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Episode Date: May 1, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. President Trump is floating potential changes to the U.S. military posture in Europe. Answering a question yesterday, Trump said he could probably consider pulling U.S. troops out of Italy and Spain. He is vexed that European nations have refused to send their forces to the Strait of Hormuz with the U.S. in the war against Iran. Trump's comments on Italy and Spain came after he said he was considering pulling troops out of Germany, too. German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz is stressing the importance of the transatlantic partnership. Esme Nielsen reports. Speaking to reporters at a German military base, Mertz affirmed a strong NATO remains top priority.

Referring to Germany's relationship with the United States, he said it is particularly close to our hearts and to him personally. Trump said Mertz should focus on trying to end Russia's war in Ukraine instead of, quote, interfering with the issue of Iran. Earlier this week, Mertz remarked the Iranian regime has, quote, humiliated the United States and added the U.S. appears to have no exit strategy from what he called an ill-conceived war. For NPR News, I'm Esmea Nackelson in Berlin. It has been at least 60 days since President Trump and Israel began attacking Iran.

That's a deadline specified by the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973. That says, after 60 days, a president must seek congressional authorization to continue hostilities. In Senate testimony yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegset seemed to waive that off. He said the timeline does not apply because of the current ceasefire with Iran. Democrats oppose this while some Republican senators have indicated they are ready to back the president on this view. The House has passed the mammoth Farm Bill. This sets out spending for major food and agriculture programs for five years at a time. These range from food benefits to support for farmers.

Some Democrats say farmers need more support. Anti-hunger groups say the House Farm Bill did not restore significant cuts to food support needed by children. President Trump has approved a cross-border permit for the Bridger Pipeline Expansion Project. From Montana Public Radio Ellis-Julin reports, this would cross part of Montana and Wyoming. The pipeline would move half a million gallons of cruise. tar sands oil from Canada into the U.S. daily. It's in a similar area to the Keystone XL pipeline, which was terminated under President Biden. The Bridger pipeline would cross major rivers, including the Missouri and the Yellowstone, prompting fears about the potential for contamination of water sources.

It could also run through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. Tribal nations were not consulted as part of Trump's permitting decision. The proposal must still go through several permitting processes at the state and federal levels before construction could begin as early as next summer. For NPR news, I'm Ellis Jew Lynn in Missoula, Montana. This is NPR. Thousands of people are expected to join May Day protests today, joining International Labor Day observed in other countries. Organizers are calling for boycotts to protest Trump administration policies. Billioner Elon Musk has finished testifying in federal court in California. He is suing Open AI and its leader Sam Altman. Musk alleges they abandoned OpenAI

founding principles. From Member Station KQED, Rachel Myro reports. Musk told the court he sued OpenAI after deciding his co-founders put profit ahead of their founding mission. But under cross-examination, defense attorneys highlighted texts and emails that showed his own AI company, Ex-I, partially lifted code from OpenAI's models, and Musk and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta discussed bidding together on OpenAI's intellectual property. On Monday, Open AI co-founder Greg Brockman is expected to take the stand. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Myro in Oakland. The winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature says his Oscar statuette is missing.

Russian school teacher Pavel Talankin's film, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, is a record of how his students were indoctrinated to support Russia's war against Ukraine. Talanquin tells Deadline News, when he went to fly out of New York this week, a TSA agent and an official from Lufthansa Airlines said he could not bring the Oscar on board. It was put in checked luggage. When Lanky got to Germany, it was gone. Lufthansa says it's looking for it. You're listening to NPR.