson said these talks came about almost by chance since both countries' trade delegations were visiting this alpine nation known for its political neutrality.

He said he hopes productive talks could prompt some de-escalation in a trade war that's seen billions of dollars worth of Chinese products prevented from entering the US thanks to President Trump's prohibitively high import taxes. The Chinese say they expect to be treated with respect. Experts say a resolution could take months and many more rounds of talks like this. For NPR News, I'm Villamarks in Geneva. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that investors will be keeping an eye on the trade talks in Geneva this weekend after stocks ended the week in the red following the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady.

President Trump floated the possibility of cutting the triple-digit tariff on Chinese imports, but the 80% import tax he suggested replacing it with would still be much higher than the U.S. has charged in the past. Investors were also disappointed by a tentative trade deal with the UK that would leave 10% tariffs on most British goods in place. The Federal Reserve warned on Wednesday that high tariffs increased the risk of pushing both inflation and unemployment up, so the central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged while waiting to see what happens. For the week the Dow lost about

two-tenths of a percent, the Nasdaq lost about three-tenths, and the S&P 500 index lost close to half a percent. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. The U.S. is offering to mediate talks between India and Pakistan with the goal of ending hostilities sparked by last month's massacre in disputed Kashmir that India blames on Pakistan. The two traded missile strikes aimed at military targets today. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was urging a de-escalation and has offered U.S. assistance in starting what he called constructive talks to avoid future conflicts.

This is NPR. The Catholic Church's new Pope, Leo XIV, held his first formal audience today in which he signaled that he intends to follow in his predecessor's footsteps, saying the late Pope Francis left what he called a precious legacy that must be continued. He also identified artificial intelligence as one of the most critical issues facing the world. Leo is from the US and NPR's Jason Derose reports from Rome on how that fact might affect the relationship between the American church and the rest of Catholicism. American cardinals who participated in the conclave this week say they're hoping the fact that Pope Leo is from the US doesn't get in the way of Catholics viewing him as the leader

of the whole church. Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, describes the experience of conclave as one of bringing unity. All sense of those divisions within the world fell away. I felt we were looking at that moment into the souls of one another. McElroy hopes non-American and American Catholics alike can experience a similar profound sense of reconciliation especially in a world so marked by war as well as political and religious tribalism. Jason Derose, NPR News, Rome.

Political turmoil in South Korea is deepening after the embattled Conservative Party switched presidential candidates today with the election less than four weeks away. The election set for June 3rd follows the ouster of the Conservative former president, Yoon Sung-yol, over his attempt to impose martial law in December. I'm Gile Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington.