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

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Trump administration is now scoring a win in his court fight to keep imposing tariffs if the president wants. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal district has granted President Trump's request to block last night's ruling by the Court of International Trade that New York-based court had struck down most Trump tariffs. Meanwhile, a federal judge has decided to block the administration from revoking Harvard University's ability to enroll international students until the lawsuit is settled in court.

For Member Station WBUR in Boston, Carrie Young reports the order extends the terms of a restraining order issued last week. The hearing took place in a packed courtroom. Federal attorneys argued against keeping the block in place. They said the issue Harvard is suing over is moot because the Department of Homeland Security has now given the school 30 days to contest the revocation. Judge Alison Burroughs disagreed. She said she would feel more comfortable if an order was in place because it would give Harvard's international students a greater sense of certainty over their status.

At issue in the case, the administration is trying to pull Harvard out of a federal program that allows colleges to sponsor student visas. For NPR News, I'm Carrie Young in Boston. The U.S. is offering a new proposal for a temporary cease-firing Gaza. NPR's Danielle Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US is presenting a new proposal. An Israeli source briefed on it, but not authorized to speak publicly, tells NPR the US is suggesting a 60-day ceasefire

with the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 bodies of those who died or were killed in captivity. Israel did not immediately comment on the proposal. Hamas says it received Witkoff's proposal and is studying it. Hamas has said it's willing to release 10 hostages, but wants international mediators to guarantee there would be talks on ending the war. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Central Texas in the middle of storms that cut electricity to thousands. One

person's missing. KUT's Maya Foiz reports on the recovery from the storm that brought rain, hail, and cat one level winds to the Austin area last night. Room service vintage in Austin is the kind of shop where couches, shelves, lamps, records, knickknacks, and clothes cover every square inch of the place. After the storm, employees were taking it all out to the sidewalk. They step over squishy rugs and sweep water out the front door. Kristin Coronel is the store manager. She says the storm was over as soon as it started.

And then the sun was out and we were like, our store is completely flooded and it looks beautiful outside and the sun is out. Like, what just happened? Was that even real? Tens of thousands of people were without power after the storm, and many are still assessing the damage to homes and businesses. For NPR News, I'm Maya Fawaz in Austin, Texas. It's NPR. Jurors in Sean Combs' criminal trial in New York occurred today from the hip-hop mogul's

former personal assistant. In graphic testimony, the witness publicly identified only as Mia, described being sexually assaulted, berated for mistakes, and deprived of sleep in a climate where she alleges Combs' employees are always on edge because of his mood swings. Combs denies the allegations in his sex trafficking and racketeering New York case. The Supreme Court is allowing an oil railroad expansion in Utah. Environmental groups in Colorado County argued regulators must consider a wide range of potential effects when it comes to new development. The US Supreme

Court did not concur. A team of researchers believes the tiny microbes in our homes may hold the keys to solving some of our biggest problems. And Piers, Ari Daniel has more. Microbes are little alchemists that perform all manner of chemical reactions. Microbiologist Brayden Tierney wondered whether he could harness those abilities somehow. So he co-founded the Two Frontiers Project to do just that. We travel to sites all around the world where there is microbial life, we think, living that's going to be useful for things like carbon capture or helping corals or improving

agriculture. Now the team is turning their sites to the microbes in your shower heads, drip pans, hot water heaters, a set of extreme environments that may have pressured microorganisms into surviving in ways we could take advantage of. Tierney's team is reaching out to homeowners nationwide to contribute their snots and goos. R.E. Daniel, NPR News. It's NPR News.