NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-23-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: May 24, 2025

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Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life, powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump is further complicating expectations about what his tariff policy toward the European Union will be. In the Oval Office today, reporters asked him about his social media posts threatening higher levies on the EU.

As NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports, Trump repeated 50 percent. Sarah Pletka Trump said he's not inclined to negotiate that 50 percent tariff downward. Donald Trump I'm not looking for a deal. I mean, we've set the deal. It's at 50 percent. But again, there is no tariff if they build their plant here. Sarah Pletka However, when asked if there is anything the EU can do to avoid those 50 percent tariffs, Trump said that he didn't know and would see what happens.

Currently, the U.S. tariff on goods from the EU is 10 percent. Trump said he would want the 50 percent tariff to start on June 1st. Trump imposed an array of tariffs on countries worldwide in early April, then paused them for 90 days. That means many tariff rates could ratchet upwards this summer. Danielle Kertzlaib in NPR News, The White House. The federal judge has struck down President Trump's executive order, targeting the law firm of Jenner and Block. It is the second time a court has permanently blocked one of Trump's punitive orders against a big law firm. Here's NPR's Ryan Lucas. In his 52-page ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates says Trump's executive order violates

the First Amendment and is unconstitutional. Bates says Trump's executive order violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutional. Bates says Trump picked Jenner because of the causes it champions, the clients it represents, and the lawyer it once employed. He also says that Trump's targeting of Jenner and other law firms, quote, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like, thereby insulating the executive branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers. This ruling follows a similar one earlier this month from another federal judge striking down Trump's order targeting the law firm Perkins-Cooey.

Judges also have temporarily blocked Trump's orders against two other big law firms, but have yet to decide whether to block them permanently. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Senators from several states bordering Canada took a trip to Ottawa today to talk about ways to get relations back on track amid Trump's tariff war. NPR's Michelle Kuhlman spoke with the leading Democrat on the trip. The ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Hampshire Democrat Jean Jahin, says it was a quick and helpful trip.

This was an opportunity to meet very early with the new prime minister. In fact, we're the first Senate delegation to meet with this prime minister, the first delegation to get on the ground after our new ambassador, Hoekstra, arrived. And she says it was helpful to have Pete Hoekstra and Senator Kevin Kramer, a Republican from North Dakota

there. She says they're close to Trump and were able to respond to Canada's concerns about the administration's approach to a key trading partner and neighbor. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Stocks lost ground today, the Dow was down 256 points. This is NPR. For many single people today, knowing someone's political views may determine whether or not to start a relationship. NPR's Elena Moore reports on new data on how Americans feel about dating in politics.

A majority of Americans under 45 say it's important to date or marry someone who shares their political views. That's according to the latest NPR-PBS News Marist poll. It's something that appears to matter less and less among older generations. Six and ten of 18 to 29 year olds feel that way compared to just a third of those over 60. One reason that politics has become more salient is for I think a lot of people it becomes an easy shorthand for character of values. Daniel Cox is with the American Enterprise Institute. He also says that older generations may have prioritized factors such as religion or employment.

For younger people today, political views are high on that list. Elena Moore, NPR News. Plenty of people have woken up in the morning to find a car on the lawn in front of their house, but a Norwegian man has a much bigger story to tell. Johan Helberg, whose house sits on a piece of land overlooking a fjord, says he woke up to find a 443-foot-long cargo ship had run aground on his front lawn. Not only that, but Helberg apparently slept through it, saying a neighbor woke him up to ask if he'd noticed the giant ship on his lawn. The cargo vessel, NCL Salton, missed Helberg's house by about 24 feet.

It's not clear what caused the vessel to run aground early Thursday morning. Critical futures prices moved higher today, oil up 33 cents a barrel to $61.53 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.