NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

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Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR politics podcast makes politics a breeze. Every episode will break down the day's headlines into totally normal language and make sure that you walk away understanding what the day's news might mean for you. Take a deep breath and give politics another chance with the NPR politics podcast available wherever you get your podcasts. Lyle from NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. Postal Services Board of Governors has picked an official at one of its competitors to lead the independent federal mail agency. As NPR's Hansi Lo Wong tells us, the move comes as USPS, which is a financial supporter

of NPR, faces an uncertain future under the Trump administration. David Steiner, a former CEO of Waste Management, is set to leave the board of FedEx to start leading the U.S. Postal Service in July. In a statement, Steiner says he believes strongly in maintaining the Postal Service's role as an independent establishment of the executive branch. In recent months, the Trump administration has sparked concerns that it's determined to take over an agency that Congress set up to be independent decades ago. establishment of the executive branch. In recent months, the Trump administration has sparked concerns that it's determined

to take over an agency that Congress set up to be independent decades ago. President Trump has suggested a, quote, form of a merger between the Commerce Department and the Postal Service, as well as privatizing USPS, which would likely reduce mail service in rural communities. The heads of the two letter carrier unions say they're concerned about the incoming Postmaster General's background of FedEx, which they fear could lead to USPS selling off the package side of its mail business and sidelining unions. Anzela Wong, NPR News, Washington.

Lyleen Linten Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has died. He was a Republican administration nominee, but he disappointed conservatives as he aligned himself with his liberal colleagues. One of the most notable cases was the five- four ruling that determined the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. George W. Bush prevailed over Al Gore. Souter was among the dissenters after he and his colleagues heard and responded during arguments. There is no genuinely subjective indication beyond what can be viewed as either a dimple or a hanging Chad and

There is a general rule being applied in a given County That an objective intent or an intent on an objective standard will be inferred Suitors serve 19 years. He passed away yesterday at his New Hampshire home at the age of 85. The Trump administration is expelling transgender troops from the military, and Pierce Quill Lawrence reports this comes after the Supreme Court allowed a ban to be enforced while a legal challenge proceeds. One of President Trump's first executive orders declared that trans troops were not fit to serve, though trans people have deployed to combat

and served openly starting in 2016. The ban drew legal challenges, but the Supreme Court ruled that it can stand while those cases play out. Now, the Pentagon says about a thousand openly trans servicemembers will be removed, and medical records will be used to kick out other troops who have had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

The total number of trans people in the military is believed to be under 5,000, about 0.2% of the force. Advocates say transgender Americans have served honorably and effectively and called the ban irreparably harmful to them and to U.S. security. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News. You're listening to NPR. President Trump has fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said today was because of Hayden's work on

diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Food and Drug Administration's approved three natural color additives. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been urging companies to help remove petroleum-based dyes from the food supply. Two men have been convicted of criminal damage for cutting down one of the most famous trees in Britain. It was called the Sycamore Gap Tree near the border of England and Scotland and it was felled in 2023. NPR's Lauren Fraer has the latest from London.

It was an iconic tree featured on postcards and in the 1991 Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman silhouetted beneath it. When the tree was felled with a chainsaw in 2023 in what prosecutors called a moronic act of vandalism. There was outrage across Britain and beyond. Now a court in northern England has convicted two men of two counts each of criminal damage, based on video of the act found on their phones and messages bragging about it. They'll be sentenced in July. Meanwhile, rescued twigs and seeds from the old tree have been replanted and have started to regrow. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. US Doxerm mixed this hour. The Dow is down 51 points at 41,316. The Nasdaq has risen

16 points and the S&P is up 4. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.