NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-05-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Trump says Americans voted for him to cut down on illegal immigration. But in an interview with NBC, Trump said he didn't know if he needs to uphold the Constitution. This answer came when he was asked about whether people should receive due process under the Constitution, including people who are illegally in the U.S. Trump replied he has lawyers who work for him and that he would follow the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Trump says he is directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reopen and expand Alcatraz.

The former federal prison is on an island in San Francisco Bay. From member station KQED, Rachel Vezquez has more. In a social media post, Trump celebrated the island's history as a maximum security penitentiary, saying in the past the U.S. didn't hesitate to, quote, lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. He said he wants the island to once again house the nation's most violent offenders. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons says they comply with all presidential orders and will share more information when they have it. Alcatraz hasn't been a working prison in more than 60 years, but remains a popular tourist

destination. A spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom called the proposal a distraction. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Vasquez. Starting today, the federal government is again collecting student loans from borrowers who are in default. This has been paused since the pandemic started. Jillian Berman is with the media outlet MarketWatch. She says if you're not sure about your student loan status, here's how to find out. The best thing to do is to check your account at studentaid.gov, sign in there and you know it should be pretty clear to you whether

or not you're in default. If you find out that that's the case, for most people, the best thing to do is going to be to contact something called the default resolution group, and they will, you know, sort of give you your options to help you get out of default. SONIA DARA-MARIA The Trump administration says if borrowers don't pay back student loans, it will start collecting this from people's paychecks and benefits. Jury selection begins today in New York City for the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs. The media mogul also faces charges for racketeering conspiracy, as NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

reports. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News Reporter, New York City Sean Diddy Combs has been in custody since his arrest last September. Prosecutors allege the rapper, producer, and entrepreneur used his businesses to facilitate and conceal sex crimes for more than a decade. These include sex trafficking by force or coercion, and transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. Combs also faces one charge of racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors claim he directed his employees to solicit victims, solicit illegal substances, and protect his reputation. Potential jurors will be questioned this week. Opening statements for the criminal trial are scheduled to begin on May 12th. Several alleged victims are expected to testify throughout the trial. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. This is NPR. United Airlines says it's cutting flights at Newark's major international airport. The airline says it's ending some three dozen daily flights at the New Jersey airport. Officials at United say the technology that U.S. air traffic controllers use has, quote, failed, and they cannot handle the volume of traffic.

Congress is considering funding upgrades to the air traffic control system. A Soviet space probe launched over 50 years ago is expected to finally re-enter Earth's atmosphere next weekend. As Enpires-Gelharnandes reports, it's unclear where the spacecraft will fall or whether it will burn up before it reaches the surface.

Soviet scientists launched Cosmos 482 in 1972 with the goal of reaching Venus, but an apparent engine malfunction stranded the spacecraft in low Earth orbit, according to NASA. The craft's lander has been following an elliptical path that has finally decayed to the point that it will soon fall back to Earth. It could burn up as it re-enters the atmosphere, but one astronomer told NPR that because of its strong heat shield, the Cosmos 482 lander will probably stay in one piece through re-entry. If the thousand-pound meter-wide spherical lander survives, scientists say they aren't yet sure where it will land. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. Today is Cinco de Mayo. It's a holiday in Mexico celebrating the country's military victory over French Hernandez, NPR News.