NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-03-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

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Hey, it's Sarah Gonzalez. The economy has been in the news a lot lately. It's kind of always in the news and Planet Money is always here to explain it. Each episode we tell a sometimes quirky, sometimes surprising, always interesting story that helps you better understand the economy. So when you hear something about cryptocurrency or where exactly your taxes go, yes, I was. Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. ago, yes, I was. Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The family of Mohamed Soleimani, the suspected terrorist in the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The

Department of Homeland Security says it will investigate to what extent his family knew about the attack. NPR's Jasmine Garz says more. Details are still unclear, but in a series of posts on social media, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the family of Mohammed Solomon has been taken into custody. Solomon was arrested on site after attacking peaceful demonstrators in Boulder who were calling for a release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. He used a makeshift flamethrower and through Molotov cocktails, 12 people were injured. He's being charged with a hate crime. Authorities say Solomon is an Egyptian national who overstayed a tourist visa. Noam says DHS is investigating whether the family

had any knowledge or provided support for the attacks. Jasmine Garst, NPR News, New York. Elon Musk is calling President Trump's signature spending bill a disgusting abomination. NPR's Bobby Allen explains. The remarks follow Musk's departure as head of the White House's cost-cutting initiative. In a post on X, Musk has escalated his attacks on President Trump's big, beautiful bill, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Musk writes the legislation is a, quote, massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill, saying the House lawmakers who passed it should be ashamed. The bill would cut taxes, boost military and border security spending, and slashes funding to Medicaid and clean energy programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add more than $2 trillion to the deficit. In a White House briefing, Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt said Trump knows where Musk stood on the bill, and that does not change Trump's opinion. Bobby Allen, NPR News. President Trump is expected to sign an executive order boosting taxes on imported steel and

aluminum to a total of 50 percent, with those new higher tariffs anticipated to take effect tomorrow. The immediate effect will be higher prices and everything from cars to canned goods for U.S. consumers. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says letters are being sent to U.S. trading partners with reciprocal tariffs, paused to 10 percent, asking them for their best trade offers. International forecasters are warning of slower economic growth in the U.S. and globally. NPR's Scott Horsley reports tariffs are partly to blame.

A new forecast from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects the U.S. economy will grow just 1.6 percent this year, down from 2.8 percent last year. The OECD says President Trump's trade war is also weighing on global growth. Economic worry has been very good for Dollar General, as anxious customers go hunting for bargains at the discount retailer. Dollar General's most recent quarterly sales hit a record topping 10 billion dollars. The chain reported better than expected quarterly profits and raised its earnings forecast to the full year. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 214 points. You're listening to NPR. 214 points. You're listening to NPR. Facebook parent Metta says it has inked a 20-year deal to help it meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs by

securing energy generated by nuclear power. Included in the deal would be an expansion of a nuclear plant in Illinois owned by Constellation Energy. The agreement is the latest between tech-hungry nuclear, or AI, and nuclear producers. The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was joking when he said he wasn't aware of hurricane season. That is according to a Department of Homeland Security official. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

FEMA staff told several news organizations that acting administrator David Richardson said he wasn't aware hurricane season existed. Now the Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA, says that was just a joke. Previous reporting backs that up. There are quotes of Richardson discussing hurricane season. The kerfuffle comes as FEMA faces questions about its future. Last month, another acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was pushed out after he told a congressional committee that he thought FEMA should not be eliminated. That contradicted President Trump, who's called for many of FEMA's disaster response duties to be transferred to

states. Jeff Brady, NPR News. Iconic Goodyear blimps are taking a victory lap in the skies above Akron, Ohio this week. Goodyear is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the inaugural flight of its first branded blimp known as Pilgrim, which embarked on its main voyage just outside the city June 3rd of 1925. Goodyear began experimenting with what are known as lighter-than-air aircraft in the early 1900s. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.

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