NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-03-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Authorities in Boulder, Colorado have added four more people to the injured list from the attack on peaceful marchers last weekend. Colorado Public Radio's Allison Sherry reports. Officials say in doing witness interviews with various people who saw what happened on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on Sunday, they discovered more victims with minor injuries. These were mostly people who were helping the more severely injured in the attack. Two of the 12 victims remain hospitalized.

The Department of Homeland Security says the man charged with the crime came to the US on a tourist visa three years ago, but didn't have legal status. He was an Egyptian national, but lived in Kuwait for almost 20 years. He faces dozens of state charges and a federal hate crime charge so far and has another court appearance later this week. For NPR News, I'm Allison Sherry in Denver. The White House is

ramping up pressure on Senate Republicans to approve the large budget bill that passed the House by one vote last month. The legislation slashes federal spending and extends tax cuts. NPR's Tamara Keith reports President Trump is lobbying for the bill. There are the usual lengthy social media posts but Trump is also picking up the phone to push for what he's calling the one big beautiful bill. A senior White House official tells NPR an all-out advocacy effort is underway to get Republican senators to support the sweeping legislation already passed by the House without making too

many changes. The official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said there's not a lot of room to maneuver because it passed so narrowly in the House. The official said to expect a succession of big names from the administration up on the Hill making the case. Tamar Keith, NPR News. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is expected to testify before a Senate panel today. She'll be asked about her agency's budget and President Trump's plans to close the Education Department. There's still a lot of astonishment over Ukraine's bold and unexpected drone attack on Russia last Sunday. Ukraine piloted drones that hit several Russian air bases spread deep across the Russian heartland.

Some bases were more than 2,500 miles away from Ukraine or above the Arctic Circle. Ukraine calls this operation Spider's Web, but NPR's Greg Myrie says some Ukrainian bloggers call it Operation Trojan Trucks. Yeah, Ukraine says civilian trucks were secretly driven deep into Russia and then parked just a few miles from these Russian military bases. The attacks were then launched remotely,

allowing the hidden drones to fly out of the trucks and strike some of Russia's most valuable heavy bombers that were just parked out in the open at the bases. NPR's Greg Myrie prepared that report. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Louisiana authorities are investigating a social media video that apparently shows an escaped prisoner. Antoine Massie was one of 10 inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail last month through a hole in the wall behind a toilet.

All the two inmates have been recaptured. Now, a man claiming to be Massie has released a video claiming he was let out of jail. Many people looking to buy a home are having second thoughts right now. And Pierce Laurel Walmsley spoke with a couple of those would-be buyers who say the political situation has caused them to put their search on hold. 35-year-old Jeffrey and his husband had been shopping for a home in Dayton, Ohio, where they live, but those plans have changed as he's watched President Trump strip away civil rights protections and sign executive orders on DEI and gender identity.

Jeffrey worries that as a gay couple, their rights could be the next to go. It's hard to have any sort of future plan when things feel so unstable and like an executive order can just be passed on a whim that could attack my rights. He asked that his full name not be used out of fear for his safety.

Political and economic uncertainty may be factors in the slow U.S. home sales this spring. Mortgage rates near 7% don't help either. Laurel Wamsley in PR News. Nintendo's new gaming platform, Switch 2, is supposed to be released this week. It's been a bumpy rollout. Nintendo canceled some pre-orders earlier this year, blaming President Trump's tariffs. Some devices are supposed to be available in limited quantities in some major retailers this week,

but some social media users are reporting their pre-orders for this week have been canceled. You're listening to NPR.