NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-04-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

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On NPR's ThruLine, witnesses were ending up dead. How the hunt for gangster Al Capone launched the IRS to power. Find NPR's ThruLine wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. The cost of imported steel and aluminum is going up. NPR's Scott Horsley reports President Trump has ordered a doubling of the tariff on the imported metals starting today. President Trump signed an executive order boosting the tax on imported steel and aluminum

from 25 to 50 percent, making good on a pledge he issued last week while visiting a steel mill outside Pittsburgh. Trump says the higher tariffs will help to protect the domestic steel and aluminum industries. History shows it will also raise prices for the much more numerous businesses that use those metals. The 50 percent import taxes could have far-reaching effects on the cost of everything from automobiles to beer cans. The tariffs are authorized under a 1962 law designed to protect national security.

That's different from the 1977 law Trump has relied on for many of his other tariffs, which is at the center of an ongoing court battle. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Billionaire Elon Musk is angry at the proposed government spending bill now before the Senate. Writing online, Musk mocked the bill as a, quote, disgusting abomination. Some Republicans have hinted they could withhold their support in the Senate, saying it doesn't cut enough spending.

The US Agriculture Department says it is suspending a demand for personal data about people who get federal food assistance. NPR's Jude Joffe Block reports there's a federal lawsuit challenging the collection of the data. Last month, the USDA told states they'd be required to turn over names, birth dates, social security numbers, and addresses of everyone who applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, over the last five years.

The guidance cited a presidential executive order, which calls for data sharing to find fraud, waste, and abuse, and came as the Department of Government Efficiency effort or DOJ has been amassing data for purposes that include immigration enforcement. A coalition sued USDA and federal court saying the snap data demand did not comply with federal privacy laws. In a recent court filing, a USDA official said the agency has not yet collected snap data and will not until all necessary legal requirements are met. Jude Jaffe Block, NPR News. There's a vigil planned tonight in Boulder, Colorado for the 12 victims injured in this week's fiery attack. They were holding a peaceful march for hostages

still held in Gaza. The suspect is jailed and facing several counts of attempted first- degree murder. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the suspect's family has also been detained by federal immigration agents. But we're also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack, if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided support to it. Noem says the suspect is in the U.S. illegally. He is an Egyptian national whose tourist visa has expired. But officials say the suspect had also applied for asylum in

the U.S., which makes his legal status in this country unclear. You're listening to NPR. Closing arguments continue today in the sex crimes retrial of former movie producer Harvey Weinstein. New York prosecutors will finish summing up their arguments today. Weinstein is being retried after New York's top court overturned his earlier conviction. Several cases brought against Weinstein helped trigger the MeToo movement in 2017. Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, is hungry for power as it develops artificial intelligence. NPR's John Rewich reports Meta is signed a deal with an Illinois facility to buy nuclear energy

for the next two decades. Meta says nuclear power from Constellation Energy's Clinton Clean Energy Center will support its operations in the region starting in 2027. The facility is about halfway between St. Louis and Chicago. Meta says the agreement will help keep it up and running while providing the company with more than 1,100 megawatts of emissions-free nuclear energy. The AI boom is creating unprecedented demand for energy to run fast-expanding data centers. AI consumes far more power than traditional internet uses like search and cloud storage, and tech companies have been scrambling to lock in sources of power Metta says it's trying to spur the construction of new nuclear power plants in America

And it's actively evaluating a short list of potential projects John Rewich NPR news Metta is a financial supporter of NPR Several companies are disclosing that they have been hit by cyber attacks in recent days, they include Victoria's Secret, jewelry maker Cartier, and clothing retailer North Face. The Wall Street Journal reports cyber saboteurs have taken customer data and disrupted online sales. This is NPR.