NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-31-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

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Fall in love with new music every Friday at All Songs Considered, that's NPR's music recommendation podcast. Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week. Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump says he's hiking the tariff on foreign steel. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports on the announcement Trump made during an appearance at a steel plant near Pittsburgh. He walked onto the stage to his campaign music and he delivered a very political speech. I mean, he tacked Biden, he touted how much he loves tariffs. And it

was actually when he was talking about his tariff agenda when he stopped to say that he had another big announcement to deliver. And he told the crowd that he's doubling tariffs on foreign steel imports. Trump said he plans to push the steel tariff to 50% and he later posted on social media that the increased tariff would also apply to aluminum imports. Trump was in Pennsylvania to talk up an agreement between Japan's Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel that he said would help keep jobs in the U.S. Nippon has been seeking to acquire U.S. Steel since 2023. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst faced loud opposition to her support of President Trump's so-called

Big Beautiful bill at a town hall Friday. From Iowa Public Radio, James Kelly reports that constituents took issue with proposed cuts to a number of programs, including Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the spending plan would result in more than $700 billion in spending cuts to Medicaid over the next decade. Ernst said the bill is meant, in part, to make sure benefits aren't going to those in the U.S. without legal status. A person in the audience shouted back that people could die because of the cuts.

They are not eligible, so they will be coming off. So people are not, well, we all are going to die. Ernst said a number of provisions in the House bill will not be included in the Senate's version, but did not say which ones. For NPR News, I'm James Kelly in Parkersburg, Iowa. Ukraine has yet to confirm if it will attend another round of peace talks in Istanbul. The talks are set for Monday, but President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine first needs to see Russian proposals on ending the war.

During a visit to Kyiv, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, discussed imposing new sanctions on Russia, as NPR's Hannah Palomarenko reports. Thank you for coming, Kyiv, for having us. President Zelensky thanked the U.S. lawmakers for co-sponsoring a bill that would impose 500 percent tariffs on goods from countries that purchase Russian oil products. It has already received the support of more than 80 U.S. senators. Senator Lindsey Graham said in Kiev these sanctions could break Russia's military

machine. Russia is playing a game at the expense of the world, not just the United States. We're going to change that game for Russia. The game that Putin's been playing is about to change." The senators emphasized that if Putin does not agree to serious peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, these sanctions could come into effect. Hanna Palomarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. This is NPR. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsath is seeking to reassure Indo-Pacific allies when it comes

to China. Speaking today at the annual Shangverla defense summit in Singapore, Hegsath said the U.S. will not leave them alone to face Chinese military and economic pressure. On Taiwan, Hegsath said China is, in his words, actively training its military to take control of the self-governing island. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed the routine recommendation for kids to get COVID vaccines. The change contradicts advice from medical experts, as Zimpier's Ping Huang reports.

The CDC vaccine schedule now reflects a directive announced Tuesday by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Previously, the CDC recommended that everyone six months and older get annual COVID vaccines. Now, the vaccine schedule recommends COVID vaccines for kids through shared clinical decision-making that's if a doctor and patient decide together that it makes sense. And there's no recommendation for pregnant women to get COVID vaccines. The changes

contradict the advice of professional medical groups who continue to recommend COVID vaccines. The changes contradict the advice of professional medical groups who continue to recommend COVID vaccines to children and pregnant women based on scientific evidence that shows they are safe and effective. Public health experts are alarmed by how the changes were made. The closed-door process upends the public discussions

and votes that have been a staple of the process for decades. Ping Huang, NPR News. Beekeepers in Washington state have been working to save as many bees as they can after a commercial truck overturned near the Canadian border yesterday. The truck was carrying an estimated 250 million honey bees. I'm Jai Hill Snyder. This is NPR News. A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably NPR News.