NPR News: 04-17-2025 9AM EDT

Summary

NPR News Now: April 17, 2025, 9 AM EDT

NPR News Now delivers the latest headlines in five minutes, updated hourly. This summary captures the key stories discussed in the April 17, 2025, episode, providing insights and notable quotes to keep you informed.

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1. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen Advocates for Wrongfully Deported U.S. Citizen in El Salvador

Reporter: Korva Coleman
Timestamp: [00:16]

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is actively working to secure the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a U.S. citizen who was mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison. Despite his efforts, Salvadoran Vice President has denied his request to visit Garcia.

Notable Quotes:

• Chris Van Hollen: "I may be the first United States senator to visit El Salvador on this issue, but there will be more and there will be more members of Congress coming." (00:47)

Van Hollen challenges the current administration's stance, emphasizing that Garcia was granted protection from deportation by a judge in 2019. He asserts that the deportation was a mistake acknowledged in legal proceedings and calls for the facilitation of Garcia's return.

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2. Whistleblower Raises Concerns Over DOGE's Activities at Federal Agency

Reporter: Jenna McLaughlin
Timestamp: [01:22]

A whistleblower from the IT department of a small independent federal agency has raised alarms about DOGE's (Department of Governmental Efficiency) activities. Anonymous sources revealed that DOGE requested high-level access rights before significant data removal from the system.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna McLaughlin: "The NLRB told NPR that it never authorized access to the systems." (01:36)

Subsequently, DOGE representatives visited the agency's headquarters, and two DOGE officials began part-time work at the agency. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) plans to comply with DOGE's requests while ensuring the removal of personal data from records.

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3. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Addresses Impact of New Tariffs

Reporter: Korva Coleman
Timestamp: [02:20]

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed the need for clearer understanding of the effects stemming from President Trump's new tariffs. Speaking in Chicago, Powell highlighted the potential for tariffs to cause a temporary rise in inflation, with possibilities of more persistent effects depending on various factors.

Notable Quotes:

• Jerome Powell: "Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation. The inflationary effects could also be more persistent." (02:33)

President Trump has criticized Powell's assessment, asserting that the U.S. is benefiting financially from the tariffs and dismissed Powell's insights as "too late and wrong." Trump further expressed frustration, stating, "The Fed chair's termination cannot come fast enough." (02:56)

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4. Humanitarian Crisis Intensifies in Gaza Amid Blocked Relief Efforts

Reporter: Korva Coleman

Relief organizations are raising alarms over worsening conditions in Gaza, where Israel has blocked all relief supplies for six weeks. The United Nations reports a significant increase in acute malnutrition among Gaza's residents, with a troubling decline in the number of Palestinian children receiving therapeutic feeding.

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5. Trump Administration Freezes Critical Funds for Native American Tribes

Reporter: Nate Perez
Timestamp: [03:50]

Despite over 20 tribes and nonprofits being awarded approximately $350 million to address essential infrastructure needs under the EPA's Community Change Grants, the Trump administration has frozen these funds. Originating from the Inflation Reduction Act, these grants were pivotal for projects like replacing contaminated homes in Alaska's Tionic native village.

Notable Quotes:

• Vaide Croto (Tabona Foundation): "Everything is in limbo and the bills still come in. The rent still comes in." (04:13)

The EPA is currently reviewing the Community Change grants to assess their alignment with the administration's priorities, leaving many tribes uncertain about their funding status.

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6. Spotify Experiences Brief Service Outage Amidst User Complaints

Reporter: Korva Coleman
Timestamp: [04:38]

Spotify faced a temporary outage yesterday, disrupting access to music and podcasts for thousands of users. While the service has been restored, Spotify has not disclosed the cause of the disruption. The company has denied reports suggesting that the outage was due to a hacking incident.

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Stay Informed: For comprehensive updates and more stories, listen to NPR News Now regularly.

Transcript

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[Korva Coleman]

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen is in El Salvador. He says that Salvadoran officials have refused his request to release a man mistakenly deported from Maryland to a Salvadoran prison. NPR's Claudia Grisales has more.

[Chris Van Hollen]

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said the Salvadoran vice president also refused his request visit with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Regardless, Van Hollen said more U.S. officials will travel to fight for his release.

I may be the first United States senator to visit El Salvador on this issue, but there will be more and there will be more members of Congress coming.

Van Hollen argued against the administration's claims that Avrigo Garcia has ties to gang activity. He was granted protection from deportation by a judge in 2019. The administration admitted in legal proceedings the deportation was a mistake, but if since refused a Supreme Court decision upholding an order, they must facilitate the man's return. Jorge Grizales, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

A day after NPR broke the story on a whistleblower's concerns about Doge's activities at his federal agency, several Doge representatives visited that agency's headquarters. NPR's Jenna McLaughlin has more.

[Daniel Baroulis]

In recent days, a whistleblower working in the IT department of a small independent federal agency filed an official disclosure with Congress and spoke to npr. Daniel Baroulis works for the National Labor Relations Board, which protects employees rights to unionize. He says DOGE requested the highest level access right before a large chunk of data was removed from the system. The NLRB told NPR that it never authorized access to the systems. Then, a day later, senior officials at NLRB sent an email obtained by NPR revealing that Doge had made its first official visit to the agency and that two DO representatives will be working there part time. NLRB says they will comply with Doge's requests but will remove personal data from records before sharing them. Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank needs more clarity on the effects of President Trump's new tariffs. Speaking in Chicago, Powell says that at some point consumers will feel their effects, too.

[Jerome Powell]

Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation. The inflationary effects could also be more persistent. Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices and ultimately, on keeping longer term inflation expectations well anchored, President Trump is vexed.

[Korva Coleman]

Writing online, Trump claims that Powell is too late and wrong. Trump claims the US Is getting rich on tariffs, but he cited no evidence. The president also says that the Fed chair's termination cannot come fast enough. You're listening to NPR News. Relief groups are increasingly alarmed at conditions in Gaza. Israel has been blocking all relief supplies to the Palestinian enclave for the past six weeks. The UN Says there's a rise in acute malnutrition among Gaza residents. The number of Palestinian children who participate in therapeutic feeding programs has been slashed by two thirds. More than 20 tribes and nonprofits across the country were awarded around $350 million to address critical infrastructure needs. But NPR's Nate Perez reports the Trump administration has frozen those funds.

[Nate Perez]

The money came from the EPA's Community Change Grants, funded through the country's first significant climate policy, the Inflation Reduction Act. The tabona foundation received $20 million to replace homes contaminated with asbestos and lead for the native village of Tionic in Alaska. The foundation's executive director, Vaide Croto, says that money would have changed people's lives.

[Vaide Croto]

Everything is in limbo and the bills still come in. The rent still comes in.

[Nate Perez]

Now dozens of tribes don't know if or when they will have funds that were awarded to them under the Biden administration. The EPA spokesperson, Molly Vaslou says that Community Change grants are under review to see how they align with the administration's priorities. Nate Perez, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

Audio streaming service Spotify was out briefly yesterday. Thousands of users said they could not stream music or podcasts. Spotify said service was restored. It hasn't said what caused the outage, but denied reports that the service was hacked. This is npr.

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