NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-04-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

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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. New tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are now in effect. President Trump signed an executive order this week, raising the duties from 25 to 50 percent.

The White House says the move targets unfair trade practices, especially from China, and aims to boost American production. NPR's Scott Horsley reports consumers may soon feel the impact through higher prices. In many cases, this tax will be passed on to consumers in everything from washing machines and car parts to canned soup and soda pop. About three-quarters of the steel used in food cans is now imported. Domestic steel mills just don. About three quarters of the steel used in food cans is now imported. Domestic steel mills just don't produce

a lot of that steel anymore, so can makers have to rely on foreign supplies. That's NPR's Scott Horsley reporting. The Pentagon may rename ships and installations that honor civil rights leaders. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports that includes the US Navy ship Harvey Milk, named for the slain gay rights leader.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an internal review, according to his spokesman, to make sure names of ships and bases reflect President Trump's priorities. But a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak tells NPR Hegseth has already directed the Navy to remove Harvey Milk's name from the ship that has honored him since 2016. Milk served in the Navy and later became one of the country's leading gay rights leaders. He was assassinated in 1978. The officials said the review includes ships named for civil rights pioneers Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Thurgood Marshall and Medgar Evers, suffragists Lucy Stone, labor leaders Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, and even Harriet Tubman, who freed enslaved people and led Union troops during

the Civil War. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. Police in Southern California have made another arrest in last month's car bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs. 32-year-old Daniel Park, a resident of Washington State, was taken into custody last night at JFK Airport in New York. The Trump administration has revoked guidance for hospitals that mandated they provide abortions to women when their lives are at risk. NPR's Katie Ariddle reports. Katie Ariddle, NPR News There's a federal law that says anyone who

comes into an emergency room must be given life-saving care. The Biden administration argued this law should apply to abortions, even in states where the procedure is banned. But there's been widespread confusion about what exactly constitutes a life-threatening emergency for a pregnant woman since the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion. Yesterday, the Trump administration reversed the Biden directive. Abortion opponents support the decision. Advocates for abortion rights say the move will add more confusion to an already murky legal landscape.

They caution this could mean women would be denied life-saving care. Katie O'Rettle, NPR News. This is NPR News in Washington. A low-pressure system is brewing off the southeast coast of the U.S. The National Weather Service says the storm could produce heavy rain and flash flooding from Florida to the Carolinas. Forecasters warn the system could develop into a tropical depression, bringing hazardous conditions to coastal communities.

Parts of the South are also dealing with air quality concerns, not from the Canadian wildfires, but rather the Sahara Desert. Winds are carrying a huge cloud of dust from Africa across the Atlantic and into the Gulf Coast and southeast. Officials in Saudi Arabia say more than 2 million people are performing the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in and around Mecca today, where temperatures peaked above 100 degrees. NPR's Aya Batraoui reports this surpasses last year's figure of around 1.8 million

pilgrims who took part. The Hajj pilgrimage draws Muslims from around the world to Saudi Arabia each year. It's one of the largest and most logistically challenging gatherings of people anywhere. Last year, at least 1,300 people died of heat exhaustion at the Hajj. Saudi authorities say they've installed more shaded walkways and water coolers around the Hajj this year. Tens of thousands of medics are also on hand to assist. Most of the people who died last year from the heat

did not have authorized visas or adequate accommodation. Saudi authorities say in the lead-up to this year's Hajj, they turned away 269,000 people without authorized permits. Many save up for a lifetime to afford the journey to Mecca and wait for years for their turn to secure the visa. Muslims believe completing the Hajj can wipe away past sins. Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.