NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-09-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 10, 2025

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Rachel Martin Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Trump administration is expelling transgender troops from the military. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports it comes after the Supreme Court allowed a ban to be enforced while a legal challenge is playing out. Quill Lawrence 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 percent 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. Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has died. The New Hampshire Republican became a favorite of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, often voting with him on issues like abortion, church-state relations,

freedom of expression, and the accessibility of federal courts. Souter died at his home in New Hampshire. He retired from the bench in 2009. Former Justice David Souter was 85 years old. The US Postal Service's Board of Governors has picked an official at one of its competitors to lead the independent federal mail agency. As NPR's Hanzi Le Wang explains 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 US 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. 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 at FedEx, which they fear could lead to USPS selling off the package side of its mail business and sidelining unions. Anzalel Wong, MPR News, Washington.

Mexico says it is suing tech giant Google over its labeling of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Mexico's president, Claudia Scheinbaum, did not provide details during her daily press briefing today but did confirm the lawsuit. Mexico's Foreign Relations Ministry had previously sent letters asking Google not to refer to the Mexican territorial waters as the Gulf of America. President Trump made the name change, however many foreign leaders continued to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, saying Trump's order only carries authority within the U.S. Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street

today. The Dow was down 119 points. This is NPR. The Trump administration continues to send mixed messages in terms of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. At one point, President Trump had seemed more in sync with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but now was openly accusing Russia of foot dragging and ending its war against Ukraine. NPR's Joanna Kikissas reports Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke this week. against Ukraine. And based on what we can see and what we're hearing, they've moved on. Zelensky said in this latest conversation he emphasized the need for a durable ceasefire that can be enforced. President Trump has called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire that if refused could result in the imposition of new sanctions on Russia. More trouble overnight had already problem plagued Newark Airport where for a period of time radar went out for a second time in two weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration says the radar

at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of the airport went dark for about 90 seconds just before 4 a.m. this morning. That's similar to an incident at the airport last month that led to hundreds of flights being either canceled or delayed as the FAA slowed traffic at Newark to ensure safety. Crude oil futures prices were higher amid some optimism over upcoming U.S.-China trade talks. Oil rose more than a dollar a barrel today to settle at $61.01 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.

Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.