NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-05-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump says he's surprised and disappointed by Elon Musk's criticism of his massive tax cut and spending package. NPR's Danielle Kurtz-Slaven reports the tech billionaire's comments come just days after he stepped down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency or Doge. Earlier this week, Musk called the bill a disgusting abomination, pointing to its cost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the debt. The CBO has also found the bill, which cuts Medicaid, would leave nearly 11 million more people uninsured. Trump dismissed Musk's criticism today, saying Musk, the CEO of electric

carmaker Tesla, is upset that the bill gets rid of tax incentives for electric car buyers. Trump has been saying that he's going to cut the EV mandate because that's billions and billions of dollars. And he's saying that he's going to cut the EV mandate because that's billions and billions of dollars. Shortly after, Musk posted on Twitter, quote, without me, Trump would have lost the election. Danielle Kertzleib in NPR News, The White House.

Danielle Kertzleib A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that Catholic charities can opt out of participating in Wisconsin's unemployment compensation program. Wisconsin Public Radio's Danielle Kating reports that justices found the state was wrong to deny the group a religious tax exemption. Danielle Kating Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the state was wrong to deny the group a religious tax exemption. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the state violated the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom by requiring a Catholic Charities Bureau to pay unemployment tax. Wisconsin law exempts nonprofit groups that run primarily for religious purposes, but the state's highest court had found that its work was primarily charitable and not

religious. An attorney for Catholic Charities Colton Stan, says the justices agreed that Wisconsin's high court discriminated against the group. We think that's a big win for religious liberty. One that could radically expand exemptions for hospitals with religious ties in Wisconsin and nationwide. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Kading. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached a new high for modern recordkeeping.

NPR's Jeff Brady reports that scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii say that for the first time, concentrations have exceeded 430 parts per million. Humans burning of fossil fuels releases the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. There, the CO2 acts like a blanket, warms the lower atmosphere, leading to more extreme heat waves, droughts, flooding, and wildfires. The Mauna Loa Observatory is considered the global benchmark for monitoring CO2 concentrations. Levels peak every year in May in the Northern Hemisphere before plants absorb CO2 during the summer growing season.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography says last month the concentration was 3.6 parts per million higher than a year ago. Jeff Brady, NPR News. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 108 points. This is NPR News. Smoke from ongoing wildfires in Canada continues to drift southward, prompting air quality alerts in several U.S. states. Health officials are urging residents, especially those with breathing conditions, to limit outdoor activities and use air purifiers indoors. Forecasters say there's a chance air quality alerts may be extended into Friday, as temperatures across

much of the eastern U.S. continue to spike ahead of a rainy weekend. The Nintendo Switch 2 is being released worldwide today. It's following up on one of the most popular consoles of all time and comes as U.S. tariffs have rattled the video game industry. NPR's James Mastromarino reports fans are excited about the new gaming system. Fans cheered as Christopher Evangelista became the first person to buy a Switch 2 at Nintendo New York. Evangelista had camped out outside the store for two months to stay in front of the line. Nintendo projects to sell 15 million of the consoles this financial year, which ends March 2026, even after the company delayed pre-orders in response to the high tariffs that hit the

Asian countries that manufacture the console. James Master Marino, NPR News. Game one of the NBA Finals is tonight in Oklahoma City between the Thunder and Indiana Pacers. Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the league's best record at 68-14 before eventually winning the Western Conference Finals. The Pacers won the Eastern Conference. This is NPR News in Washington.