NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-02-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

NPR News: 05-02-2025 7PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. The Trump administration and Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. say they will crack down on toxic chemicals. But as NPR's Will Stone reports, the broad cuts to the federal government have demolished an agency that devotes much of its energy to investigating these hazards. Studies on workplace exposure to chemicals that may harm reproductive health, investigations into a possible cancer cluster

at a state university, the only national program tracking blood lead levels in adults. These are among the many casualties of the Trump administration's firing of about 90% of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH. Dr. Robert Harrison at UCSF says NIOSH is instrumental in funding and advancing research on carcinogens and other dangerous substances.

It's been near eliminated. It's almost destroyed. In a statement to NPR, the Department of Health and Human Services said critical initiatives under NIOSH will remain intact and will join the newly created Administration for a Healthy America. Will Stone, NPR News. under NIOSH will remain intact and will join the newly created administration for a healthy America. Will Stone, NPR News. The Trump administration says there are now multiple law enforcement investigations into

a former cybersecurity official whom the president has personally targeted. And here's Tom Dreisbach has more. Christopher Krebs was the top cybersecurity official in the first Trump administration, but Trump fired him after Krebs said accurately that the 2020 election was safe and secure. Last month in the Oval Office, Trump ordered the government to investigate Krebs. He's the fraud, he's a disgrace, so we'll find out whether or not it was a safe election. And if it wasn't, he's got a big price to pay. The Department of Homeland Security now says there are multiple law enforcement investigations

into Krebs, and as a result, Krebs' global entry status, which allows travelers to get expedited screening at airport security and customs, has been revoked. Krebs has denounced Trump's actions as retaliation. Tom Dreisbach, NPR News. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Washington Tuesday for a meeting with President Trump. Dan Carpenter reports it will be the first face-to-face meeting for the two since Carney was sworn in as Prime Minister in mid-March. The meeting will come even before Carney names his new cabinet in the wake of Monday's federal

election in Canada. At the top of the agenda will be Trump's trade war with Canada. Tuesday's talks could set the groundwork for negotiations over a new trade and security pact. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Carney would not say anything about his approach to the meeting, adding that he doesn't want to negotiate in public. He says he expects difficult but constructive talks and will act in the best interests of Canada. Carney also said when he and Trump talked earlier this week there was no mention of annexing Canada. Carney also said when he and Trump talked earlier this week, there was no mention of annexing Canada.

For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpinchuk in Toronto. Wall Street higher by the closing bell, the Dow up 564 points, the NASDAQ up 266. You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration today announced plans for a significant reorganization of the Environmental Protection Agency, including staff cuts, especially for the agency's Office of Research and Development. That's the wing of the EPA that provides scientific analysis for policymakers on the risks of

air pollution, chemicals, and other environmental factors. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says it will save the government around 300 million dollars a year. It would trim roughly 3% from the EPA's 2024 budget of over 9 million dollars. One of the most popular dishes out of Rome is notoriously hard to cook. And here's Emily Kwong has more. The dish at the center of this research is cacio e pepe. You know what I'm talking about. It's the one that's a symphonic combination of pasta, black pepper, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Now, when cooking, heat can cause the proteins

in the cheese to clump together. So for generations, home cooks have added cornstarch or potato starch to the water first. In Italian kitchens, grandma had somehow, you know, always a scientific attitude, right? So they were doing scientific methods. Giacomo Bartolucci and his team sought to formalize what he calls grandma knowledge through science.

In the journal Physics of Fluids, they report that the ideal ratio of cheese to starch is 2.5%. So, all you need to know is that before adding 160 grams of Pecorino cheese, first dissolve 4 grams of starch into your pasta water. Emily Kwong, NPR News. Critical prices lower by the closing bell, down nearly 1.5% at $58.38 a barrel. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.