NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-01-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

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Am I a propagandist? A truth teller? An influencer? There's probably no more contested profession in the world today than mine, journalism. I'm Brian Reed, and on my show, Question Everything, we dive head first into the conflicts we're all facing over truth and who gets to tell it. Listen now to Question Everything, part of the NPR Podcast Network. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Department of Veterans Affairs has ended a mortgage rescue program for veterans. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports housing industry experts fear thousands of vets and their families will face foreclosure. The Department of Veterans Affairs set up the VA Service Purchase Program, or VASP, to correct an error with the home loan program during the Biden administration that left tens of thousands of veterans facing

foreclosure through no fault of their own. In the less than six months it was up and running, VA says VASP saved at least 17,000 veterans from losing their homes. But Republicans in Congress oppose VASP because it has VA buy up the troubled loans. There is a bill in the House to replace it with a different program, but there's no saying when that might make it into law. The VA has now ended VASP despite groups like the Mortgage Bankers Association warning it would lead to thousands of foreclosures.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News. Federal judges barring the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under an 18th century wartime law the administration has been citing. U.S. District Court judge ruling in the case the administration's implication of the law itself is unlawful. Judge the first to rule the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used against people. The administration claims our gang members invading the U.S. President Trump has cited the act using it as an extension of his executive powers.

In the aftermath of World War II, President Harry Truman helped create and lead many institutions that still define the international order today. By contrast, the Trump administration is moving aggressively to scale back traditional U.S. leadership positions. Here's NPR's Greg Meyry. In his first hundred days, Trump is acting on multiple fronts to reshape the U.S. leadership positions. Here's NPR's Greg Meyry. In his first hundred days, Trump is acting on multiple fronts to reshape the U.S. role in the world. He says Europe should stop depending on U.S. troops for its security.

He repeatedly criticizes allies and has threatened or imposed tariffs on many friendly countries. Kelly Grieco is with the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank. He's really taking a sledgehammer approach to U.S. foreign policy and the institutions around it. Trump is often dismissive of institutions the U.S. helped build, including the United Nations and NATO. He describes this network of international bodies as obstacles that often prevent the U.S. from acting decisively on its own.

Greg Myrie, MPR News, Washington. as obstacles that often prevent the U.S. from acting decisively on its own. Greg Myrie, MPR News, Washington. An exemption that allowed some low-value imports from China to enter the U.S. Duty free officially comes to an end tomorrow. For consumers, that will likely mean higher prices, possibly combined with delivery delays. Under the so-called de minimis rule, as many as 4 million low-value parcels coming into the U.S. every day, mostly from China, had been exempted from duties. It means some companies that source products to China will face increased costs.

Stocks closed mostly higher on Wall Street today. The Dow is up 83 points. The Nasdaq jumped 264 points. This is NPR. The White House says the minerals deal with Ukraine would create a fund governed by three board members from each country, where each country would receive half of royalties, license fees and other proceeds from national resource projects in Ukraine. The U.S. will have first right of refusal on buying the resources or designating the

buyer. That's according to a White House fact sheet. The agreement shows how invested the president is in securing a truly lasting peace, according to White House press secretary, Caroline Levitt, who spoke with reporters at the White House today. The deal would be part of an agreement for further U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia.

The writer, Kinesia Lubin, Lubin, rather, has won this year's Carol Shields Prize. The award honors women and non-binary fiction writers in the U.S. and Canada. Bureaus Andrew Limbong has more. Kinesia Lubrin is a Canadian writer known more for her poetry. Her debut fiction book, Côte Noire, won her the prize, though. It's a collection of 59 connected short stories taking inspiration from French King Louis XIV's laws legalizing and regulating slavery in France and the French colonies. Judges for the Carol Shields Prize called it a quote,

virtuoso collection that breaks new ground in short fiction. The Carol Shields Prize for fiction is relatively new, but it's made an impact on the literary world because of its sheer size. Winners get $150,000. In comparison, winners of the National Book Award receive $10,000. Andrew Limbong, NPR News. Crypto futures prices after some recent downturns moved in the other direction today. It was up a dollar, more than a dollar a barrel to $59.24 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Home Instead. in Washington.