NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-01-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. More shuffling within the Trump administration where it was announced today, the president is nominating his national security adviser, Mike Walz, to serve as United Nations ambassador. Trump saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve simultaneously as acting national security adviser while also running the State Department. More from NPR. The last and only time someone held these two jobs simultaneously was Henry Kissinger in the Nixon administration in the early 1970s. And I will point out that this was not without controversy. And there are certainly questions about how this is going to work, even if it is just a short-term assignment. How will it work in practical terms? How long will Rubio be doing multiple jobs?

Waltz had fallen out of favor after it was revealed a journalist was accidentally added to an unsecured group chat where military plans were being discussed. The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico says it's filed 82 criminal charges against people apprehended while crossing through a newly created military zone along the state's U.S.-Mexico border. Member station KJZZ Alyssa Resnick has more. A presidential memo transferred more than 170 miles of public land in New Mexico to the Department of Defense in April.

Additional acreage was also transferred to the military by the Department of Interior. The moves essentially extend Arizona's Fort Huachuuka across state lines and allow U.S. military personnel to participate in immigration enforcement by temporarily detaining people. Those charged under the code face a maximum penalty of a year in prison. The federal government contends the military extension will help border patrol agents better control the border, while rights groups say it will erode constitutional protections against military activity on U.S. soil. For NPR News, I'm Alisa Resnick in Tucson.

Congress is moving forward with an effort to block California's electric vehicle mandate. Member station KQED Guy Maserati has the story. The Biden administration allowed California to phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but the House of Representatives has now voted to undo that permission. California Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley says California's rules could affect car sales nationally given the state's large market. Americans should be able to drive a car of their choice, not one that is chosen for them by the government. The rollback faces an uncertain path in the U.S. Senate where the independent rulemaker

says it would take 60 votes to block California's ban. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzorotti in San Jose. What may be an indicator of what to expect when the closely watched government jobs numbers come out tomorrow weekly claims for unemployment benefits at their highest level in two months, rising by 18,000 for the week ending April 26. A survey by Challenger Grey and Christmas found the government leading all sectors in terms of job cutting. On Wall Street the Dow was up 83 points. This is NPR. According to a new analysis conducted by the Pentagon, reported sexual assaults in the

military fell by 4% last year, with a significant drop being reported in the Army. It's the second year in a row officials have reported a decline in incidents of such attacks. Pentagon officials say there were a total of 8,195 reported sexual assaults across the armed services last year, as compared to more than 8,500 the previous year. Thirty years after the end of apartheid, the South African government is investigating allegations of political interference. Kate Bartlett does more from Johannesburg.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or TRC, of the 1990s exposed murders and torture that took place during white minority rule, but few cases went to trial. Now a group of families and survivors is suing the government, forcing President Cyril Ramaphosa to set up a commission of inquiry, his spokesman Vincent Maguena said. Allegations of improper influence in delaying or hindering the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes have persisted from previous administrations. The TRC gave some of those who came forward amnesty but also handed a list of hundreds of cases to prosecutors for investigation.

For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. The International Monetary Fund says countries across the Middle East and North Africa are facing significant economic hurdles due to the Trump administration tariffs. In its regional outlook for what is known as the MENA region, the IMF says it expects growth to pick up in that region a bit from last year but to remain at a relatively modest 2.6 percent rate. I'm Jack Spear in PR News in Washington.