Maria Aspin
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-27-2025 7PM EST
DeepSync says it spent less than $6 million training one of its AI models. That is incredibly cheap, especially in comparison to what we've heard from some established AI companies, which say they could spend up to a billion dollars training models. Now, DeepSeek says that it uses less advanced chips, but it's still been able to deliver this product that seems sophisticated and efficient.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-11-2025 4PM EDT
President Trump has long courted Wall Street's approval. During his first term, he regularly boasted about the stock market's performance, and he ran for the second presidency by promising investors many business-friendly policies. But now, Trump appears to be prioritizing the leverage power of tariffs above all else, including the stock market and the pain that a trade war would cause the U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-11-2025 4PM EDT
economy. He spooked investors over the weekend by declining to rule out a recession this year. The White House shrugged off the stock market's reaction, saying that the country is in, quote, a period of economic transition. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 8PM EST
President Trump is giving U.S. car companies one more month without his new tariffs. He's imposed 25 percent taxes on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, but he told the big three automakers that they will be exempt until April 2nd. The U.S. auto industry has been vocally opposed to Trump's tariffs.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 8PM EST
Car companies warn that they will create major disruptions to their North American supply chains, and analysts say the end result will be much higher prices for consumers. Shares of Ford, GM and other car companies rose after plunging earlier this week. However, the reprieve is still only temporary.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 8PM EST
According to the White House, Trump also warned automakers that they would need to start moving production to the United States. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
Investors, businesses, and consumers are all trying to process the implications of President Trump's newest sweeping tariff plan for the global economy. All of the major U.S. stock indices plummeted. Major household names, including Nike, Apple, and Amazon, lost billions of dollars in value.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
Trump has ordered a minimum 10 percent tax on nearly all imports starting this weekend, and much higher tariffs on goods from dozens of countries, including some of the United States' closest allies. Economists warn the new taxes will make consumers pay higher prices and weaken the broader U.S. economy. The investment bank J.P. Morgan is now warning that the tariffs, if sustained,
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
will push both the U.S. and the world into a recession. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-23-2025 7PM EST
The AI arms race has made NVIDIA into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Large tech companies are investing tens of billions into AI infrastructure, including NVIDIA's computing chips. But last month, a Chinese startup called DeepSeek rattled tech investors and made them question all this spending. After DeepSeek unveiled a lower-cost AI model, tech stocks plunged.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-23-2025 7PM EST
NVIDIA alone lost more than half a trillion dollars in market value, a record one-day loss. The company's shares have since mostly recovered. But investors will be watching NVIDIA's earnings for reassurance that demand for its chips remains high. and that the tech industry's AI spending will eventually pay off. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. This is NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-07-2025 3PM EDT
While colon cancer death rates overall have been falling, survivors still tend to have a shorter life expectancy than the general population. Researchers surveyed nearly 3,000 colon cancer patients about their exercise habits during and after treatment. Dr. Jeff Meyerhart of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says for patients who were three years cancer-free, exercise made a big difference.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-07-2025 3PM EDT
Even patients whose cancer recurred had improvements in survival if they were doing the equivalent of a brisk walk for about an hour a day on most days. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-04-2025 7PM EDT
About 60 percent of U.S. households own stocks, according to the Federal Reserve. And the market is where people usually have their retirement savings invested through 401ks or other retirement plans.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Well, President Trump has done and said a lot of different things about tariffs in the past week, and investors have been feeling the whiplash. Just to recap, Steve, Trump's new 25% taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect last week. Then he started giving out reprieves, first to automakers, then to Mexico, then to Canada. Yeah.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
But the fact that Trump actually let the tariffs go into effect was a big deal and showed they might be more than just a negotiating tactic. And he's continuing to talk about them happening long term, despite all the warnings about how much they could hurt the U.S. economy. This all really hit home on Sunday.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo aired an interview with Trump, and this was the bit that got everyone worried. Are you expecting a recession this year?
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
So Trump didn't rule out the possibility of a recession. Now, it's important to note that his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, did. He told NBC News in a different interview that there is, quote, no chance of a recession. But yesterday, Wall Street seemed to be listening to Trump, not Lutnick.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Well, one of the big concerns over tariffs is that they could really hike the prices consumers pay for everything from cars to groceries. That'll contribute to inflation and hurt the wider economy. And we've seen companies, including Target and Best Buy, warn that, yeah, tariffs are going to lead to higher prices. So that's a huge consideration for consumers and for consumer-facing businesses.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
And then, as you point out, Steve, all of the back and forth with tariff policy has created a lot of swings in the stock market. And that volatility makes it hard to plan for both consumers and investors. I talked about this last week with Ana Tavis. She's a management professor at NYU where she talks to executives across corporate America.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
And now we're starting to see that uncertainty creeping across our economy. For example, yesterday, Delta Airlines cut its forecast, citing reduced consumer and corporate confidence and economic uncertainty.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
So tech companies like Apple and Nvidia are some of the hottest stocks, so they're also the most expensive, and some of their losses may have just been investors realizing we're spending too much for what we're getting. But Trump's comments over the weekend really seem to signal a shift in how he thinks about the market.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
He used to really rely on the market's performance as a kind of proxy approval rating, and now he seems to be signaling that he's more focused on tariffs. even if the market is unhappy and even if they cause more immediate economic pain.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
Well, the Fed's interest rates set the bar for what consumers pay for all kinds of loans. Cars, credit cards, business loans, and lower rates mean, in general, lower loan prices for consumers. But yesterday, the Fed did exactly what had been expected. It held interest rates steady. And it also signaled that it's still on track to cut interest rates twice later this year.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
That said, a lot has changed in the last several weeks. President Trump has been implementing a very aggressive and very chaotic trade policy with these on-again, off-again tariffs against some of the country's largest trading partners. We've seen all this uncertainty hit consumers and businesses and stock market investors.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
And now the Fed is also saying that, yeah, it's dealing with more uncertainty around the economic outlook. The Fed isn't taking any major action yet, but it did say yesterday it's now expecting the economy to grow more slowly this year than it previously projected and inflation to grow faster.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
It says the underlying economy is still strong, unemployment remains low, and prices are still relatively stable compared to a couple of years ago. This is Chair Powell yesterday.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
Now, the Fed's job is to take the long-term view and to be steady. That becomes even more important in an uncertain environment. And Powell is also trying to maintain the Fed's independence from the White House at a time when President Trump wants to exert more control over independent agencies. So Powell is threading this needle of doing what's best for the overall economy.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
without perhaps provoking the White House to take action against him or the Fed.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
Powell was pretty mild in his comments overall, and that's kind of his job. As you know, some of the market sell-off we saw last week started when President Trump said he couldn't rule out a recession amid a lot of warnings about the economic damage his tariffs could do. And the argument Trump is making is that tariffs will be good for the U.S.
Up First from NPR
Fed Rates Pause, USIP Loses Case, Israel Restarts Gaza Ground Invasion
long term, and that will be worth any shorter-term pain. But most people don't really want to experience any pain, even if it does turn out to be shorter term. So when Powell emphasized yesterday that the U.S. economy is strong and prices aren't soaring up too much yet, at least for the day, that was a pretty reassuring message.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, last week was pretty terrible, but it's looking like this week may be even worse. By the end of last week, the Dow had fallen almost 8%, with the other major indices tumbling even further. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now in a bear market, meaning it's fallen more than 20% from a recent high. And it's looking like the pain will continue today.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
We'll get a clearer idea later this morning when U.S. markets open. But when the futures markets opened last night, meaning that traders could start putting in their orders to buy and sell, prices immediately turned red. By early this morning, Dow futures were down around 1,300 points or more than 3%. And it's not just stocks.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Oil futures are down and Bitcoin, which trades around the clock, is down below $77,000. Remember, it hit $100,000 not that long ago, weeks after President Trump was elected, on the industry's hopes for a more crypto-friendly president.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, Wall Street has been slow to speak out. But today or last night, billionaire fund manager and Trump supporter Bill Ackman, who endorsed the president during last year's election, has warned on X that the U.S. is destroying confidence in the U.S. as a place to do business. And he's called for a 90-day pause on tariffs to avoid what he calls economic nuclear war.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
And he is just one of many people sounding the alarm. NPR last night talked to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He says Wall Street is panicked.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
And he's hardly alone with that warning. The investment bank J.P. Morgan also warned last week that if Trump keeps the tariffs, they could push the U.S. and the world into a recession. Even if things don't get that bad, this current market sell-off could have real consequences and real pain for most consumers. About 60% of U.S.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
households own stocks, and a lot of people have their retirement accounts and other long-term savings invested in the market. And also, let's not forget, these new tariffs are widely expected to raise prices on almost everything that Americans import.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Trump has mostly shrugged it off. Yesterday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS that the tariffs are here to stay. And then last night, Trump was asked by reporters about how much pain he'd be willing to tolerate. And this is what he said.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
But while Trump is calling these sweeping tariffs medicine, almost everyone else is warning that they are bad for consumers, investors, businesses, and the global economy.
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Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, Texas health officials say the girl was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying health conditions. She was hospitalized after getting sick with measles, and she died from what doctors described as measles pulmonary failure, which basically means the lungs can't really provide enough oxygen anymore.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
You know, measles is a respiratory illness and it can often lead to serious lung complications, including pneumonia and super infections of the lung, as well as other complications like brain swelling. Vaccines work so well that many of us have forgotten just how devastating measles can be. This latest death serves as a terrible reminder.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, before the first measles vaccines were developed in the early 1960s, measles used to kill 400 to 500 people in this country every year. Even now, about one or two out of every 1,000 measles cases are fatal. I spoke with Dr. Adam Ratner. He's a pediatric infectious disease specialist in New York, and he is unfortunately not surprised by these fatalities.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Ratner says these are deaths that vaccines could prevent. And, you know, vaccination rates have been trending downwards nationwide for several years. He says especially in areas like Gaines County, Texas, where the outbreak is centered and where vaccination rates are just above 80 percent, that just sets the stage for outbreaks because measles is extraordinarily contagious.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, Secretary Kennedy traveled to Texas on Sunday. In a post on X, he said he went to console the family of the child who died. He said the CDC is deploying teams to Texas to help with the outbreak. And he called the measles vaccine, quote, the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles. And that is notable because in prior statements, he's called vaccines a personal choice.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
But in another post Sunday, Kennedy praised doctors' use of treatments that have no evidence to support them when it comes to measles. Meanwhile, President Trump was asked about the outbreak on Sunday night. He downplayed the size, but he said if it progresses, the U.S. will have to take what he called very strong action.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
And I should note that we are seeing these outbreaks at a time when the administration has moved to cut more than $11 billion in public health funding to states.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Well, so measles was declared eliminated in this country in 2000. But this year, we have five states where measles is currently spreading. In fact, the U.S. has already seen more than 600 measles cases this year. That's more than double the number of cases it reported in all of last year. And it's only April.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
My pleasure.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
Hey, good morning. So as you know, we've been seeing some big companies announcing for months that they're ending or changing their DEI programs. They include Walmart, Target, Amazon. And just this week, Google told employees that it's ending its hiring targets for underrepresented workers.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
But what I discovered this week is that many more big companies are backing away from the language of DEI without making a big announcement. I went digging into the new annual reports that companies have been publishing for their investors, and I compared them with what they were saying a year ago.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
And I found that this year, at least a dozen big companies have all deleted or softened the language they use to talk about diversity. These companies include GM, Intel, Disney, Pepsi, and Chipotle. Now, some of these companies wouldn't talk about these changes with me, so we don't know for sure why they've done this. We just know that they've stopped talking about DEI in public.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
But some of the companies did give me some clues.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
Well, there's a lot going on, but a few of these companies referred specifically to President Trump's new executive orders ending DEI in the federal government. These orders also threatened to sanction private companies that are federal contractors that have what Trump called illegal DEI programs. And Google, for example, is a federal contractor.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
A spokesperson this week told me that Google is evaluating the changes required by Trump's executive orders, and Google, I should note, is one of NPR's funders. Another company I talked to was 3M. It's that big conglomerate that makes Post-it notes and chemicals and a bunch of other stuff. It's also a federal contractor.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
3M also deleted some references to diversity from its latest annual report, and a spokesperson specifically mentioned the executive orders when he talked to me.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
So Trump's executive orders are definitely adding to the pressure, but corporate America was already facing a lot of pressure from critics of DEI who say that it is itself discriminatory. The bigger picture here is just that big companies are pretty risk-averse. I talked about this with Becky Baker, who's an employment lawyer with Finson & Elkins.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
She says that DEI was a really popular buzzword in corporate America five years ago, but now it's kind of politically toxic.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
So she's not surprised by the changes all of these companies are making, and she's expecting us to see a lot more.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
Yes and no. There are still some companies that are standing by their promises to pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion, and they're still talking about it using those words. For example, Costco said in its most recent annual report that promoting DEI is part of taking care of its employees.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again
And meanwhile, some of the people doing this work tell me that they hope that most companies are going to continue making their workplaces more inclusive for all employees. even if they're not using words and phrases like DEI.