NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-01-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: June 1, 2025

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It all starts with listening. To the person in front of you and the person you'll never meet. To the person living a story and the journalist who helps you see it in a new light. The NPR network is built on listening. With microphones in every region so where there any time a voice or sound demands to be heard. Hear stories in the first person, hear the bigger picture on NPR. Liveiles Snyder Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder.

Medics in Gaza say at least 31 Palestinians have been killed, more than 200 wounded by Israeli tank fire near a U.S.-funded aid distribution center in Ra'afa. The Israeli military says it's unaware of casualties caused by shelling there. Hamas says the attack shows the Gaza humanitarian foundation aid sites are death traps. The BBC's Sebastian Usher in Jerusalem says aid agencies agree. Sebastian Usher, BBC News They believe some of the chaos, some of the casualties that there have been over the past few days wouldn't necessarily have happened if they still been in control. Their criticism has been that aid agencies would have been

involved in this distribution for years, changing the system in such a time with people in such a desperate state is not conducive to the best outcome for Gazans themselves and also that it has the potential of forcing Palestinians into smaller and smaller areas where the aid distribution is taking place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ended the uncertainty. He says Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of talks with Russia. He issued a statement today on social media. China denouncing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech this weekend to an international defense

forum in which he warned of threats posed by China. MPR's Anthony Hn reports from Singapore. In a statement on its website, China's foreign ministry said Hegseth's speech was provocative, smeared China, and peddled a Cold War vision of confrontation between opposing camps. In his speech to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth said the U.S. is strengthening its deterrence of China by, for example, deploying anti-ship missiles to the Luzon Strait near Taiwan

in April. China's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. is turning the Asia-Pacific region into a powder keg, ignoring the wishes of Asian nations for peace and development. The ministry says it lodged diplomatic representations with the U.S. over Hegseth's speech. Anthony Kuhn in PR News Singapore. The State Department says it's going to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students who have connections to the Chinese Communist Party, or if they study in what Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling critical fields. NPR's Emily Fang has more on just how that might affect the approximately 270,000 Chinese students now studying in the U.S. The announcement sent more waves of anxiety through China, where Tomo Rothschild, who

runs a consulting company that helps Chinese students apply for American universities, says many families are beside themselves. Many of them are losing their mind. There is intense competition and veneration for an American education in China. China is the second biggest source of foreign students to the U.S. Most study in science and technology fields when they get to the U.S. And data from the U.S. National Science Foundation finds more than 80% of these students then stay and work in the U.S. after graduation. Emily Fang, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. The Indiana Pacers have clinched their spot in the NBA finals

after a game six win over the New York Knicks. The Pacers won 125 to 108. They will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the championship, as NPR's Becky Sullivan reports. The Pacers set the tone for this series with an improbable Game 1 comeback. Tide scores and shots beyond belief followed with celebrities like Timothee Chalamet, Caitlin Clark, and Spike Lee watching from the sidelines. The Knicks took Game 3 with a comeback of their own, but

then fell behind three games to one. On Saturday night in Indianapolis, New York hung close in the first half, but their turnovers caught up with them, 18 and all. And Indiana took advantage, led by stars Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Halliburton. In the finals, the Pacers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder had one of the best regular seasons of all time. Neither Oklahoma City nor Indiana have ever won an NBA title. Game one is Wednesday.

Becky Sullivan, NPR News. In California, transgender high school athlete took home two gold medals at the state high school track and field championship competing under a new rule that may be the first of its kind nationally. Critics had called for her to be barred. President Trump had threatened state funding. But Karina Gazada-Adnan says the new rule seems to be a fair compromise. I think it's too much and is an issue.

And I think a compromise has been reached and just let the athlete compete with the fair compromise that was reached. Kazada Adnan was at the meet to watch her son compete. A.B. Hernandez topped the field in the girls' high jump and the triple jump under the new rule she shared first place with her closest competitors. I'm Giles Snyder, NPR News. The news can feel like a lot on any given day, but you can't just ignore it when big, even world-changing events are happening.

That's where the Up First podcast comes in. Every morning at under 15 minutes, we take the news and pick three essential stories so you can keep up without getting stressed out. Listen now to the Up First podcast from NPR.