NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-01-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

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There was Barbenheimer's summer, then Brat's summer. What will this season bring? Maybe it's the season of actual good superhero movies, like the Fantastic Four and Superman. For a guide to the movies and TV we're most excited about this summer, listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. The U.S. and Ukraine have signed a deal to share profits from Ukraine's critical minerals. The arrangement gives the Trump administration an incentive to keep investing in Ukraine's defense against Russia and in its reconstruction. President Trump has been demanding the deal. And we made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging and doing what we have to do.

It's also good for them because you'll have an American presence at the Cyprus and the American presence will, I think, keep a lot of bad actors out of the country or certainly out of the area where we're doing the digging. But the agreement does not provide explicit U.S. security guarantees that Ukraine has been demanding. Money from the investment fund can be used to pay for new military aid to Ukraine. A U.S. government office that's designed to unite two agencies appears to have been a casualty of the effort to eliminate federal jobs. And here's Kamila Domenosky reports,

staffers who work there say that after a second round of encouraged resignations, no full-time federal employees are left. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation was created by a bipartisan act of Congress in 2021 to focus on EV charging. Gabe Klein was the founding director. We are mandated by Congress to exist, and that is important for people to understand.

Some of the team's work is being carried on, but at one department or the other, not at the unique joint office. That's according to former staffers who did not want to use their names out of fear of retaliation. being carried on, but at one department or the other, not at the unique joint office. That's according to former staffers who did not want to use their names out of fear of retaliation. The Department of Energy says it's evaluating whether work aligns with President Trump's priorities.

The Department of Transportation did not return requests for comment. Camila Domenoski, NPR News. The Department of Veterans Affairs has terminated a program that helped veterans facing foreclosure through no fault of their own. Supporters say it has saved at least 17,000 veterans from losing their homes. They say thousands of others now face foreclosure. Republicans say the program puts taxpayers at risk. The use of nicotine pouches nearly doubled among American teens between the years 2023

and 24. And Piers Marie Godoy reports on a new survey of more than 10,000 high schoolers across the country. The researchers asked teens about their use of electronic cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches, small, easily concealed sachets of nicotine that are placed between the lip and gum. They found that in 2024, more teens reported using nicotine pouches

as well as using both pouches and e-cigarettes compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the share of teens vaping decreased over the same time period. The long-term health effects of nicotine pouches aren't known, but they do carry the risk of nicotine addiction. Prior studies suggest exposure to nicotine during adolescence may harm brain development.

The research appears in the journal JAMA Network Open. Maria Kedoy, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. Former Vice President Kamala Harris has given her first major speech since losing the presidential election last year. Speaking in San Francisco, Harris blasted President Trump's work during his first 100 days in office. She says the Trump administration is using fear tactics to scare people and implement what she says is a far-right agenda. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the former Soviet Republic of Belarus has released another

wrongfully held American. This is the third such release from Belarus this year, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. Yura Sinkovich is a dual national from Belarus, a politician and U.S.-educated lawyer. He was picked up while on a visit to Russia in April of 2021 and then tried in secret in a court in Belarus. Authorities there accused him of plotting a coup against longtime dictator Alexander Lukashenko. The Trump administration says Yankovych was wrongfully detained. He's now been brought to Lithuania and is expected to come back to the U.S. later this week.

Secretary Rubio says the Trump administration has secured the release of 47 unjustly detained Americans around the world. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State Department. A truck driving north of Fort Worth, Texas rolled onto its side on Tuesday, spilling its cargo onto the road. It was a load of eight million separate dimes. The two people in the truck were not seriously hurt. Authorities in Texas say they ended up using huge vacuum trucks to suck all the dimes up off of the road.

On Korova Coleman, NPR News. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR Politics podcast makes politics a breeze. Every episode will break down the day's headlines you out.