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

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Department of Education says it will be cutting future federal funding to Harvard University. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon will reportedly issue a letter to Harvard's President Alan Garber announcing that, quote, Harvard is not eligible for any new research grants from the federal government until they demonstrate

responsible management of the university. The federal government has already frozen $2.2 billion in federal grants after Harvard refused to comply with a list of demands to overhaul many of its campus policies, including programs the administration considers to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. President Trump says he plans to meet with leaders in the film industry. MPR's Franco Ordonia reports they will discuss Trump's proposal for tariffs on foreign-made movies. President Trump announced on social media that he plans to impose a hundred percent tariff on foreign-made films. Penning the issue is a matter of national security. At the White House, Trump said the industry had been abandoned.

I'm not looking to hurt the industry. I want to help the industry. But they're given financing by other countries. Trump says he authorized the US Trade Representative Jameson Greer to begin the process of taxing any and all movies that quote are produced in foreign lands. Trump said the goal was to create jobs. He argued that Hollywood may have a nice sign but it doesn't do very much of the business anymore. Like so much of American manufacturing, production has largely left the U.S. to save money. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, The White House.

State Attorneys General around the U.S. are suing the Trump administration over a White House effort to block new wind power projects. The suit filed today argues Trump's move is unlawful and threatens thousands of jobs in the wind power industry. Here's NPR's Brian Mann. One of President Trump's first executive orders back in January halted wind power development in federal waters offshore and paused permitting and leasing for turbines on land. The order cited concerns about the impact of turbines

on ocean currents and wind patterns. This lawsuit, filed by 17 Democratic state attorneys general and the attorney general for Washington DC, claims the national pause on new wind projects is unlawful and represents what New York AG Letitia James described as a blockade against low carbon power. This administration is devastating, one of our nation's fastest growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy, James said. This lawsuit comes as Trump's executive orders face a growing wave of legal challenges. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. The interest rate setting Federal Reserve meets in Washington this week with the betting by most economists. When it wraps up its two-day meeting on Wednesday, central bank will opt

to leave short-term rates unchanged. That's despite some harsh criticisms from President Trump. The Fed has repeatedly said it will base any decisions on rates on current and anticipated economic conditions as well as inflationary pressures. On Wall Street the Dow was down 98 points. This is NPR. The Army says it is putting helicopter flights near busy Washington National Airport on hold for now. That's after another couple of close calls. The latest pause reportedly coming after two commercial planes had to abort landings last week because of an Army Black Hawk helicopter which was in airspace near the airport. Two Army officials confirmed the pause. The 12th

Aviation Battalion is continuing to fly in the Greater Washington region. 67 people were killed in January when a passenger jet coming in for a landing collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Airport. Today is Square Root Day. Here's NPR's Ari Daniels to explain what that means. Ron Gordon started Square Root Day in 1981. It happens any time the number of the month times the day equals the year, like today. 5 times 5 is 25. It only happens 9 times each century. So Gordon says each one is worth celebrating. It's a good day to get things scored away, to try to fit a square peg into a round hole, go score dancing, root for the underdog, or watch the pig's root around.

Square root day is a reminder that math is all around us, says Terence Blackman, who chairs the math department at Medgar Evers College. It allows us to, you know, in a way wonder about the world in which we live and the patterns that inform our lives. Today is extra special because the year is a perfect square. That is, 45 times 45 is 2025. R.A. Daniel, NPR News.

Critical futures prices move lower, falling by more than a dollar a barrel. Today, on Continued Worries About Anticipated Output Hikes by OPEC, oil was down $1.16 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.