Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
Sat, 10 May 2025
India and Pakistan agree to a full and immediate ceasefire. It follows US-led talks. Plus, NPR learns that the Department of Agriculture is demanding states hand over the personal data of those receiving food stamps. Critics fear the information could be used to carry out deportations. Also, the Trump administration tightens its control over the independent agency regulating America's nuclear reactors.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the current status of the India-Pakistan ceasefire?
India and Pakistan agree to a full and immediate ceasefire.
Chapter 2: Who are the key figures discussing the India-Pakistan conflict?
The announcement followed U.S.-led talks to end the confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations. I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News.
President Trump praised both Pakistan and India for using common sense and great intelligence in reaching the truce. We have the latest.
Plus, NPR learns the Department of Agriculture is demanding states hand over the data of those receiving food stamps.
Critics fear the information could be used to carry out deportations.
And the Trump administration tightens its control over the independent agency that regulates America's nuclear reactors. Experts worry the move could put safety at risk.
So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
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Chapter 3: What led to the recent escalation between India and Pakistan?
It was some of the most intense fighting between the nations in decades. NPR's Dia Hadid has been following these events from Mumbai and joins us now. Dia, thanks for being with us.
You're welcome, Scott. Hello.
What's happened?
Well, President Trump had announced on his social media network that the two countries had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. And then India's foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, made a short announcement. And he said Pakistan's director of military operations had called his Indian counterpart and they agreed to this.
It was agreed between them. that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours Indian Standard Time today.
Now, this seems pretty remarkable because you and your team just hours ago reported that Pakistan had announced a new military operation against India.
That's right. Things felt very different a few hours ago. India had struck air bases in Pakistan, including one right near the capital, Islamabad. And Pakistan began a military operation called Iron Wall, and soldiers were filming themselves firing projectiles into India.
We want to hear what brought this together so quickly, but also if you could remind us how this conflict began.
Yeah, this began on April 22, so not so long ago. That's when gunmen opened fire on tourists in a meadow in Indian-held Kashmir, and they killed 26 people. India said the group that claimed responsibility was a proxy linked to Pakistan's army.
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Chapter 4: How did the ceasefire between India and Pakistan come about?
You're welcome, Scott.
Millions of Americans rely on food assistance every month.
Now the Department of Agriculture is demanding access to their personal data. The White House says the information is required to identify fraud and overpayments.
But the move comes as the Trump administration amasses data for immigration enforcement. We're joined now by Jude Jaffe-Block from NPR's Power and Influence team. Thanks for being with us, Jude.
Oh, thank you.
What kind of data is the USDA asking for?
Yeah, so there are more than 40 million people who get food assistance every month. And the program is known as SNAP. And the data is with the states. That's how it's always been.
But last week, the department told all states, as well as the companies that process payments, they have to hand over data like names, dates of birth, addresses, and social security numbers of all SNAP participants going back five years to January 2020. which is a lot of people and a lot of sensitive data.
And our reporting found out that even before this directive came out, the agency's Office of Inspector General was trying to get even more expansive data on SNAP recipients from the country's biggest states, including at least in one state, citizenship status.
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Chapter 5: What role did the US and international actors play in the ceasefire?
Yeah, there are more than a dozen federal lawsuits at this point that allege Doge staffers have been illegally granted permission to view databases with personal and financial information that the government maintains. You know, multiple federal judges have expressed concern about what information Doge has accessed and why. You know, we spoke with John Davison.
He's an attorney at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. He had this to say about the latest demand for Snap data.
It is absolutely alarming from a privacy perspective. It's reckless. It is an unprecedented extension of the administration's campaign to consolidate personal data.
His position is that this data request likely violates the Privacy Act, though the USDA told us the request will comply with privacy laws and will follow responsible data handling requirements.
Where do things go from here, Jude? Does the federal government have access to this data right now?
The states are still trying to figure out how to respond to these requests, and it could wind up like a lot of things these days in the courts. As for what to expect next, we know Republicans in Congress are teeing up a proposal to make deep cuts to SNAP, the food assistance program.
And we've seen this play out where federal data is used by Doge to make exaggerated allegations of waste and fraud to justify slashing government programs.
NPR's Jude Jaffe-Block, who reported this story with NPR's Stephen Fowler. And you can read a fuller version of their story on NPR.org. Jude, thanks so much.
Thank you.
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Chapter 6: What data is the USDA demanding from states regarding food stamps?
This agency, of course, known as the NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, what's changing?
So the NRC was set up back in 1974 by Congress as an independent agency, and it's operated under the purview of five commissioners, a mix of Democrats and Republicans. And their job is to enforce the rules of the nation's nuclear reactors. But now the White House is getting involved. Two U.S.
officials tell NPR that any new rules for nuclear safety must now go through the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, which before they can be finalized. And the White House also reserves the right to change those nuclear safety rules if they see fit. This is a big departure. I spoke to a former chair of the NRC, Alison McFarland.
She was appointed by President Obama, and here's what she had to say.
It's absolutely essential. that the nuclear regulator be independent. And what does that mean? It means independent of political and industry influence.
She felt this kind of review should be off limits.
Sounds like even more changes might be coming, too, I gather. You've seen a draft of an executive order that President Trump may sign regarding the NRC. What does that say?
Yeah, that's right. This executive order is entitled, quote, ordering reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It calls for a reduction in force at the NRC, a, quote, wholesale revision of nuclear safety regulations, speeding up review of licenses for new kinds of reactors. And lastly, it instructs the agency to look into relaxing its
some of the radiation standards for workers and the public. Of course, this is a draft. We don't know what will be in the final version or even if Trump will sign a final version, but he is expected to sign some orders related to nuclear power relatively soon.
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Chapter 7: How could USDA data requests impact immigration enforcement?
Chapter 8: What are critics saying about the Trump administration's control over nuclear reactor regulation?
Yeah, so there are more than 40 million people who get food assistance every month. And the program is known as SNAP. And the data is with the states. That's how it's always been.
But last week, the department told all states, as well as the companies that process payments, they have to hand over data like names, dates of birth, addresses, and social security numbers of all SNAP participants going back five years to January 2020. which is a lot of people and a lot of sensitive data.
And our reporting found out that even before this directive came out, the agency's Office of Inspector General was trying to get even more expansive data on SNAP recipients from the country's biggest states, including at least in one state, citizenship status.
How could this data foster the administration's efforts to deport people who were in the country illegally?
We still don't know how the data could be used. Last week's letter said it was to ensure program integrity and verify the eligibility of benefit recipients. But several news outlets have now reported that the Doge team has been combining various federal databases in an effort to build up a tool to track and arrest immigrants.
And where this data fits in, you know, it could be another piece of the puzzle as it includes recent addresses. Even though immigrants who are in the country without legal status don't qualify for SNAP benefits, there are people in SNAP's data sets that could be subject to deportation now or in the future or share a household with someone in that situation. For example, if U.S.
citizen children are eligible for food assistance, their parents can sign them up regardless of the parents' immigration status. You know, we didn't hear back from Doge and the White House on this, though.
And Jude, isn't access to sensitive personal information one of the big legal hurdles that this administration keeps running into?
Yeah, there are more than a dozen federal lawsuits at this point that allege Doge staffers have been illegally granted permission to view databases with personal and financial information that the government maintains. You know, multiple federal judges have expressed concern about what information Doge has accessed and why. You know, we spoke with John Davison.
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