NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-24-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: May 24, 2025

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Hey, it's Sarah Gonzalez. The economy has been in the news a lot lately. It's kind of always in the news and Planet Money is always here to explain it. Each episode we tell a sometimes quirky, sometimes surprising, always interesting story that helps you better understand the economy. So when you hear something about cryptocurrency or where exactly your taxes go, yes, I was. Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. ago. Yes, I was. Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. Giles Snyder Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The European Union's top trade chief says the EU stands ready to defend its interests, saying in a social media post that the EU is committed to securing a deal with the US

based on mutual respect, not threats. President Trump is threatening to hike tariffs on all EU imports. Here's NPR's Scott Horsley. It's become kind of a familiar pattern now. The president took to social media to rattle his tariff saber. He complained that trade talks with the EU have been quote, going nowhere. And he threatened to impose a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union unless that changes by June 1st. President Trump also warning of a 25% tariff increase on Apple unless the company starts manufacturing its iPhones in the U.S. Wall Street had yet another rocky week amid worries over tariffs and the national deficit. NPR's Maria Aspin reports a Dow fell about 2.5%

from a week earlier. The United States is the world's economic superpower. Its government debt undergirds the global financial system, and those bonds are supposed to be safe and stable investments. But now, investors are questioning all of that. Days after Moody's downgraded the United States' creditworthiness, the European Central Bank warned that President Trump's chaotic tariffs are threatening financial stability. Yet Trump ended the week threatening more new taxes on European imports and on iPhones. All the major U.S. stock indices fell this

week. Yield on long-term government debt also spiked above 5 percent. And when bond yields rise, so do the prices that consumers pay for mortgages, credit cards, and other loans. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. A federal judge in Boston is ordering the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico. The judge says the man who said he feared for his safety because he is gay, was not given due process. President Trump has signed several executive orders aimed at giving a boost to nuclear power, but NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports that some worry the orders could affect safety

at the country's reactors. Some of the orders encouraged the building of new test reactors and mining uranium, but the most controversial calls for the reorganization of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC was set up as a powerful independent watchdog. Trump's executive order calls on it to speed approvals and reconsider radiation safety standards. Alison McFarland is a former NRC chair. She says having the White House interfere with nuclear regulations is a bad idea.

I'm very concerned this will affect nuclear safety in the US. Very concerned. But supporters of the order say it will help speed development of new reactors that could power things like data centers used for artificial intelligence. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. And from Washington, you're listening to NPR News. The Justice Department's tentative deal allowing Boeing to avoid prosecution

over two fatal crashes of the 737 MAX is getting pushback. A lawyer representing many of the families of victims says the families hope to convince the court to reject it. 346 people were killed in the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia. The Justice Department says the agreement in principle requires the company to pay more than $1 billion in fines and compensation to families and more than $445 million to

strengthen compliance, safety and quality programs. A luxury jetliner gifted to the United States government by Qatar is waiting for a specialized overhaul to become the next Air Force One. That's after the US officially accepted the gift earlier this week. There are constitutional questions associated with accepting the plane. And NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports it will likely take a significant amount of time and money to overhaul it. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR Newsreel Host President Trump has suggested the plane could be converted quickly, but experts say it will likely take years to rework it to meet the current standards set for Air Force One.

Doug Burkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, says the plane from Qatar is likely more luxurious than the current Air Force One, but there's no way it has any of the necessary communications or self-defense features required. Installing those is not an easy thing. I mean, you have to deconstruct the aircraft a fair amount to do that. That will cost hundreds of millions. In the meantime, Boeing already has two planes in production to replace Air Force One, but they're long delayed.

Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Washington. And I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News. Politics is a lot these days. Washington.