NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-28-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. The State Department is planning a more thorough screening

of social media posts by foreign students applying for visas. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that it could make it harder to get an appointment in the near future. Consulates should not add any additional student visa appointments until they get further guidance on how the new social media screening will work. That's according to a diplomatic cable seen by NPR that calls for quote extra vigilance in the student visa process. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce would not comment on the leaked cable. We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here, whether

they are students or otherwise. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he's canceled thousands of student visas, including for students who took part in protests against Israel's war in Gaza. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State Department. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to end a New York City program, requiring motorists to pay tolls in the most congested parts of Manhattan. NPR's Brian Mann has more. State officials in New York say the congestion pricing program, launched earlier this year,

incentivizes mass transit, reduces gridlock, and improves air quality. The Trump administration began trying to kill the program in February, threatening to withhold federal transportation dollars for New York State. Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has called the program a cash grab. But this latest court order pauses. The federal attack on the program, in a statement New York Governor Kathy Hochul calls the temporary restraining order a massive victory for New York commuters. State officials are hoping to extend the order while the fight over congestion pricing plays out in federal court.

Brian Mann in PR News, New York. The European Commission is investigating several pornographic websites suspected of breaking European Union rules designed to protect children. As Terri Schulz reports, the companies could be fined up to 6% of their annual global turnover. Pornhub and StripChat are two of the four websites EU regulators say may be violating the bloc's Digital Services Act by not requiring sufficient verification of users' ages. Commission spokesperson Thomas Grenier says it's not enough to just click a box saying one is 18 or older.

We suspect that these pornographic platforms are not properly assessing and mitigating risks stemming from the services and not effectively preventing kids from accessing adult content. In the US, 19 states have also passed laws requiring verification of users' ages, which has led some websites to block access rather than comply. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge on whether these laws impinge on free speech. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. US futures are virtually unchanged in after-hours trading on Wall Street following Tuesday's

gains. This is NPR. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill requiring Apple and the parent company overseeing Google to verify the ages of people using their app stores. The law requires parental consent to download or purchase apps for minors. Separately, another bill in Texas to restrict social media apps to users over 18 has passed the state house and been sent to the state senate. In Pakistan, unidentified gunmen have killed a police escort and kidnapped two members of a polio vaccination team in two separate incidents. Amkar Khandakar reports that the incidents are part of a series of attacks on vaccination teams in that country. A police

escort was killed after unidentified gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in the province of Balochistan. In the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two vaccination workers who were kidnapped a day earlier were released after a local tribal council intervened. Analysts say kidnapping might be emerging as the latest form of resistance against vaccination. Police still haven't found two vaccination workers who were kidnapped in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in March this year. Health workers say many in Pakistan don't want to inoculate their children as they believe the vaccine contains ingredients banned in Islam.

Omkar Khandekar, NPR News, Mumbai. The massive base X rocket Starship exploded during a test flight Tuesday. The launch from Texas went smoothly, but Starship quickly lost fuel, inspired out of control, and broke apart after reentry somewhere over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX says the rocket traveled farther than it did during two previous test flights. This is NPR News.