NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-29-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

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These days, there's a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider This from NPR is a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world. Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Harvard has won two victories in federal court. One judge has temporarily blocked an effort to prevent the university from enrolling any

international students. Another federal judge is preventing the administration from capping foreign student enrollment at Harvard. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports on what's at stake for the economy and innovation sectors. International students make up a significant portion of programs in computer science and engineering at U.S. universities.

Take, for example, a South African named Elon Musk, who came to the U.S. to study at UPenn and Stanford. Indeed, many go on to launch startups, conduct groundbreaking research, or work in biotech. Miriam Feldblum studies global education and immigration. She says these students generate significant revenue for schools and... Given that most American students don't go

and study abroad, welcoming international students on campus enables more American students to better prepare for the global world. Fellblom says without international students, both enrollment and research output could suffer. Windsor-Johnston NPR News. A federal appeals court has temporarily paused a U.S. trade court ruling that most of President Trump's sweeping tariffs were illegal. In an interview with Fox News, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked to weigh in on the ongoing legal battles over tariffs. This administration is committed to fair trade, and we are striking the best deals for the

American people. And anything that the courts do to get in the way, they both harm the American people in terms of trade and in terms of tariff revenue. Besson says the U.S. is close to reaching trade deals with a few countries, but that negotiations with China have become, in his words, a bit stalled. The National Association of the Deaf is suing the White House over the recent disappearance of American sign language interpreters at press briefings. Details from NPR's Kristen Wright.

The federal lawsuit is filed on behalf of two deaf men who watched televised White House press briefings and have trouble understanding closed captioning, which can be unreliable. The suit says the men and others in the deaf community are missing a litany of vital information. ASL is the primary language for many deaf people. Joy Banister contracts ASL interpreters to the federal government. It's really at the detriment to our deaf community. So we want to make sure that they are able still to be a part of the community and have the accesses that they need. In 2020, NAD reached a federal settlement ordering the Trump White House to provide ASL interpreters for coronavirus-related

public briefings. Kristen Wright, NPR News, Washington. When Wall Street stocks closed higher today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 117 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 74 points and the S&P 500 added 23. This is NPR. The White House says Israel has accepted a new proposal calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. The proposal received a cool response from Hamas leaders who say they have to study it.

Hamas has also refused to release the remaining 58 hostages unless Israel frees more Palestinian prisoners and pulls out of Gaza. Ceasefire talks have been stymied over terms. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of desperate Palestinians have again swarmed food distribution sites being run by a newly created U.S. and Israeli-backed foundation. Kenyan author Gugi Wathiango has died at the age of 87. As a critic of British colonial rule and a staunch advocate for local African languages, Watiango became a major figure in African literature. NPR's Andrew Limbong has more.

Gugi Watiango has dozens of books under his belt, novels, criticism, poetry, memoir, and more. And while he was critical of British colonial rule, it was a play he co-wrote in his mother tongue that was critical of the independent Kenyan government that landed him a year-long stay in prison in 1977. And that contradiction was so strong and the questions that it raised became very, very important to me. This is him talking to NPR in 2019. And I realized the oppressor always, the first thing they do is take away the language of

the oppressed. Gugiwatiango was recognized all across the world and was a perennial contender from the Nobel Prize in Literature. Andrew Limbong, NPR News. U.S. futures are lower in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. This is NPR News.