NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-01-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: June 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Ukraine's President Zelensky says his country's security service planned a daring operation involving drones smuggled into Russia that hit 41 Russian warplanes and several airfields. And here's Joanna Kisus has more. In his nightly video address, Zelensky said 117 first-person view drones were used in what Ukraine Security Services calls Operation Spiderweb. Zelensky said, we prepared for this operation for more than a year and a half. The organization and details were perfectly prepared. In a statement, Ukraine's security service said

about a third of strategic cruise missile carriers in Russia's main airfields were destroyed at a total cost of about seven billion dollars. Russia often uses bomber planes to shoot missiles at Ukrainian cities, killing civilians and destroying homes. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks. Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv. And peace talks are scheduled tomorrow in Istanbul. The Senate returns tomorrow as President Trump demands they support his massive spending bill. The House passed the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but some GOP senators

say the current bill won't pass the Senate. And here's Luke Garrett has more. A handful of Republican spending hawks in the Senate are casting doubt on a bill that would enact President Trump's domestic agenda of cutting taxes, increasing border spending, and scaling back safety net programs. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told Fox News, he supports Trump, but this bill fails to rein in US spending.

My loyalty is to the American people, to my kids and grandkids. We cannot continue to mortgage their future. And Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky told CBS News the bill is too expensive to pass. I think there are four of us at this point, and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction. If the Senate makes changes, the bill would have to pass the House again before reaching Trump's desk. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

The Atlantic hurricane season gets underway today today and despite budget cuts by the Trump administration, the National Hurricane Center says it's ready for a busy season. And Pierce Greg Allen reports. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is projecting 13 to 19 named storms this season with 6 to 10 hurricanes. Last year, five hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., three of them in Florida. The director of the National Hurricane Center, Mike Brennan, says the leading cause of death from hurricanes now is inland flooding, often in communities far from the coast. That was the case last year in Hurricane Helene. There were 175 direct fatalities from Helene.

The vast majority of them occurred in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, well away from where Helene actually made landfall. Brennan is urging people to prepare a disaster kit, know if they're in an evacuation zone, and listen to local emergency managers. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Federal forecasters are giving a heads up that a geomagnetic storm is expected to be severe and that brings the chance of a spectacular northern lights display across much of the

U.S. tonight. And Piers Amy Heldt has more. Think of it as a nighttime salutation from the sun. Sent Friday, a powerful coronal mass ejection that's basically a chunk of the sun erupted, says the Space Weather Prediction Center, hurtling toward Earth. Charged particles colliding with our atmosphere can create an aurora, also known as the Northern Lights,

shimmering sheets of purples, blues, and greens. Tonight's could be visible as far south as Alabama, forecasters say, all the way to Northern California. On a five-point scale, they put this geomagnetic storm at four. That's severe, but less intense than last year's that lit up skies the world over and disrupted some power and communication systems. This time, forecasters say, GPS and voltage control problems are possible. Amy Held, NPR News. At the weekend box office, Disney's Lilo and Stitch took

the top spot again with an estimated $63 million in ticket sales. The hybrid live-action movie has made $280 million and is the second highest grossing film of this year so far. In second place, Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning, with $27 million. It's taken in $353 million globally. That movie cost a reported $400 million to produce. In third place, Karate Kid, Legends, with $21 million. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.