NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-18-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

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On the Planet Money podcast, the economic world we've been living in for decades was built on some basic assumptions. But the people who built that world are long gone. And right now, those assumptions are kind of up in the air. Like the dollar as the reserve currency. Is that era over? If so, what could replace it? And what does that mean for the rest of us? Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR wherever you get your podcasts. Laxmelea Sing Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmelea Sing. The Israel-Iran conflict stretches into a sixth day. Sirens captured by the Associated Press in the Jordanian capital Amman early Wednesday

local time as more Iranian missiles in its standoff with Israel were intercepted. Two facilities that help enrich uranium in Iran have been struck by the Israeli military according to the UN's nuclear watchdog. One of the centrifuge production sites was located in Tehran. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi has more. In a statement posted on X, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, said that the centrifuge production facility in Tehran manufactured advanced centrifuge rotors. Centrifuges are essential in the process of uranium enrichment that is needed for developing a nuclear weapon. Independent experts say Iran has enriched enough uranium for several bombs. Iran says its program is peaceful. In June, the nuclear watchdog censured Iran for not complying with its inspections. Tehran

defiantly announced that it was activating a third enrichment site. The IAEA said centrifuge components were made in the second site that was struck by the Israeli military. The watchdog said it was investigating both sites. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, President Trump is not saying if the U.S. military will join Israel in directly engaging with Iran. Iran's got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate. And I said, why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Trump at the White House earlier today. Yesterday, he took to social media and issuing a threat to Iran's supreme leader and urging the country to take a deal.

Today Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a sharp new warning to the U.S. declaring that any military intervention by the United States will, quote, undoubtedly cause irreparable harm to Americans. The trust fund that helps cover Social Security benefits is expected to run out of money in about eight years. NPR Scott Horsley reports that's slightly earlier than trustees were projecting a year ago. An updated forecast says unless Congress acts by 2033 the benefits that more than 60 million retirees and family members receive will be automatically cut by 23 percent.

That deadline is about nine months earlier than trustees projected last year. That's largely because of a new law that increased benefits for nearly three million people who had pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security. Trustees also lowered their forecast of future wages and birth rates. Congress could pass the hole in Social Security's finances by raising taxes, reducing benefits, or some combination of the two. Trustees urged lawmakers to act sooner rather than later, so people have more time to prepare.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. From Washington, this is NPR News. Authorities in West Virginia now say at least seven people were killed by weekend flash flooding in areas of the state. NPR's Josh Snyder says one person is still unaccounted for. Officials in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle are urging residents to document their losses

in anticipation of a federal disaster declaration. However, last week, President Trump warned of less federal disaster aid, and he repeated his desire to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency in favor of pushing more responsibility for disaster response and recovery onto states. NPR's Jelle Snyder reporting. Well, as summer heats up, people across the country are looking for places to cool down. For those in Manhattan, a new analysis shows that one good place could be an elevated park called

the High Line, and PR's Alejandro Burundu has more. The High Line was once an elevated railway. Now it's a park high above New York City streets filled with native plants and even trees. All that vegetation cools the park down a lot compared to the nearby streets. Jen Brady is a data analyst at Climate Central. In some areas, it's over eight degrees cooler because it's dense trees in the middle of a dense neighborhood. The skinny highline stretches about a mile and a half of Manhattan's west side. Brady

says its unique shape lets it act as a refuge for people along its whole length. And she says knowing how effectively it cools the area should encourage other cities to build similar green spaces. Alahandra Varun, NPR News. US stocks are trading higher this hour. The Dow is up 145 points. The S&Ps climbed 22. The Nasdaq is up more than 100. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast than a hundred. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.