NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-02-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

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Whoever you are, wherever you're from, NPR is here for you. Our mission is to create a more informed public. That's why access to NPR's rigorous, independent journalism is free for everyone. It's Public Media Giving Days, the perfect time to give back to the service you rely on. Visit donate.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. A federal judge in Texas says President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to detain and deport certain Venezuelan migrants is illegal. Trump has used the 18th century law to target migrants accused of being gang members.

NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran has more. The Venezuelan men in this Texas case have been threatened with imminent removal under the Alien Enemies Act. They're accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that the president describes as invading the United States. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, wrote the administration does not have the authority to detain the men. That's because the gang's criminal activities, while harmful, do not constitute an invasion or predatory incursion, as understood under the Alien Enemies Act. His decision covers all of the Southern District of Texas, which includes Brownsville, McAllen,

and Houston. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin. In Colorado, immigration authorities are proposing what appear to be the largest fines ever against three companies. From Colorado Public Radio, Ben Marcus has more. The proposed fines come after audits by immigration and customs enforcement. More than $8 million in possible fines for employing unauthorized workers. That includes a more than $6 million fine against CCS Denver, which provides janitorial services. They refused to comment.

The other two companies penalized by ICE could not be located, and a spokesperson for the agency did not respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has promised a 400% increase in workplace enforcement actions. For NPR News, I'm Ben Marcus in Denver. President Trump has signed an executive order to immediately cease funding to PBS and NPR, citing what he calls biased reporting. The order also directs federal agencies to root out indirect sources of public funding for news organizations. NPR receives a small percentage of its funding directly from federal funds, with the rest

coming from member-station dues, grants, plus donations from corporations and individuals. President Trump delivered the commencement address at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa Thursday. Trump told graduates to fight from the day they leave school and to work harder than ever before. For the business majors here today, I challenge you not merely to use your talents for financial speculation, but to apply your great skills that you've learned and had to forging the steel and pouring the concrete of new American factories, plants, shipyards, and even cities which are going up all over our country. Trump also told the graduates that they are the first graduating class of the golden age

of America. This is NPR. The U.S. Forest Service has begun clearing a homeless camp in Deschutes National Forest near Bend, Oregon, to make way for wildfire prevention efforts. The move comes two months after President Trump directed federal agencies to increase timber production and forest management projects to reduce wildfire risks. A two-lane road leading to the encampment was closed Wednesday night. The writer Kinesia Lubrin has won this year's Carol Shields Prize. The award honors women

and non-vulnerable fiction writers in the U.S. and Canada. NPR's Andrew Limbong reports. Kinesia Lubrin is a Canadian writer known more for her poetry. Her debut fiction book, Code Noir, 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 and Pyrrha News. Three Broadway shows went of this to social club. Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending. Each earned a leading 10 Tony Award nominations Thursday. Nominators spread out the joy and gave nods to George Clooney, Sarah Snook, and Bob Odenkirk in their debuts. This is NPR News.

Ira Glass This is IraPR News.