NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-29-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. A federal trade court is blocking President Trump's sweeping tariffs on global imports. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports,

the court says Trump overstepped his authority when he used an emergency powers act to justify the tariffs. In a unanimous ruling, the three judgejudge panel said the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to regulate trade and impose tariffs. The court says the 1977 emergency law Trump relied on in ordering tariffs does not give the president unbounded power to tax imports from nearly every other country. NPR's Scott Horsley reporting.

A federal judge says Secretary of State Marco Rubio likely violated the constitution by ordering Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil deported over his pro-Palestinian activism. But as NPR's Adrian Florido reports, the judge stopped short of ordering Khalil's release from federal custody. Judge Michael Farber said in his ruling that Rubio likely overstepped when he relied on an obscure statute that allows him to personally order someone deported who he thinks threatens U.S. foreign policy goals. Rubio claimed, without offering evidence, that Khalil's protests were anti-Semitic and

therefore undermined what Rubio said are the government's efforts to fight anti-Semitism worldwide. The judge said using that authority to go after Khalil for his protests would probably be proven unconstitutional at trial. His lawyers hoped the judge would free Khalil from immigration detention as the case moves forward, but the judge said his legal team needs to submit more evidence to show how Khalil is being harmed by his detention. Adrian Fletiva, NPR News.

The State Department has stopped interviewing international students seeking visas to study in the U.S. pending reviews of their social media postings. The Department says the move is temporary and does not affect applicants who already have interviews scheduled. General Motors is investing almost $900 million in an engine plant located near Buffalo, New York. The automaker picked that site to make its sixth generation small block V8 engines. Jim Fink with Buffalo Toronto Public Media has the story.

GM is making its largest ever single investment among its five engine production plants. The $888 million move secures the suburban Buffalo Plants future and the 870 people who work there. Local UAW assistant director Ray Jensen Jr. says the union is still looking into whether it's part of an existing company's strategy or spurred by the Trump administration's made in the USA agenda. It's not about building new facilities, just about bringing back volume and putting new work in facilities that have the capacity.

GM CEO Mary Barres says, the major investment shows the automakers commitment to strengthening American manufacturing and jobs. For NPR News, I'm Jim Fink in Buffalo. This is NPR. Health and Human Services Secretary, F. Kennedy, Jr. says he may bar government scientists from publishing in the world's most prominent journals. Speaking on a podcast, Kennedy said the journals and several health agencies are being controlled

by drug manufacturers. He's proposing that HHS produce its own scientific journals. Motown legend Smokey Robinson is countersuing four ex-employees who have accused him of sexual assault. As NPR's Nitto Ulubi reports, Robinson claims that his accusers are defaming him. In the suit filed in California Superior Court, Smokey Robinson and his wife Frances say the four women are extorting them. Robinson became known for a string of Motown hits in the 1960s.

The women worked as housekeepers for the couple. They accused Robinson of multiple instances of rape in a civil lawsuit. The Robinson's countersuit claims the accusers demanded $100 million before taking legal action and seeks damages of $500 million. The Robinson's lawyers also argue in a separate filing that the women who filed anonymously as Jane Doe's lacked a legal standing to hide their identities. A criminal investigation into the women's claims

is ongoing. Neda Ulipi, NPR News. The defending champion Florida Panthers have advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup final. The Panthers beat Carolina 5-3 in Game 5 of the playoffs. U.S. futures are higher in after-hours trading on Wall Street. On Asia Pacific markets, shares are mostly higher. This is NPR News.

A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. This is NPR News.