NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-02-2025 2AM 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. Shae Stevens Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. President Trump is making some cabinet changes. Trump is nominating National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to serve as U.S. Ambassador to

the United Nations. NPR's Asma Khalid has the story. Asma Khalid Waltz had come under pressure the last several weeks after he accidentally invited a journalist to a private text chat among Trump administration officials about military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen. In public, the president defended Waltz and downplayed the incident. Even in making this announcement, the president praised Waltz for putting the nation's interests first.

This is the first major personnel shakeup of Trump's second term. The president made the announcement on his social media site, saying that in the interim, Marco Rubio will be national security adviser, in addition to his existing job as the secretary of state. Asma Khalid, NPR News, The White House.

President Trump signed five more executive orders on Thursday. One order directs federal agencies and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cut off current and future direct funding to NPR and PBS. Trump has accused public media of bias. The FCC is investigating NPR and PBS, alleging their underwriting announcements may have violated federal law that bars them from airing commercials. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is declaring the first 100 days of

the Trump administration the greatest of any American presidency. At a press briefing Thursday, Miller said the administration is pushing the nation towards a system of merit. He also touted President Trump's global tariffs. We have the most desirable market in the world. If you want to sell cars, tariff-free, tax-free to our market, your plant has to operate in the United States. The only alternative to that is to have no U.S. automobile industry whatsoever, which is where this was headed, to be clear.

Miller says U.S. auto plants are already expanding. President Trump has ended a tariffs loophole that allowed foreign companies to avoid export taxes on goods valued at $800 or less. Many companies use the loophole to ship products duty-free directly to American small businesses and consumers. Europe is preparing new sanctions against Russia. The tales from NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barreau says America and Europe have converging objectives

concerning Russia's war in Ukraine. The only obstacle to peace in Ukraine today is Vladimir Putin, he said, referring to the Russian president. Barreau said Europeans are going to join American initiatives to bring peace with the 17th package of sanctions against Russia. He said Europe wants to coordinate on substance and timing with America. I promised Senator Lindsey Graham we would do so, said Barrow. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

This is NPR. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world took part in May Day protests dubbed International Workers Day. In the U.S., organizers focused on President Trump's economic and immigration policies. A large crowd supporting migrants marched through downtown Los Angeles. At a park in Atlanta, hundreds of people took to the streets, including retirees, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in New York, attorneys and their supporters rallied against the Trump administration's targeting of law firms. Ukrainian Railway Company, together with Ribbon International, have presented a unique artwork by American artist Barbara Kruger for Ukrainian

Train. NPR's Hannah Palamarenko has more from Kyiv railway station. The artwork is a poem that covers all nine train cars that will run for two months in Ukraine and abroad. Curator Maria Iserlis says its steady rhythm evokes the sound of a train and contrasting words reflect the war and everyday life. Chairman of the board of the Ukrainian railways, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, says that Ukrainian railways are more than basic transportation. We are becoming indeed the cultural forces, I would say.

It's very important, it's also very important symbolically to show Ukrainians that world's most renowned artists stand by Ukraine. They do not give up on Ukraine. Early in the morning, Russia attacked the railway infrastructure in the Odessa region, killing one of its workers. Hanna Palamarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. On Asia Pacific markets, shares are mixed down a fraction in Shanghai. This is NPR News. This is IraPR News.