NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-03-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

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A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes. Because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big, crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is testifying before a Senate panel this morning. She's being asked about why she's demanding a 15 percent cut to her agency's budget. McMahon insists that's to slash the bloat in the agency. Our budget reflects this vision. Its cuts reflect a bureaucracy that is getting out of the way. And its continuations and increases represent smart spending that will help improve student achievement and not serve bureaucratic interests. McMahon is calling for some K-12 programs to be consolidated, including efforts to aid

rural schools and another program that helps students who are homeless. The Trump administration is also demanding cuts to the federal work study program that's at the college level. Indiana Governor Mike Braun has fired the three trustees of Indiana University who were elected by alumni. He has replaced them with his own three picks. It's the latest effort from a Republican governor to address what they see as issues in public higher education.

For Member Station WFIU, Ethan Sandweiss reports, the governor only got the power to remove the trustees in April. Last minute changes to the state budget allowed the governor to remove the three elected trustees, although Braun previously told reporters he wasn't considering it. The governor notified them they were terminated in a one-sentence letter. The new trustees include conservative attorney James Bopp Jr., who represented Citizens United in a court case that opened the door for corporate political spending. Bopp has also challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Governor Mike Braun also appointed former ESPN anchor Stage Steel, who was suspended from the network in 2021 after comments against COVID vaccine mandates and about former president Barack Obama's racial identity. For NPR News, I'm Ethan Sandweiss in Bloomington, Indiana. The State Department says more white South Africans who were given refugee status by the Trump administration have now arrived in the U.S.

Kate Bartlett reports the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria is continuing to interview applicants for the controversial refugee program. The State Department confirmed, quote, refugees continue to depart South Africa on commercial flights as part of the Department's successful efforts to resettle Afrikaners seeking safe haven in the United States.

It did not reply to questions on how many have left since the first group of 59 arrived in the US on a charter flight last month. The Associated Press quoted the Solidarity Movement, a local group representing the Afrikaner minority, as saying another nine Afrikaners had left late last week. Trump says Afrikaners, the descendants of mainly Dutch colonists, are being persecuted in South Africa. The South African government and most experts say there is no evidence to support this. For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. On Wall Street stocks are higher. The Dow is up

more than 82 points. The Nasdaq is up 142. You're listening to NPR. Exit polls in South Korea suggest opposition party candidate Lee Jae Myung is projected to win the country's presidential election. The snap election was called to replace former South Korean President Yoon Song Yol. He was impeached this year and removed from office in April. That was over his short-lived declaration of martial law last December. Days after a major strike on Russian air bases, Ukraine is claiming that it has hit a strategic bridge in the occupied region of Crimea. Ukraine says it used underwater explosives to rupture the Kerch Strait Bridge. Russia uses that bridge to ship military supplies to its troops

fighting Ukraine. An exercise program for colon cancer survivors can cut their risk of dying by one-third. NPR's Maria Godoy reports on the findings of a first-of-its-kind trial. The study involved 889 patients who had completed chemotherapy. Half were given information promoting fitness and nutrition. The other half worked with a coach in a structured exercise program over three years. After eight years, patients in the structured exercise program

had a 28% lower risk of their cancer coming back. Over the years, lots of research has shown that colon cancer survivors who are more physically active have a lower risk of recurrence and improved overall survival compared to those who exercise less. But the new study is the first randomized controlled trial to find similar improvements. The findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine. Coleman NPR News from Washington.