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- [00:00]
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Gael Snyder
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Gael Snyder. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked his country's Independence Day today with a speech from Kyiv's Independence Square saying Ukraine will never surrender its freedom.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy
We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace, so that on this square, on the Maidan of our independence, under our flags, on our land, our children and our grandchildren will celebrate Independence Day in peace, tranquility, with confidence in the future, and with respect and gratitude to all who defended Ukraine in this war, the the war for independence.
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Gael Snyder
Zelenskyy heard there through a BBC interpreter as President Trump and other world leaders congratulate Ukraine, President Zelenskyy posted a letter from Trump in which he said Ukraine's courage has inspired many and that he supported a negotiated settlement to the war. Meanwhile, Russia is accusing Ukraine of drone strikes that sparked a fire at a nuclear plant in Russia's Kursk region. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has headed to the US for a summit with President Trump tomorrow. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul.
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Anthony Kuhn
In Washington, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will try to hammer out details of a trade deal reached last month. It includes a pledge for South Korea to invest $350 billion in the US in exchange for lower tariffs. The US has been talking about modernizing its alliance with South Korea, which includes focusing less on deterring North Korea and more on countering China. Most South Korean presidents visit the US first, but Lee will be coming from Tokyo, where he met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan and South Korea are both US Allies who depend on exports to the US and host large numbers of American troops. And Lee apparently wanted to coordinate with Ishiba before meeting Trump. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.
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Gael Snyder
Hurricane Katrina stunned the country nearly 20 years ago. Since then, scientists have made strides in forecasting and understanding hurricanes. But NPR's Alejandro Varunda reports that progress might stall.
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Alejandro Varunda
After Katrina, the federal government decided it wanted to make better hurricane forecasts, so it developed a called the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project. Efforts focused on making better computer models and getting better observations of the storms themselves, and it worked really well. Gabe Veecke is a scientist at Princeton University.
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Gael Snyder
That was one of those investments in.
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Anthony Kuhn
Research that paid off.
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Alejandro Varunda
Forecasts are so much better now. They saved the country about $2 billion per hurricane by helping people plan better for the disaster. That's according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But the Trump administration has cut funding and support for many of the entities involved, and now scientists worry progress could stall. Alejandro Burunda, NPR News.
- [03:12]
Gael Snyder
And you're listening to NPR News. Contract negotiations between Boeing and the striking machinists union are to resume tomorrow. Some 3200 union members in the St. Louis area walked off the job earlier this month after rejecting the company's four year contract offer. The union says it's holding out for a contract that more closely resembles the agreement Boeing reached with Seattle area workers last year. Democratic leaders in Illinois are speaking out following a Washington Post report that says the Trump administration has been planning a military deployment to crack down on crime in Chicago and that it's been in the works for weeks. Governor J.B. pritzker says there is no emergency warranting a National Guard or other military deployment. And Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says city data show violent crime is down this year. Millions of children born during the global pandemic are starting kindergarten this year. And NPR's Vanessa Romo reports on studies that show they may not be ready.
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Vanessa Romo
3.6 million children were born in 2020 as the coronavirus ushered in one of the most extraordinary periods in modern history. And experts are still trying to figure out its long term effects. Kristin Huff is head of measurement at Curriculum Associates, which provides national grade level testing. Its latest study looked at the 2023-24 school year.
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Anthony Kuhn
Even students who were not in school because they were too young to be.
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Vanessa Romo
In kindergarten during the pandemic are less prepared. Just 81% of five year olds are arriving kindergarten ready in reading. That's down from 89% in 2019. Hough says teachers and students can buck the trend with the right support. Vanessa Romo, NPR News.
- [04:53]
Gael Snyder
And you're listening to NPR News.
- [04:56]
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