NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-31-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

NPR News: 05-31-2025 6PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As NPR's daily economics podcast, the indicator has been asking businesses how tariffs are affecting their bottom line. I paid 800,000 today. You paid $800,000 in tariffs today. Yes. Wow. And what that means for your bottom line. Listen to the indicator from Planet Money.

Find us wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. The European Union says it regrets President Trump's decision this week to double the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 percent. An EU spokesperson says they will consider their own planned counter tariffs unless an agreement between the EU and US is reached. Trump says the US has been in negotiations with several countries on new trade deals, but except for Britain, agreements have not been announced.

MPs Ron Elving has more. And all this has been complicated further by court decisions this week, saying Trump does not have the authority to impose all these tariffs without Congress. That ruling by the International Trade Court could cripple the whole anti-tariff campaign, but that too is on pause just now while a higher court reviews that ruling. Danielle Pletka MPs, Ron Elving reporting. Week three of the federal criminal trial of hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs wrapped up with prosecutors bringing former employees to the stand to bolster their charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. And here's Anastasia Siloukis reports but first a warning. This report mentions physical and sexual violence.

A former employee appearing under the pseudonym Mia testified that Sean Combs repeatedly sexually assaulted her, threw items at her, and threatened her. Former employee Capricorn Clark testified that Combs had kidnapped her during a jealous rage involving his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, and the rapper Kid Cudi. Deontay Nash, a former stylist to both Combs and Ventura, testified that Ventura told him on multiple occasions that she did not want to participate in Combs' so-called freak-offs, marathons of sex and drug use with male prostitutes that Combs allegedly forced Ventura to take part in.

Anastasiia Tsouliakas, NPR News, New York. Millions of Americans are under alert for compromised air quality this weekend. The culprit? Out-of-control wildfires ravaging the forests of the Canadian province of Manitoba. And Perzalana Weiss reports thick billowing clouds of smoke have swept through at least three states in the northern US. Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota

have all issued air quality alerts for their residents. This comes as 17,000 Manitobans have been forced to flee their homes as dangerous fires cut through the province's prized wildlands. The evacuation effort is the largest in recent history for Manitoba. These fires come on the heels of two consecutive years of devastating wildfire seasons. In those years as well, Americans suffered as heavy smoke plumes crossed into the states. In all three affected states, experts warned that the air quality is unsafe for people like children and the elderly. In Minnesota, which is projected to be the hardest hit, the air quality will

be reduced to the point of danger for sensitive groups. You're listening to NPR News. At least two people have been killed in Russia's drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. Meanwhile, prospects for peace talks remain uncertain. It's not clear whether Ukrainian diplomats will attend Russia's proposed new rounds of peace talks next week in Istanbul. Russia's Ministry of Defense says it gained control of a Ukrainian village in the Donetsk region and another in the northern

Sumi region. Ukrainian authorities in Sumi ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 more settlements as Russian forces made steady gains in the area. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded SpaceX's Starship after a mishap involving its out-of-control test flight Tuesday. Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton has more. STARSHIP's ninth test flight marked the first time reusing a super-heavy booster, part of its powerful rocket system. The unsuccessful test mission saw the spacecraft tumble out of control and break apart over the Indian Ocean. The booster was also lost after it

exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. The FAA says the rocket is grounded until SpaceX determines the cause of the failure. Debris from both the booster and main rocket fell in pre-planned hazard areas, according to the FAA. One airline flight was diverted, another delayed. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said he wants to accelerate Starship test flights with the ultimate aim of reaching Mars. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio. Also in Texas, the state legislature approved a bill giving $8.5 billion to school. That includes raises for teachers and money for full-day pre-K care.

I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.