NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-02-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: May 3, 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 Janene Hurst. A coalition of organizations in the space community have written to lawmakers asking them to reject the White House's proposed cuts to NASA's science programs. As NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports, the

administration's preliminary 2026 budget request would eliminate about a quarter of the space agency's budget. Not every part of NASA would get cut under the White House plan. Human space exploration would see a big increase in spending like a billion dollars in new investments for programs focused on going to Mars. But space science missions would see dramatic reductions. That worries groups like the Planetary Society and the American Astronomical Society. They've written to members of Congress saying this plan would halt the development of nearly all future NASA science missions and require the premature termination of dozens of scientific spacecraft.

Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. President Trump signed an executive order yesterday telling the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private entity created and funded by Congress, to end federal funding for NPR and PBS, quote, to the maximum extent allowed by law. Trump has accused the organizations of left-wing bias. The order also calls for ending indirect funding to NPR and PBS and prohibits local public radio and TV stations from using taxpayer dollars to support the news organizations. And here's David Falkenfleck has more. David Falkenfleck, NPR News Anchor It's not clear he has the power to do this. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a suit in court that's supposed to,

you know, move forward next week. It's being heard on an expedited basis by a federal judge in Washington. And we're gonna see. It appears right now that the CPB is simply ignoring the president's edict saying he doesn't have the authority to do this. And here's David Falkenflich. NPR receives about 1% of its funding directly from the federal government and more indirectly, And PBS and its stations get about 15%. The bulk of the funding goes to local stations and subsidizes TV, which is more expensive than radio. The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson wants the courts to throw out his state murder case. Luigi Mangione has also been indicted by a

federal grand jury. And Pierce Christian Wright has more. Mangeoni's attorneys argue to the Supreme Court of New York that concurrent federal and state prosecutions violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment. It protects people from being tried for the same crime twice. Federal prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty, and New York state prosecutors are seeking life in prison. They say Mangeoni shot and killed Brian Thompson outside of a hotel in New York City last December. He's pleaded not guilty in both cases and also faces charges in Pennsylvania, where he was

arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona. Kristin Wright, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed 900 as outbreaks continue across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 935 cases have been confirmed in 29 states and in 13 percent of the cases, the majority of whom are under 19 years old, have resulted in hospitalizations. And among the confirmed cases, more than 90 percent

are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status isn't known. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 because of a very effective vaccination program, but those rates have fallen in recent years, leading to more cases. Comedian and actor Ruth Buzzi has died. According to her Facebook page, she died at home in Texas at the age of 88 after battling Alzheimer's disease. Ampere's Chloe Velbin reports she was best known for her award-winning appearances on the 60s and 70s NBC variety show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi's most famous laugh-in character was Gladys Ormphby, an elderly lady with

a severe henna-encased bun and shapeless brown clothes. In one memorable bit, she fawns over John Wayne. Oh, I wonder what it would be like to be married to a man like John Wayne. Only to beat him up after her dream comes true, which causes Buzzy to break character. Say stop, I don't want to do this. Over her long career, Buzzy appeared in many TV shows including Sesame Street and The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. NPR's Chloe Beltman reporting.

And I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. NPR News in Washington.