NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-01-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

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Laxmi Singh, NPR News in Washington. The U.S. is hailing a landmark deal with Ukraine. Both countries have set up an investment fund to share profits from the sale of Ukraine's critical minerals and raw materials. NPR's Joannika Kisses reports from Kyiv the partnership gives the White House incentives to keep investing in Ukraine's defense and reconstruction from its war with Russia. Ukraine's economy minister, Yulia Svidenko, who led negotiations on the deal, said revenue for the investment fund would come from new licenses for critical raw materials and natural resources.

Volodymyr Londa of the Center for Economic Strategy in Kyiv said an earlier draft smacked of colonialism. The signed deal, he says, does not obstruct Ukraine's path to the European Union. It stipulates that the military and the financial assistance provided earlier will not be counted as debt. The deal does not provide explicit security guarantees, but the fund that can be used to finance new military aid to Ukraine. Joanna Kekesis, NPR News, Kiev. Big crowds this May Day are hitting the streets of major cities around the globe including Washington, DC to

call attention to the struggles and gains of the labor movement. In the US specifically many activists are targeting President Trump's policies including those affecting immigrants and federal workers. 22-year-old Isabella Cabrera traveled from New York to rally on the National Mall. I brought a sign that says they want to divide us, but we are stronger together. I believe fullheartedly in this because the division in the United States since Trump's re-election has been very tense. I can feel it when I walk out of my dorm and I can feel it when I step foot off campus. And I think that that is a fear tactic that the Trump administration is trying to instill in us.

Field reporting provided by NPR's Windsor Johnston. Well, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services has made steep cuts to staff and services. NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on a new poll. Thousands of federal health workers were fired on April 1st as part of a major reorganization at agencies like the NIH, the FDA, and the CDC. The nonpartisan health research organization KFF asked Americans in mid-April whether they agreed with the statement, quote, the administration is recklessly making broad cuts to programs and staff,

including some that are necessary for agencies to function. Six in 10 people said yes, including 92% of Democrats, while 87% of Trump supporters said that the administration is, quote, carefully making cuts to programs and staff to reduce fraud and waste. People of both parties opposed cuts to Medicaid, however, Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Washington. US stocks trading higher with the Dow up more than 150 points. It's NPR.

The House has voted to undo three waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency that allow California to set air pollution rules that are tougher than federal standards, including one that would require all new vehicles in the state to be zero emission by 2035. They are attempting to use the Congressional Review Act to reverse the EPA's decision to grant these waivers in the first place. Nominations for the Tony Awards, Broadway's highest honor, are out. Several musicals had nominations in the double digits. Jeff London has details.

The producers of Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending are rejoicing as each of their shows picked up 10 nominations. But keep an eye on Dead Outlaw, which picked up seven and has already won many awards after a run off-Broadway last year. Your mama's dead. Your daddy's dead. Your brother's dead. Other multiple nominees are the revivals of Gypsy and Sunset Boulevard. In the Best Play category, John Proctor's The Villain, English and Purpose all picked up several nominations, as did revivals of Yellowface and Eureka Day. The Tonys will be presented on June 8th.

For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. US stocks higher this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now up more than 200 points, or roughly half a percent, at 40,869. The S&P has risen more than 1 percent, and the NASDAQ is now up more than 2 percent. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.