NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-05-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. China says President Trump and leader Xi Jinping have held a phone call. NPR's Emily Fang reports they last spoke by phone in January. China's official state news agency announced the call but did not give more details about what was discussed. The call comes as both countries accused the other this week of violating a temporary trade truce. Trump wrote this week as well that China's Xi Jinping is quote, extremely hard to make a deal with.

The two leaders last met during Trump's first term in 2019. And here's Emily Feng reporting. Yesterday, Trump announced he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin for well over an hour. Writing online, Trump said he and the Russian leader discussed the war in Ukraine. Trump said Putin told him Russia would respond to Ukraine's recent attack on its air bases.

The Pentagon says President Trump has nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Alexis Grenkovich to be NATO's next supreme allied commander. He's also being nominated to the grade of general. Grenkovich will also serve as the commander of U.S. forces in Europe. Stocks opened lower this morning as the European Central Bank cut interest rates again. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 130 points in early trading. The ECB cut its benchmark interest rate for the eighth time in just over a year. Here in the U.S., the Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady since December, partly

out of concern that President Trump's tariffs could rekindle inflation. Congressional forecasters say those tariffs are likely to lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth. Forecasters also say tariffs could cut federal deficits by $2.8 trillion over the next decade if they remain in place. Procter & Gamble plans to cut 7,000 jobs over the next two years, or about 6 percent of its worldwide workforce. The maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors is trying to cut costs,000 jobs over the next two years, or about 6 percent of its worldwide workforce. The maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors is trying to cut costs in the face of tariffs

and cautious consumers. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Some current and former Census Bureau workers tell NPR the Trump administration's push to pool government data records is making it harder to convince people to participate in federal surveys. NPR's Hansi Luong reports many experts are concerned about how that could make future census results and other key statistics less reliable. The push by the Trump administration's Doge team to access and compile government records

has sparked investigations and lawsuits claiming privacy violations. Now some current and former Census Bureau workers tell NPR that push has become one of the reasons people cite when declining to share their information for the federal government's ongoing surveys. Nancy Bates, a retired researcher for the Bureau, says this new complication adds to a decades-long fall in survey response rates and trust in government. This is kind of like a tsunami if you will, pushing the public to have higher mistrust levels. So yeah, I think it's gonna take years to be honest to get back

to where we were. The Census Bureau's acting director Ron Jarman says in a statement that new technology and data science are helping to quote, efficiently produce high quality statistics. Anzela Wong in PR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. President Trump has issued a new travel ban.

People from 12 different countries cannot come to the US.S. at all. Travelers from seven other nations have partial bans on travel. Trump says it's needed to keep the country safe from harm. He cited the case of the suspect in the fiery Boulder, Colorado attack that left 15 people injured. But the suspect in that case is Egyptian, and Trump did not put Egypt on the travel ban list. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro put Egypt on the travel ban list.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was suing the Department of Agriculture. This is over the agency's attempt to cancel a national food purchasing program. The Democratic governor is fighting for $13 million slated for Pennsylvania farms this year. Jackson White reports. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement aids states in buying food from local farms to give to schools, child care facilities, and food banks. In March, the USDA told Shapiro's administration that it planned to cancel the food program

because it no longer aligned with the agency's priorities. Now, after months of trying to get USDA funds for the program, Governor Shapiro says Pennsylvania is taking the agency to court. We have exhausted all options to be able to resolve this matter simply through dialogue. And I'm tired of waiting for someone to stand up for our farmers and our food banks. That task falls to us. The USDA declined to comment on the pending litigation. For NPR News, I'm Jackson White in Harrisburg.

A private Japanese company will try again later today to land a tiny probe on the moon. The first attempt by the private company iSpace failed two years ago. That's when its original probe smashed into the moon's surface. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.