NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-10-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 11, 2025

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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Russian President Putin is proposing direct talks

with Ukraine in Istanbul, May 15th, quote, without preconditions. This is European Union leaders today were in Ukraine, pressing him to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire or face more sanctions. In Pierce Charles Maynes' reports, the Kremlin says any deal would require a halt to Western military support to Kiev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments in an interview with ABC this week's

Martha Raditz. If we do a temporary ceasefire... You want the weapons stopped? Otherwise it will be advantage for Ukraine. Peskov said without a stoppage in weapons shipments to Ukraine, Kiev could use the pause to rearm and replenish troops. The spokesman insisted President Vladimir Putin continues to support a U.S.-backed peace settlement but would also maintain military operations until such a deal was in place.

Peskov's comments came as Kiev and Moscow each accused the other of violating a three-day Russian declared ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Charles Mayne's NPR News, Moscow. India is accusing Pakistan of breaching a temporary truce between the two nuclear-powered countries brokered by the US. But Pakistan's foreign ministry says India is to blame for initiating the ceasefire violation. Recent fighting has been the most severe escalation between the two countries in decades. NPR's Diya Hadid has more on what's next. We know the two sides are meant to speak to each other again on Monday. And so far it appears that a series of punitive

measures that both sides had announced following that militant attack in late April are not going to be reversed. Most importantly, that includes India's suspension of a decades-old water treaty with Pakistan. And Pakistan describes that suspension as an existential threat. So even if the ceasefire holds, there's still a lot to tackle. And here's Deah Hadid in Mumbai. After cancelling in-person classes at the National Fire Academy, the Trump administration is now pledging to restore funding to the facility, which trains tens of thousands of firefighters across the country. And here's Frank Lankford reports. During a hearing Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary

Kristi Noem said the administration would restore funding to the academy. Quote, those grants and programs are being facilitated and those dollars will be forwarded, she said. Responding to questions from Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, Noem did not say why the administration was restoring funding. The statement was welcome news to the nation's firefighters who rely on the Academy for high-level training. It was also a relief for Emmitsburg, a tiny town in Western Maryland, which is home to the Academy. Emmitsburg voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November. Trump's supporters there had told NPR they were dumbfounded by

the decision to cut training for first responders. Danielle Pletka NPR's Frank Langford reporting. You're listening to NPR. Earlier this year Eurasian lynx were spotted in the Scottish Highlands, animals that hadn't roamed that landscape for hundreds of years. Officials say they were released illegally. And Pierce Jacob Finston reports it may be a setback to reintroduction efforts. The four lynx were quickly caught, but whoever set them loose wasn't. It may be a case of rogue rewilding, where vigilantes attempt to reintroduce a species on their own. There's been a backlash. The Scottish First Minister now says there won't be any official lynx reintroduction on his watch. Peter Cairns with the non-profit Scotland, The Big Picture,

says there's no need to fear these native wild cats. Ecologically speaking, we know that these animals are important. We know that apex predators play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The UK has seen previous cases of suspected rogue rewilding, including butterflies, wild boars, and beavers. It's been dubbed beaver bombing. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. Well the most popular names for newborn boys and girls in 2024 is out. This is

according to the Social Security Administration. Olivia and Emma numbers one and two respectively for girls and for the boys Liam and Noah. Now both of those it's the sixth year in a row for both of those names, both one and two. Oliver and Amelia took third place. The Social Security Administration, which releases the top names just before Mother's Day, which is tomorrow, gets their list when parents apply for a Social Security card for their new baby. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Herbst NPR News in Washington.