NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-03-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, Colorado authorities have charged a suspect in the Boulder attack last Sunday with 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder. He also faces a federal hate crimes charge. Twelve people were injured. The Department of Homeland Security says the 45-year-old suspect was in the U.S. illegally. Members of the Jewish community and other faith groups in Boulder are expressing shock. From member station KUNC, Emma Vanden Heide reports the weekly demonstration on Sunday in Boulder was in support of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Susan Rona, who is Jewish and lives in Boulder, is the regional director of the mountain states for the Anti-Defamation League. She says she's heartbroken and outraged. We have an incredibly vibrant Jewish community here in Boulder, and this attack cuts to the heart of the fabric of who we are as a people. Sharah Smith with the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado says both

Jewish and Muslim groups are deeply concerned for each other. We do not need more division. We need to find our way through this horrific attack and not lose sight of each other. Smith says she hopes local leaders will work to bring people together. For NPR News, I'm Emma Vanden Heide in Denver. 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 today. bridge in the occupied region of Crimea today. Ukraine says it used underwater explosives to rupture the Kerch Strait bridge. Russia uses this bridge to ship

military supplies to its troops fighting Ukraine. This is the third time Ukraine says it has hit that bridge. Exit polls in South Korea suggest that opposition party candidate Lee Jae-myeong is projected to win the country's presidential election. The snap vote 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. Yoon rescinded that call in a few hours. The Trump administration wants to lift Biden-era protections

against oil and grass, rather gas drilling, on millions of acres of public land in Alaska. NPR's Jeff Brady reports the mostly undisturbed area is considered important habitat for wildlife. At issue is about 13 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska. While it's labeled a petroleum reserve, it's mostly undeveloped wild land. The debate over whether to allow oil companies to drill there has simmered for years. The American Petroleum Institute applauded the proposal to lift the year-old protections, saying the oil industry is important to Alaska's economy. Environmental groups opposed the move, saying wild places deserve protection

from drilling rigs. Pollution from burning oil and gas are significant contributors to climate change. The Bureau of Land Management will collect comments for 60 days before issuing a final rule. Jeff Brady reporting. This is NPR. President Trump's latest announcement on tariffs is supposed to go into effect tomorrow. Last week, he suddenly announced he would double U.S. tariffs on imported aluminum and steel from 25 percent to 50 percent. The increased tariff rates could affect everything from soup and soda cans to washing machines.

A new national study finds measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates have dropped about two and a half percent in recent years compared to what they were before the pandemic. From member station wypr scott macioni reports public health experts say the decline is moving the country farther away from what's known as herd immunityu percent drop in measles, brings the average vaccin 91% down from 94% before to the study from Johns H Gardner is a public health

the school. Measles is ve you want about 95% of a p through vaccination to prevent outbreaks of measles happening in that location. The study focused on county level vaccination rates and found that 78% of counties in the state saw a drop in vaccination rates. Some locations saw drops as large as 15%.

For NPR News, I'm Scott Massione. Weather forecasters have issued air quality warnings for parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin because of smoke drifting down from Canadian wildfires. But areas farther south and east are reporting smoke issues, too, such as in Pittsburgh. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.