NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-18-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: June 18, 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 Jack Spear. President Trump has remained unclear about whether or not the U.S. will directly enter the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Here's what he told reporters today. I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. But as NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports, the US has what could be a game changer in the conflict, a 30,000 pound bunker bomb capable of reaching even Iran's most well protected nuclear facility. The most fortified nuclear facility in Iran is called Fordow, located deep inside a mountain. And the US has the only bomb that could damage it. Because of its size, that 30,000 pound bomb can only be carried by a B-2 stealth bomber, also something only the U.S. has.

Munitions experts tell NPR it might take several repeated hits to get deep enough to reach the facility. Even still, experts say it would likely only set Iran's nuclear program back, not stop it entirely, which is what both Israel and the U.S. have said is the goal. The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned such an attack could cause radioactive contamination. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Washington. Environmental groups are challenging a Trump administration order to keep a Michigan coal-fired power plant operating this summer.

NPR's Jeff Brady reports the plant near Grand Rapids was slated to shut down at the end of last month. Just eight days before the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant was scheduled for retirement, Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed an order to keep it running through late August. Wright argues burning coal is more reliable than wind power. When your child is born premature

and you place that child in a lifesaving incubator, it's not okay to say it's going to turn on when the wind starts blowing. But grid analysts say electricity from the coal plant wasn't needed to keep the power on. The Sierra Club, Earthjustice and others argue Wright doesn't have the authority to override local grid decisions. They're asking the Energy Department to reconsider the order or they'll take the matter to court.

Jeff Brady, NPR News. The Federal Reserve has wrapped up a two-day meeting in Washington, leaving interest rates unchanged. Fed policy members, however, also indicated that inflation could worsen in coming months, something that might cause the central bank to continue to hold the line on rates. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again said

any moves in the future will be driven by data. In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged. We believe that the current stance of monetary policy leaves us well positioned to respond in a timely way to potential economic developments. There has been some concern among Fed members. President Trump's tariff policies could push up inflation. The Fed has said for now it expects two more interest rate cuts by the end of this year.

On Wall Street, investors largely treading water today after a fairly volatile session as expected. The Fed leaving rates unchanged but market uncertainty in the mid-east causing jitters. The Dow was down 44 points, the Nasdaq up 25 points, the S&P fell a point today. You're listening to NPR. Japan's Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel now say they've finalized what they are calling a historic partnership a year and a half after Nippon first proposed acquiring the iconic U.S. company.

The bid was initially rebuffed by presidential politics and national security concerns, but the Trump administration has permitted the partnership to move ahead. Under terms of the deal, Nippon would invest roughly $11 billion in U.S. Steel's domestic operations while agreeing to protect jobs with the promise of a new steel mill to be built at a yet-to-be-disclosed site. The total value of the deal would be about $14 billion. As summer heats up, people around the country are looking for places to cool off. For those in Manhattan, a new analysis shows one good place could be an elevated park called the High Line. More from NPR's Alejandro Burunda.

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.

Alejandro Borunda, NPR News. Oil prices rose for a six-stray day as traders worry about possible supply disruptions from the Iran-Israel conflict in the Middle East. Whale up 30 cents a barrel to 75, 14 a barrel. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.