NPR News: 04-28-2025 1PM EDT

Summary

NPR News Now: April 28, 2025, 1PM EDT

Host: NPR
Release Date: April 28, 2025

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1. President Trump's 100-Day Milestone and Immigration Policies

As President Donald Trump's 100th day in office approaches, his administration is intensifying efforts to address illegal immigration in the United States. The White House is spotlighting recent actions aimed at curbing unauthorized entries and enhancing deportation processes.

Operation Tidal Wave: At a recent briefing, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt discussed the outcomes of Operation Tidal Wave, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative in Florida. The operation resulted in the arrest of nearly 800 individuals residing illegally in the U.S.

“Operation Tidal Wave is a preview of what is to come around this country, large scale operations that employ our state and local enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.”
— Caroline Levitt, White House Press Secretary [00:49]

Executive Actions on Border Security: President Trump is also set to sign two executive actions focused on strengthening border security. One of these actions specifically targets sanctuary cities—jurisdictions that have enacted laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

These measures signify a strategic collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to enhance the effectiveness of immigration enforcement nationwide.

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2. Ukraine’s Stance on Crimea Amid U.S. Peace Efforts

In the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, President Trump has indicated a willingness to reconsider Ukraine’s stance on Crimea—a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains steadfast in his refusal to relinquish claims over the region without a legally binding referendum.

Zelenskyy's Position: Joanna Kakisis of NPR News in Kyiv elaborates on Ukraine's legal and political constraints regarding Crimea.

“Ukraine cannot legally recognize the Russian takeover without changing its constitution, which requires a referendum.”
— Joanna Kakisis, NPR News [01:08]

Indigenous Rights and International Law: Artem Chigoz, a member of Ukraine's parliament and a Crimean Tatar, emphasized the importance of upholding international law and protecting indigenous populations.

“Russians persecute Crimean Tatars. President Trump and his team cannot ignore international law. He said he cannot ignore the indigenous Crimean people.”
— Artem Chigoz, Ukrainian Parliament Member [01:48]

Zelenskyy's unwavering stance highlights the complexities of negotiating a peace deal that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the rights of its indigenous citizens.

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3. Massive Power Outage Disrupts Spain and Portugal

A significant power failure has affected millions across Spain and Portugal, leading to widespread disruptions in transportation and communication systems. Efforts to restore electricity are currently underway, albeit the cause of the outage remains unidentified.

Restoration Efforts: Danny Eberhard from the BBC reports on the progress being made to bring power back online.

“The network operated in Spain is talking about six to 10 hours before services are resumed.”
— Danny Eberhard, BBC [02:46]

In Spain, power restoration has commenced in certain northern and southern regions, while southwest France has seen an end to interruptions. A brief disruption also occurred in Andorra. The situation remains fluid as utility companies work diligently to restore full services.

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4. Atlanta Falcons' Prank Call Incident During NFL Draft

An incident involving the Atlanta Falcons has captured significant attention during the NFL draft, where a prank call was made to quarterback Shadour Sanders, altering the narrative surrounding his draft status.

Details of the Prank Call: Alex Helmick from WABE in Atlanta provides an in-depth look into the incident.

Shadour Sanders, a highly touted quarterback from the University of Colorado and the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, experienced an unexpected decline in draft projections—from a first-round pick to the fifth round. During this period, Sanders received a phone call purportedly from the New Orleans Saints' general manager.

A video of the call surfaced online, showing a young man falsely claiming that the Saints intended to draft Sanders. Investigations revealed that the call originated from defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrook's 21-year-old son, who had access to Sanders's phone number through an unsecured iPad.

“The Falcons and Ulbricht have apologized to Sanders, who dismissed the call, saying it didn't impact him.”
— Alex Helmick, WABE Atlanta [03:43]

The Falcons have formally apologized for the prank, acknowledging the unintentional nature of the call and its potential impact on Sanders's draft experience.

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5. Washington Commanders' Relocation to the Nation’s Capital

The Washington Commanders have announced plans to relocate back to Washington, D.C., marking a significant development in the team's history and the city's sports landscape.

New Stadium Plans: In collaboration with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Commanders have unveiled a deal for a new roof stadium to be constructed on the city's RFK campus, projected to open in five years.

“The Commanders are calling it the single largest private investment in D.C. history.”
— Lakshmi Singh [04:29]

Financial Commitments: The team is committed to investing at least $2.7 billion into the project, while the District of Columbia will contribute $500 million. This partnership underscores the mutual benefits anticipated from the stadium's development, including economic growth and enhanced local infrastructure.

Currently, the Commanders play their home games in Landover, Maryland. The move to D.C. represents a return to the nation's capital, aligning the team more closely with its historical roots and fanbase.

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6. U.S. Stock Markets Experience Decline

In the financial sector, U.S. stocks are experiencing a downturn, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 145 points at the time of this report.

Note: Further details on the causes and future implications of the market movement are anticipated in subsequent updates.

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This summary provides an overview of the key news stories covered in the NPR News Now episode released on April 28, 2025, at 1PM EDT.

Transcript

[NPR Host]

Imagine, if you will, a show from NPR that's not like npr, a show that focuses not on the important but the stupid, which features stories about people smuggling animals in their pants, incompetent criminals and ridiculous science studies. And call it Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me because the good names were taken. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Yes, that is what it is called, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi singh. As President Trump's 100th day in office approaches, his White House is emphasizing his actions to combat illegal immigration in the U.S. nPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports. Today the White House said state and local law enforcement will be a key part of deportations moving forward.

[Caroline Levitt]

At a briefing, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt addressed last week's Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Florida, Operation Tidal Wave. She said it resulted in the arrests of nearly 800 people in the US illegally.

Operation Tidal Wave is a preview of what is to come around this country, large scale operations that employ our state and local enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.

Today, Trump is expected to sign two executive actions related to border security, including one that will target sanctuary cities, jurisdictions with laws that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.

[Lakshmi Singh]

The president says Ukraine is open to giving up rights to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. But as NPR's Joanna Kisses tells us, Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has made clear he will not concede the region in exchange for a quick peace deal pushed by the Trump administration.

[Joanna Kakisis]

Russia seized Crimea 11 years ago and then armed and assisted Kremlin allied separatists in occupying parts of eastern Ukra. Ukraine cannot legally recognize the Russian takeover without changing its constitution, which requires a referendum. Zelensky has said repeatedly that he will not recognize an occupied territory as part of Russia. Artem Chigoz, a member of Ukraine's parliament, is a Crimean Tatar, the indigenous people of Crimea. He told NPR that Russians persecute Crimean Tatars. President Trump and his team cannot ignore international law. He said he cannot ignore the indigenous Crimean people. Joanna Kakisis, NPR News, Kyiv.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Millions of people in Spain and Portugal are facing disruptions from a massive power failure across the peninsula. The outage has severely affected transport and communications systems. The BBC's Danny Eberhard has more.

[Danny Eberhard]

The operators of the electric networks are are starting to restore power in some areas. So for example, in Spain, they're saying that power is starting to be restored to parts of the north and the south. In southwest France, they say that the interruptions have stopped. Andorra was a brief disruption. So already there are plans to put these back into place. But the network operated in Spain is talking about six to 10 hours before services are resumed. And of course, at the moment we do not know why this happened.

[Lakshmi Singh]

The BBC's Danny Eberhard. It's NPR News. The Atlanta Falcons say a coach's son was responsible for a prank call to football player Shadour Sanders as his failure to be picked in the first round became one of the biggest stories of the NFL draft. From member station WABE in Atlanta, Alex Helmick has details.

[Alex Helmick]

Sanders was projected a top pick in the NFL draft. He was a star quarterback at college Colorado and his son to hall of Famer Deion Sanders. His unexplained fall from projected first round to fifth round took over the draft. And during the slide, he got a phone call from allegedly the Saints general manager. In a now viral video, a young man is shown saying the Saints would draft Sanders next. It was a prank. The Falcons say defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrook's 21 year old son unintentionally found Sanders's phone number on an open iPad while visiting his parents home. A friend of his made the call. The Falcons and Ulbricht have apologized to Sanders, who dismissed the call, saying it didn't impact him. For NPR News, I'm Alex Helmick in Atlanta.

[Lakshmi Singh]

The Washington Commanders are relocating back to the nation's capital. Today, the commanders and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser announced a deal on a new roof stadium slated to open on the city's RFK campus in five years. The Commanders are expected to put up at least $2.7 billion. The District of Columbia agrees to invest 500 million. The commanders are calling it the single largest private in D.C. history. The Washington Commanders currently play home games in Landover, Maryland. U.S. stocks trading lower this hour. The Dow's down 145 points. This is NPR.

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