NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-31-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

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Politics is a lot these days. I'm Sarah McCammon, a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast, and I'll be the first to tell you what happens in Washington definitely demands some decoding. That's why our show makes politics as easy as possible to wrap your head around. Join us as we make politics make sense on the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Hamas says it's given its response to a Gaza ceasefire proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. As NPR's Andeel El-Shalchi reports, Hamas is agreeing to some of the terms.

In a statement, Hamas said that it has agreed to release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages. This is in exchange for Israel to release an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners. The U.S. proposal calls for a 60-day ceasefire. Israel accepted Witkoff's proposal earlier this week, but it's not a done deal. Hamas is still seeking other demands, according to reports in Arab and Israeli media. It says it wants a comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a permanent end to the war. More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in Gaza 20 months ago

when Hamas militants attacked Israel. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump says he plans to double the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent effective Wednesday. He says the higher tariffs will boost the steel industry in the U.S. Steel workers are very happy. We did the tariffs. It's going to put them even, make them even more competitive.

And it's turning out to be a great deal. I think it's going to be a fantastic deal. Trump also said that Japanese steelmaker Nippon has agreed to make a large investment in U.S. steel, but it will remain an American company. Nippon has been seeking to acquire U.S. steel. American companies that have been paying higher tariffs are now wondering if they might start getting their money back. Two federal court rulings this week found the White House overstepped its legal authority on sweeping worldwide tariffs. But those rulings this week found the White House overstepped its legal authority on sweeping worldwide tariffs.

But those rulings are on hold pending appeals, bringing more uncertainty. NPR's Alina Seljuk reports. Many American small business owners have been on a roller coaster of tariff-related feelings, worry, confusion, anxiety. Now there are new emotions. I feel a lot of relief and hope. Sarah Wells from Virginia sells breast pump backpacks and other maternity accessories. We still have some work going on in the court system in terms of the appeals.

So I'm very cautiously optimistic at this point. She had a shipment from China that was already in route when the tariffs started escalating, costing her an unexpected $15,000 at customs. She has now canceled all her orders from China and set up some operations in Cambodia. Alina Seluk, NPR News. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the threat from China is real and could be imminent. He spoke today in Singapore at a forum for defense leaders and diplomats from the Indo-Pacific, urging them to spend more on defense.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and is vowed to take the separately governed island by force if necessary. Heges says that any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. This is NPR News. Five Kansas women are suing the state over a law that invalidates end-of-life directives during pregnancy, amid growing scrutiny over life support requirements for pregnant patients. Rose Conlin of Member Station KMUW reports. Kansas allows adults to decline life support measures if they're incapacitated and terminally

ill, but those directives are automatically invalid during pregnancy. That violates pregnant women's right to personal autonomy and equal protection under the state constitution, says attorney Jess Pesley with the advocacy group Compassion and Choices. The ultimate question this case asks is whether people lose their constitutional rights when they become pregnant. Over 30 states have some form of pregnancy exclusion in laws around advance directives. The lawsuit comes as concern grows over a brain-dead pregnant Georgia woman who's

been kept on life support for three months and counting due to state abortion laws. For NPR News, I'm Rose Conlin in Wichita. Canadian firefighters are trying to control wildfires burning across the Northwest. 17,000 people have been forced from their homes in remote communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The premier of Manitoba, Wab Kanu, says the hot, dry weather is expected to continue. The climate is clearly changing. Just for our province's history, typically we'd have wildfires in one region, say east,

west, north. This year, it's in every region and at the same time. So going forward, we're going to have to scale up our wildfire fighting efforts as well as talking about mitigation. Smoke from the fires has triggered air quality alerts as far away as Chicago. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.