NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-06-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: June 6, 2025

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The best kind of celebrity interview is one where you find out that the person who made a thing you love also thinks in a way that you love. Nothing is more foreign than when Ariel says in The Little Mermaid, I want to be where the people are. I don't want to be where the people are. I just don't. I'm Rachel Martin. Listen to the Wild Card Podcast only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jan Martin. Listen to the Wild Card Podcast, only from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The Trump administration is returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported to El Salvador almost three months ago, back to the U.S., where he faces criminal charges from a grand jury in Tennessee that charged him with, quote, conspiracy to transport undocumented people. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. And she says that included allegedly transporting children. Abrego Garcia's deportation was at the center of a political and legal battle over the Trump

administration's immigration policies. The case went to the Supreme Court, which told the administration to facilitate his return. The Department of Homeland Security is requesting 20,000 National Guard troops to assist with immigration enforcement. NPR's Ximena Bustillo reports this would be a new way to use service members. Ximena Bustillo, NPR News Anchor A memo obtained by NPR shows a detailed request from DHS to the Defense Department for thousands of troops. Their tasks range from file management

to logging to Guard duty and detention centers. The request has not been approved yet by the Pentagon, but the move would be the first time that the National Guard is used for interior immigration enforcement at a national scale. Individual states have previously sent their own guard to help with border security, and Texas gave its National Guard the authority to make immigration arrests. Multiple U.S. officials tell NPR that the Pentagon is still working with state governors to determine which states will provide troops, though they are expected to come mostly from Republican-led states. Hemanu Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. The Trump administration says it will begin to aggressively revoke visas from Chinese students

with connections to China's ruling Communist Party or who were studying in fields deemed critical. If here's Emily Fang reports, that sent tremors through the U.S. scientific community. Emily Fang David Ho is a celebrated virologist whose many accolades include the Presidential Citizens Medal and Time Magazine's Man of the Year. His research was groundbreaking on HIV, AIDS and COVID because he says he could hire the most talented students from all around the world, including from China.

Maybe the average American doesn't realize that much of the scientific workforce is comprised of foreign scientists and Chinese scientists. Now he says he is witnessing a brain drain away from the U.S. No longer are foreign-born students clamoring to get a spot in his lab. Instead he's getting a different kind of inquiry. Offers from Europe and China for him to work there.

Emily Fang, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Hundreds of veterans gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. today for the Unite for Veterans Rally, protesting the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Chris Purdy is one of the rally's organizers. One-third of federal workers are veterans. So when we see cuts to the federal government, the workforce, that's going to disproportionately affect the veteran community.

Danielle Pletka Thousands of VA employees in health and benefits have opted to retire early, with many saying they did so instead of being laid off. Danielle Pletka Muslims around the world are marking the start of the Eid of Sacrifice when livestock is slaughtered and its meat distributed to the poor. It coincides with the final days of the annual Islamic pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. And Piers Ayo-Batraa has more on the Hajj. Saudi authorities say 1.7 million pilgrims are taking part in the Hajj this year in and around Mecca. They've traveled from more than 100 countries to stand shoulder to shoulder

in prayer at Islam's holiest sites. It's one of the largest and most complex gatherings of people anywhere. Saudi Arabia is deploying drones this year to help with crowd control. It's also deployed thousands of medics and constructed cooling walkways and a high-speed tram to help pilgrims contend with soaring temperatures. The Hajj involves days of physically exhausting rituals that Muslims believe date back to the prophets Abraham and Muhammad. Male pilgrims wear simple terry cloth white garments to signify unity and equality as well as humility. The Hajj is meant to draw focus toward repentance and worship.

A. Abul Trawi, NPR News, Dubai. All straight higher by the closing bell, the Dow up 443 points. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.