NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-02-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

NPR News: 06-02-2025 3PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave Podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. A man accused of carrying out a brutal attack on peaceful protesters in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday is set to appear in federal court at this hour. The FBI says there's enough evidence to charge the suspect with a hate crime after he allegedly

threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd of demonstrators who were calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Eight people were injured in the attack, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. The White House says the man is an Egyptian national who was in the U.S. illegally. If convicted, he's facing up to 10 years in prison. The Republican-led Senate is taking up a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut and spending package that contains the bulk of President Trump's agenda. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports Republicans in the upper chamber have clashed over whether to approve major cuts to Medicaid.

Before Congress left for a week-long recess, the Republican-led House passed the plan by just one vote after several brutal months of negotiations. And it's very likely the Senate will make changes to it. It extends tax cuts for individuals and businesses, which comes with a big price tag. It also makes big changes to defense, energy, and immigration policy.

Senate Republicans face plenty of internal divide to craft a final package. Deficit hawks want to install dramatic reductions to Medicaid to find new savings. But moderates say that's a red line. The plan in the Senate also has to get past a major procedural hurdle to fast-track the budget that could shape the bill's provisions. Claudia Rizalas, NPR News. Rescue teams in Gaza say Israel has carried out a series of airstrikes that targeted and destroyed more than 100 buildings over the past three days. The attacks leave thousands of people homeless with nowhere to shelter. NPR's Eya Batraoui reports the Israeli military says it was dismantling Hamas's military

capabilities without providing further detail. The spokesman for Gaza's rescue services, Mahmoud Basel, tells NPR most of Israel's bombardment of structures since Friday have targeted apartment buildings and towers in Gaza City. Residents are getting little advance notice to flee, he says. targeted apartment buildings and towers in Gaza City. Residents are getting little advanced notice to flee, he says. Airstrikes throughout Gaza continue to kill dozens of people daily, according to health officials there. Even before these latest attacks, the UN had said more than 90 percent

of homes in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed. This comes as Israel's top military commander says he's instructed troops to expand their ground offensive into more areas of Gaza. The military says its aim is to hold and clear territory in order to create conditions to return Israeli hostages and eliminate Hamas. U.S.-backed efforts for a temporary ceasefire have stalled. Ayah Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai. This is NPR News in Washington. Wildfires have forced more than 25,000 people to evacuate their homes in three provinces across central Canada.

The state of emergency has been declared in Manitoba one of the hardest-hit areas. Forecasters say the blazes are being fueled by hot, dry weather in the province. Smoke from the wildfires is starting to drift south into the United States, affecting air quality across the plains and parts of the upper Midwest. Your favorite childhood toy is probably still languishing in a landfill. But what if someone else could have borrowed that toy? Like a book from the library. Buffy Gorilla has more from Philadelphia. After becoming a mom, Crystal Cuniera started to thinkuffy Gorilla has more from Philadelphia. After becoming a mom, Crystal Cuniera started to think about ways to live more sustainably. And the biggest roadblock was the toy box.

We had these higher end toys that I didn't want to just get rid of. So my group of friends, we started sharing toys and it just felt like there was something more there. So it's a pretty simple concept. A toy library is just like a book library but for toys. You borrow them and you bring them back and exchange them. But Cuniera runs the Ruta Vega toy library like a business. Families pay up to $65 per month.

And then they get to borrow four toys at a time with unlimited exchanges. So they literally can come back every single day and exchange one or all of them. For NPR News, I'm Buffy Gorilla in Philadelphia. Stocks are trading mixed at the sour on Wall Street. The Dow was down 8 points. The NASDAQ composite up 122. This is NPR News.