NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-30-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 31, 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 Jack Spear. President Donald Trump was near Pittsburgh today

celebrating a deal with Japan's Nippon Steel. He says will ensure the future of US Steel Corporation and the production of steel in that region. NPR's Don Ghani reports. Blanked by steel workers and local officials, Trump said Nippon Steel has promised a $14 billion investment with modernization of blast furnaces, a U.S. CEO and a majority U.S. board of directors for U.S. Steel.

It includes vital protections to ensure that all steelworkers will keep their jobs and all facilities in the United States will remain open and thriving." The president cited a commitment to full capacity for at least a decade. The full agreement has not been released. Local union leaders praised the news, but the international United Steel Workers organization has been critical, citing, among other things, Nippon Steel's history of violating U.S. trade laws.

Don Gagne, NPR News, Pittsburgh. The militant group Hamas says it's continuing to review a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza without an official rejection. However, a reaction to the plan, which the US says has received approval from Israel, has been lukewarm at best. President Trump, meanwhile, continues to say negotiators are close to a deal. Officials speaking on condition of anonymity say the proposal would call for a 60-day pause in fighting. Guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances Israel will not resume hostilities. PBS and a public television station in rural Minnesota have sued President Trump over his executive orders,

seeking to bar federal funds from going to PBS and NPR. As David Falkenflick reports, NPR and three public radio stations previously filed a similar suit. The lawsuit contends Trump's order would upend public television and pose an existential threat to Lakeland PBS, which serves central and northern Minnesota. Trump alleges PBS and NPR fail to provide, quote, fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news. The two networks deny that.

In their lawsuit Friday, the public television outlets argue, quote, our constitution and laws forbid the president from serving as the arbiter of content. A White House spokesperson says Trump is, quote, exercising his lawful authority to bar the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and local public media stations from sending federal funds to the two networks. CPB is privately incorporated and is ignoring Trump's demand. It's separately suing the president in a fight over control of its board. David Folkenflick and PR News.

A key inflation gauge showed signs of cooling last month with no signs yet that the Trump administration's tariffs are noticeably pushing up prices at At the same time, Americans saw a jump in their incomes. Commerce Department reporting today consumer prices in April were up just 2.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago, excluding volatile food and energy costs. Core inflation was up two and a half percent. On Wall Street today, the Dow was up 54 points. You're listening to NPR. Virginia is one of the latest states to crack down on the amount of screen time for children. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports it's part

of a growing trend as states move to limit how and when young people engage with digital platforms. Virginia's new law takes effect next year. It aims to limit social media use for minors under 16 to one hour per day, unless parents provide verifiable consent to adjust that limit. Sasi Naga is the CEO of Parent Genie, an app that's designed to help parents better monitor their kids' screen time. He says mental health concerns driving these efforts are real. High levels of screen time are associated with increased anxiety disruptor sleep,

reduced physical activity and lower academic engagement. Other states like Illinois have social media curfew laws that restrict minors from accessing sites between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Windsor-Johnston NPR News. Music superstar Taylor Swift says she has now regained control over her entire body of work. The singer-songwriter says she's purchased the rights to her first six records from the most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital, originally released through Big Machine Records, Swift over the past few years. She's also been re-recording and releasing her early albums in an effort to regain control of the rights. Swift did not disclose the price she paid, though music industry publication Billboard

quoting sources has valued that deal at around $360 million. Critical futures prices continue to bounce around a bit today, oiled down 15 cents a barrel to $60.79 a barrel. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's a barrel. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.