NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-04-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: May 5, 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 headfirst 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 Janine Herbst. In Gaza, a group believed to have ties to Hamas police says it's executed at least nine looters it says were working in organized crime gangs.

This amid an Israeli blockade of food and basic supplies. NPR's Anas Baba has more. In Gaza City, chaos erupts as hundreds of Palestinians break into this UN warehouse. In recent days, crowds have broken into several aid facilities throughout Gaza. Furniture, solar panels, and other equipment, anything that can be repurposed or sold or hauled away. There is no food for the looters to steal. These warehouses have run out of food stocks due to the Israeli blockade. Gaza's interior ministry told a local news agency that it has formed a new 5,000th member police force to deal with looting and armed gangs. Local police, however, say Israeli drones firing at police officers prevent them from

effectively patrolling. With Israel allowing no food entry for over two months, this looting comes amid widespread hunger and lawlessness. Anna Sbaba, NPR News, Gaza City. Duke University says it will offer buyouts to employees as it faces the potential loss of federal funding. As Bradley George with Member Station WUNC reports, the private university in North Carolina is one of the country's largest recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health. Duke received nearly a half billion dollars in funding from the NIH in 2024.

University leaders say they're trying to be proactive by giving employees the option to leave before considering across-the-board layoffs. Duke administrators will identify which staff members will be eligible for the buyouts. A hiring freeze is also in effect and construction projects are on hold. The University and its sprawling health system employ more than 48,000 people in North Carolina. For NPR News, I'm Bradley George in Chapel Hill. InvestESLIE KENDRICK Investors on Wall Street are gearing up for the next meeting of the Federal Reserve policymakers. NPR's Rafael Nam has more. RAPHAEL NAM There is good news for the Fed. Inflation

continues to ease slowly, and the labor market has been sturdy. The problem is that tariffs are sparking a lot of concerns about the economy. So policy makers are unlikely to make any big moves on monetary policy, even if President Trump has been trying to pressure the Fed to lower rates. But investors will be paying close attention to what the Fed has to say about tariffs. And after two weeks of regaining lost ground in the market, stock investors will continue to follow company earnings including from Ford and AB Invev, which owns beer brands like Budweiser. The big focus for investors, you guessed it, is tariffs, of course. Washington. Tomorrow, the Department of Education will resume collecting defaulted student loan payments for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The federal government hasn't collected on-defaulted loans since March of 2020. The agency says about two-thirds of the 43 million borrowers who owe money haven't made regular payments. The Trump administration says it will collect the debt through tax refunds, wages, and government benefits. This comes after years of legal back and forth about loan forgiveness and at a time when borrowers are stretched thin from inflation. Colorado River experts are providing a roadmap for solving the region's water crisis. Alex Hager of Member Station KUNC has more. California, Arizona, and Nevada have proposed relatively modest cutbacks to their water

use. Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming say they don't want to give up any water. Anne Castle, a co-author of the new recommendations, says all of the states need to engage in some shared pain. There's lots of wonderful legal arguments about why it shouldn't be me that needs to use less water. But in order to have a viable and politically viable agreement, everybody has to do a share. The memo, written by academics and retired policymakers, also calls for better protections for tribes and the environment.

They've long been left out of talks about sharing the river. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Tucson. U.S. futures contracts are trading lower at this hour. Dow futures are down about 7 tenths of a percent. NASDAQ futures are down just under 1 percent. I'm Janene Hurst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. in Washington.