NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-31-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: June 1, 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 Janene Hurst.

Hamas says it's agreed to part of a ceasefire deal in Gaza proposed by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Empress Hadil al-Shalchi has more. In a statement, Hamas said that it has agreed to release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages. This is an exchange for Israel to release an agreed upon number of Palestinian prisoners. The US 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. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the threat from China is real and could be imminent. At a security conference for defense leaders in Singapore today, he urged them to spend more on defense. China views Taiwan as its

own territory and it's vowed to take the self-governed island by force if necessary. Hexeth says any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and for the world. Now that the Justice Department won its suit against Google and its search engine monopoly, lawyers for both sides were in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C. this week over the penalty phase. As MPR's Jacqueline Diaz reports, the two sides are far apart. The Justice Department presented arguments to U.S. District Judge Ahmet Mehta as to why he should follow their tough penalty proposals for the tech giant.

The DOJ is looking for Google to sell off its popular Chrome browser and to license its search data to other companies. But Google's lead attorney says that would just be giving Google competitors a handout. Google for its part has agreed to stop making exclusive search engine agreements with device makers like Apple, among other things. MEDA is expected to issue his decision on penalties in August, and Google says it plans to appeal. So this legal saga is far from over.

Jacqueline Diaz, NPR News. The Energy Department canceled $3.7 billion that were focused on cutting carbon emissions, and Piers Kamila Domenoski reports. Theila Domenoski The 24 canceled awards include an initiative by ExxonMobil to use hydrogen instead of natural gas at a plant in Baytown, Texas, and a cement plant in Indiana that planned to integrate carbon capture. Clean energy groups have objected, with one calling the move short-sighted, while another described it as an unforced error. Many of these grants focused on novel or unproven forms of cutting emissions, an area where the U.S. is widely seen as having a competitive edge.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement that the projects would not provide a return on the taxpayer dollar. Camila Dominovski, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. And the International Atomic Energy Agency is calling on Tehran to quickly change course and comply with the agency's probe.

Today's report from the agency comes at a sensitive time. As Tehran and Washington have been holding several rounds of talks over a possible nuclear deal the U.S. is trying to reach. Iran has long been enriching uranium to 60 percent or near weapons-grade levels, but maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded SpaceX's Starships after a mishap involving its out-of-control test flight on 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. And this Texas state legislature approved a bill giving $8.5 billion to schools that includes raises for teachers. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.