NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-31-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

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A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes. Because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big, crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up first podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke today to a security conference in Singapore. He urged U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on defense to counter a growing threat from China. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more. He said that China is intimidating and harassing its neighbors, including Taiwan. It's using gray zone tactics that are short of war but are coercive. And at the same time, he insisted that the U.S. does not seek to strangle or humiliate China, but he said that China's threat is real.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn reporting from Singapore. President Trump says starting Wednesday, he's raising the tariffs on foreign steel from 25 percent to 50 percent. He also says that Nippon Steel has agreed to make a large investment in U.S. steel, which the Japanese steelmaker has been attempting to acquire. He said U.S. steel will remain an American company. The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Trump a temporary win yesterday. It permitted the administration to prematurely end the humanitarian program that had granted two-year legal status to more than a half million people from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports. Trump announced that he was ending the program on his first day in office this year, but a federal district court blocked the administration from doing that. The Justice Department then went directly to the Supreme Court, asking that the district court order be suspended while the litigation plays out in the lower courts. The high court granted the Trump administration's wish for now. Karen Tumlin, co-counsel for the immigrants, fought back tears today as she described the effects of what she said was the largest mass deportation in the nation's history. These people, she said, played by

the rules to enter the country legally. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. The Texas legislature has approved a bill to spend $8.5 billion on schools. It now heads to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. It would raise the basic student allotment for the first time since 2019. The Texas newsroom's Blaise Ganey has more. House Bill 2 includes $4.2 billion

for teacher and staff pay raises with amounts based on experience and district size, up to $8,000 for some teachers. It also provides 1.3 billion to cover costs like insurance and utilities, 850 million for special education including student evaluations, and 430 million for school safety upgrades like fencing and secure doors. The bill allows flexibility for public schools to begin offering full-day pre-K. While the basic allotment only increases by $55, most new funds are tied to specific uses.

Supporters call it targeted and classroom-focused, while advocates say it could limit flexibility in spending for some districts. I'm Blase Ganey in Austin. This is NPR News in Washington. This is NPR News in Washington. The United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency warned Iran to change course, saying its actions are of serious concern. The report comes as Iran and the U.S. are attempting to reach

an agreement that Iran would curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for a relaxation of sanctions. Taylor Swift may be one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but for most of her career, she has not owned the masters for her first six albums. NPR's Hazel Sills reports that's changed. It's common for singer-songwriters. Taylor Swift writes her songs, like one of her biggest hits, 2008's Love Story, and she sang it, but she didn't own it. It's a love story, baby, just say yes.

But now, Swift has announced she finally owns her masters, nearly six years after music executive Scooter Braun first acquired them in 2019. That initial sale was the inspiration behind Swift releasing rerecordings of albums she didn't own the Masters for, including her hit Red. Swift did not disclose what she paid for the rights to her music. Hazel Sills and PR News. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra has perform the Blue Danube Waltz today to mark the 200th birthday of composer Johann Strauss.

The European Space Agency will beam the performance into space to celebrate its 50th birthday. The piece has been considered a soundtrack to space after the film 2001, A Space Odyssey. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.