NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-30-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: May 30, 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 Korova Coleman. President Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh later today to celebrate a deal between U.S. Steel and the Japanese company Nippon Steel.

As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, there are still a lot of missing details. When he was in office, former President Biden blocked the acquisition on national security grounds. And as a candidate, Trump promised to do the same, saying a Japanese company shouldn't own the iconic American brand. But Trump has now changed his tune, announcing in a social media post last week that he supports the, quote, planned partnership. It'll be controlled by the United States.

Otherwise, I wouldn't make the deal. That was Trump on Sunday before boarding Air Force One. He was asked about the management structure. We'll see what the final is, but they're going to invest millions of dollars in steel, and it's a good company. More details may come at today's rally. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Stocks opened lower this morning as the Commerce Department delivered a better than expected

report on inflation. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped about six points in early trading. Consumer prices in April were up 2.1 percent from a year ago, according to the Commerce Department's inflation yardstick, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve. Stripping out food and energy prices, core inflation was 2.5%, which is the lowest it's been in more than four years. Consumers spent less money on goods last month while socking more money into

savings. Spending on services was up in April. The nation's trade deficit fell sharply last month as President Trump's worldwide tariffs kicked in. Imports plunged nearly 20% between March and April while exports inched up 3.4%. Scott Horsley in Pear News, Washington. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to prevent Harvard University from enrolling or keeping international students. The university can keep enrolling international students as a case proceeds, but Harvard student F Fanqu John is worried.

He's from China and just one semester away from completing his master's degree. Everybody is wondering the plan for next year, whether we should take a leave of absence, whether we should go back home and finish our semester online or wait for more guidance from the administration at the school.

The Trump administration claims Harvard encourages anti-Semitism, a claim the university has vehemently rejected. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says authorities are responding to reports of a possible tornado south of Louisville. It's also more than an hour's drive northwest of another Kentucky area that saw numerous deaths and significant damage from a different tornado earlier this month. Writing online, Governor Beshear says the level of severe weather today was unexpected. He warns more storms are coming to Kentucky today. You're listening to NPR.

The National Weather Service has issued air quality alerts for parts of northern Minnesota and all of Wisconsin. Smoke is blowing south from Canadian wildfires. Forecasters warn this smoke could spread farther south. The central Canadian province of Manitoba is under a state of wildfire emergency. The Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on doctors and hospitals that treat transgender children and teenagers and PR Selena Simmons Duffin reports. HHS published a report on pediatric gender dysphoria in early May that emphasized the harms of medical interventions and the benefits

of psychotherapy. This week HHS sent a letter instructing those who treat transgender children to stop relying on standards of care developed by medical groups and instead align their protocols with the HHS review. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services followed up with its own letter to hospitals. Lindsay Dawson directs LGBTQ health policy at KFF. Well, it's been a priority of the administration from day one to limit access to this care for minors.

And it seems to be an all hands on deck approach. She says the letters could have a chilling effect on providers and fuel misinformation. Selena Simmons-Duffin and PR News Washington. A grand jury in New York has indicted a cryptocurrency investor who is now accused of kidnapping and torturing a man for weeks in Manhattan. John Waltz is accused of trying to force the victim to give up his password to his Bitcoin account. A judge has denied bail for Waltz.

An alleged accomplice in the kidnapping is also surrendered to police. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. On the Planet Money Podcast, you've seen them, those labels that say Made in NPR News in Washington.