NPR News: 05-02-2026 7PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skivone. Spirit Airlines is grounded for good after federal bailout talks failed to pan out. And PR's Amy Held reports the already struggling budget airline was crushed by jet fuel prices roughly doubling since the U.S. war on Iran. If you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, don't show up at the airport. There will be no one here to assist you. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke Saturday morning at Newark Airport. But not everyone had gotten the memo in time. Spirit announced their closure around two in the morning, Eastern, leaving some travelers surprised and upset when they arrived at the airport. Those who paid by credit card were promised refunds, and other U.S. airlines offered to cap tickets for them at $200. But problems run deeper. Spirit's cheap seat no frills approach helped launch budget travel more than three decades ago. Spirit is gone. Analysts say everyone could wind up paying more.

1:01Amy Held and PR News United, Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest are offering $200 one-way flights for people with spirit confirmation numbers at proof of purchase for a limited time. The winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize has been hospitalized after she collapsed in prison. Nargaz Mahamedi is an Iranian human rights activist. As NPR's Anastasiya Silkas reports, her foundation says that Mahamedi's condition has deteriorated since she suffered a heart attack in March. The 54-year-old human rights activist is currently serving in the 18-year prison sentence in Iran. She was transferred to the critical care unit from her prison in the provincial city of Zanjan. According to her foundation statement, authorities have refused to let her be transferred to Specialist Karen Tehran, despite her ongoing poor health. She's an advocate for women's rights and against the Iranian government's use of torture and sexual violence. She's also been working to abolish the death penalty in her country.

2:04Anastasiya Silkas and PR News New York. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is calling a special legislative session to redraw the state's congressional maps. President Trump has been pushing Republican-led states to redraw their maps ahead of the midterms. Mariana Bucayal from Member Station WPLN reports. The last minute redistricting effort was spurred by a U.S. Supreme Court decision to walk back part of the Voting Rights Act, which had protected the majority black voting block from redistricting in the past. Memphis Democratic State Senator Ramesh Akbarie says the move is a dishonor to the memory of civil rights activists who fought for the right to vote. And now we have people who sit in Washington, who sit in Nashville, who say that those in this community do not matter. The legislature will reconvene this upcoming Tuesday for the special session. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bucayal in Nashville. This is NPR. FEMA is now offering new appointments to disaster workers whose contracts were not renewed

3:06in January. This reverses the decision that had been challenged in a lawsuit by labor unions, scientific groups and local governments, and comes after FEMA reinstated 14 employees who'd been on paid administrative leave. U.S. Attorney Craig Misaki informed a U.S. District Court in San Francisco about the new appointments. An appeals court in China has ruled in favor of a worker whose tech company replaced him with AI. NPR Jennifer Pock reports the decision comes as Chinese leader push industries to widely adopt the technology. The tech worker was employed at an AI-related firm in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. He earned close to $44,000 a year before AI took over his job. The company reassigned him to a lower-level position with a 40% pay cut. He refused and the company ended his contract. A Hangzhou court has upheld an earlier ruling that the dismissal was unlawful. Lawyer Wang Xuyang, who is not connected to the case, told State Renews Agency Xinhua

4:07AI adoption doesn't automatically justify a company laying off a worker to cut costs, but corporate profits have been squeezed as the Chinese economy remains sluggish. Jennifer Pock, NPR News, Shanghai Around two million people are expected tonight at Copa Cabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, where Shakira will give a free concert. Events like this, Lady Gaga last year and Madonna the year before, are part of Rio's efforts to boost economic activity. I'm Louise Giovone, NPR News, Washington.