NPR News: 05-04-2026 9PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump touted his economic agenda at a White House small business summit today. As NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports, Americans' outlook on the economy and Trump's handling of it have declined as the war with Iran has dragged on.
Trump has continually said the war in Iran would not last more than six weeks. Now his message to Americans is that the war isn't lasting as long as other conflicts.
Went to like, what, six weeks? They said, well, it's taking so long. We were in Vietnam 19 years.
We were in Iraq for many years, 10 years, 12 years.
In the meantime, Trump's approval rating on his handling of the economy has declined, even among his supporters. Trump also lamented that the Supreme Court ruled against him on many of his tariff policies. He insisted that his tariff policies made the U.S. rich, but the U.S. government is now paying businesses back billions of dollars after the court said Trump's tariffs were unconstitutional. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News, the White House.
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed off on a new congressional map today. As Douglas Soule of member station WUSF reports, it comes as President Trump is pushing GOP-led states to secure more Republican House seats.
The map adds four Republican-leaning districts, meaning the state could send 24 GOP members and only four Democrats to the U.S. House. Several states have now redistricted in a contest for the House majority. But in Florida, voters amended their constitution in 2010 to block political gerrymandering. Soon after DeSantis signed the map, a voting rights group and a number of state voters filed a lawsuit alleging that's exactly what's happening. DeSantis has said the courts will rule in his favor, setting up a legal showdown with major implications for this year's midterm elections. For NPR News, I'm Douglas Soule in Tallahassee.
Lawmakers in some other Southern Republican-led states, including Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana, are also meeting this week to consider redistricting plans after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act. A new bill in Congress aims to stop companies from profiting off of military disability payments. NPR's Kayleigh Fox Shannon reports.
It's a notoriously difficult process for veterans to claim disability benefits with the VA. Nonprofits help vets do it for free, but a massive industry has emerged that charges huge fees. Former Marine Enrique Miranda Cardenas got a bill for $12,000. I said, don't be hounding me for stuff. I said, and I don't feel that it's right for me to pay you what you're claiming that I need to pay. A new bipartisan bill in Congress aims to stop these companies from using robo-dialers to flood the VA benefits hotline. That's after an NPR investigation found that so-called claim sharks use vets' personal information to access VA systems.
NPR's Kayleigh Fox Shannon reporting. You're listening to NPR News. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalized with pneumonia. A spokesperson says the 81-year-old is in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital. He says his condition was exacerbated by restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. The hotel industry in the U.S. is facing a major problem with only weeks to go before the start of the World Cup. Bookings are running far below expectations. NPR's Raphael Nam reports.
The World Cup was seen as a big deal in the hotel industry. The tournament is being staged this summer across the US, Canada, and Mexico, with 11 American cities hosting games. But an industry survey from the American Hotel and Lodging Association shows that nearly 80% of hotels in host cities are saying bookings are running below projections. For some cities, it gets even worse. Kansas City says that 85 to 90 percent of hotels report bookings are softer than anticipated. In fact, they are actually running even below a typical June or July. By contrast, hotels in both Miami and Atlanta report a much stronger number of bookings.
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