NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-27-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A US-backed group says it has begun delivering food in Gaza to address widespread hunger in the region. The effort is facing criticism, though, from the United Nations and aid groups in Gaza, and its director has resigned. NPR's Danielle Estrin has the latest from Tel Aviv. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it's begun supplying food parcels in a new zone guarded by Israeli soldiers.

Israel says the system will deny supplies to Hamas and weaken its control in Gaza. Israel says the food will be mostly confined to a zone in southern Gaza in an attempt to get Palestinians to move there. The UN and groups who have been providing aid say this would amount to forcible displacement and restrictions on aid. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has appointed a new director, John Acree, a former official with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The group has not divulged its funding. Hamas warned Palestinians not to take food from the group. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

The U.S. Senate is taking up a sweeping government spending bill this week. But as NPR's Windsor Johnson explains, child care advocates say, the funding for early learning falls far short of what families and providers need. While the legislation maintains funding for key programs like Head Start, advocates say it doesn't go far enough to address what many call a growing crisis. Julie Cashin is a senior fellow at the Century Foundation. America has created a fully DIY do-it-yourself situation where parents can't afford to pay

for childcare and the cost of providing the type of care every child needs is more than what parents can pay. Do-it-yourself on steroids. A report by the Century Foundation estimates more than 70,000 child care programs could close nationwide following the end of pandemic year of funding, leaving millions of children without care and parents scrambling for options. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. A federal judge in Massachusetts doubled down on his decision to mandate the government give six men due process before they're sent to South Sudan.

And Pierre's Jimena Bustia reports the administration wanted to deport men to the politically unstable country in Africa instead of their home countries. The Homeland Security Department says that the six men couldn't be sent back to their home countries, which include Vietnam and Mexico. As a result, the government attempted to deport them to South Sudan. But immigration lawyers quickly sued, arguing that their clients were not given enough time to contest their deportation. According to federal officials, the six men have been in Djibouti since last week.

On Monday night, Massachusetts Judge Brian Murphy rejected DHS's request to pause his order to conduct a reasonable fear interview. This is an interview where migrants have a chance to say they may face violence or persecution if sent to a specific country. Hima Nibusio, NPR News, Washington. Danielle Pletka From Washington, this is NPR News. The administration's directing federal agencies to cancel their remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, according to a senior administration official. An estimated $100

million is on the line. Louisiana state police are attempting to catch the last two fugitives, Antoine Massey and Derek Groves from the jailbreak in New Orleans earlier this month. They've arrested the eight others as well as more than a dozen people who allegedly helped them escape through a hole in the wall of the Orleans Justice Center. A massive manhunt is underway for the so-called devil in the Ozarks. That's a moniker given to a former Arkansas police chief turned convicted killer. From Member Station KUAF and Fayetteville, Danielle Carruth reports. Authorities are still searching for 56-year-old Grant Harden. The former police chief of Gateway,

Arkansas, was serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and an additional 50-year sentence for the rape of a schoolteacher. Officials say he escaped the North Central Unit Prison in Calico Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon. Video surveillance shows Hardin escaping through a controlled entryway to the prison, wearing what officials describe as a makeshift law enforcement uniform. The Arkansas Department of Corrections says Hardin is considered extremely dangerous. State and local law enforcement are searching vehicles and scouring the area using drones and canine units. For NPR News, I'm Daniel Carruth.

US stocks trading higher this hour. The NASDAQ is up more than 2 percent. The S&P 500 is up nearly 2 percent. The Dow's climbed 1.7 percent. It's up more than 700 points. It's NPR. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a prime membership.