NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-11-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

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Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR Politics podcast makes politics a breeze. Every episode will break down the day's headlines into totally normal language and make sure that you walk away understanding what the day's news might mean for you. Take a deep breath and give politics another chance with the NPR Politics podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Hamas says it will release an Israeli-American captive in Gaza as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel.

U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witcoff is set to arrive in Israel tomorrow to work out the details. Sources tell NPR. NPR's Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. In a statement, Hamas said it had been holding secret talks with the U.S. for the last several days and that the captive Edan Alexander quote, will be released as part of the steps taken to establish a ceasefire. Alexander is a 21-year-old Israeli soldier with dual US-Israeli citizenship, who was captured in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. He's the last remaining American citizen held by Hamas and Gaza, who is believed to

still be alive. Hamas said his release would come as part of ceasefire efforts to open Gaza's border crossings and bring aid to Gaza after more than 10 weeks of an Israeli blockade. This comes shortly before President Trump departs for the region to visit Arab allies in the Gulf. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The White House says it's made substantial progress toward a trade agreement with China, and President Trump's top economic adviser says other trade deals are developing. NPR's Luke Garrett reports.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jameson Greer have two dozen trade deals in the works. That's what White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News on Sunday. Howard Lutnick has briefed me on about 24 deals that he and Jameson have been working on. And they all look a little bit like the UK deal, but each one is bespoke. And Lutnick tells CNN these trade deals would keep a tariff on foreign imports, also much like the recent deal with the United Kingdom. So we do expect a 10% baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future.

Lutnick provided no further details about these potential trade deals. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. At the Vatican, newly elected Pope Leo called for peace from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square today. NPR's Jason DeRose reports. Pope Leo's speech in Italian. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War.

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The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War. The Second World War in pieces something the late Pope Francis often said he called for an authentic Just and lasting peace in Ukraine that prisoners be released and children be returned to their families And he said he was saddened by the continuing conflict in Gaza Calling for all hostages to be released and aid to be sent to the suffering civilian population

Leo gave thanks for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and said he hopes it leads to a lasting accord. He also closed his remarks by offering a greeting to all mothers since many countries today are celebrating Mother's Day. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. You as futures contracts are trading in positive territory. You're listening to NPR News. In positive territory, you're listening to NPR News. Two shipwrecks off the shore of Costa Rica were long thought to be sunken pirate vessels, but new research shows they were actually Danish ships carrying enslaved people.

And here's Jacob Finston reports, the findings suggest hundreds of Africans may have found freedom after the wreck. In the early 1700s, the ships were headed from Ghana to the Danish colony of St. Thomas and its brutal sugar plantations. They missed that island by more than a thousand miles. About a hundred of the enslaved people were sold to the Spanish, but the other 500 may have been freed.

Andreas Bloch is with the National Museum of Denmark. So they could have gone into the mountains. they could have joined with the Mosquito Indians, with the British. So we really don't know where the remaining 500 went. Block and the other researchers collected samples from the shipwrecks' cargo and were able to match them to materials unique to Denmark at the time. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. At the Weekend Box Office, the Marvel superhero movie, Thunderbolts, took the top spot with an estimated $33 million

in ticket sales in its second weekend. In second place, Sinners, with $21 million, so far has made more than $200 million domestically. In third place, a Minecraft movie with $8 million this weekend, that film has made more than $900 million around the world. In fourth place, The Accountant 2 with $6 million. And several new movies also open and wide release this weekend, but none seem to break through the noise. The biggest, the horror film Clown in a Cornfield with $3 million. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.