NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-11-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 11, 2025

NPR News: 05-11-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.

Russia is responding to renewed U.S. calls to accept a month long ceasefire in Ukraine. The Kremlin says any deal would require a halt to Western military support to Kiev. NPR's Charles Maynes reports. 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. No breakthroughs have been announced following 10 hours of talks on Saturday by negotiators for the U.S. and China that are discussing the economic upheaval caused by President Trump's tariffs on goods from China.

On Saturday night, Trump used social media to say great progress is being made in the talks but he offered no details. The mayor of Newark, New Jersey was arrested for trespassing on Friday after he visited a new immigration detention center that was awarded an ICE contract earlier this year. Ross Baraka says the charges against him are a lie. I didn't climb a fence. I didn't kick the door down. I didn't bust the window like their friends did at the Capitol. I didn't hurt people. Baraka was held for several hours before being released. He says the arrest took place after he had already left the facility's grounds. And he says the arrest is an attempt to distract from the Trump administration's mass deportations without due process. Pope Leo XIV has begun publicly talking about his agenda as the newly

elected pontiff, NPR's Jason DeRose reports from Rome on remarks he made to Catholic Cardinals before they began departing from the Vatican. The Pope told cardinals that he chose the name Leo because of a previous Leo, Leo XIII, and his encyclical Verum Novarum. That document offers expansive social teaching on economic justice and human dignity, specifically related to the Industrial Revolution. The current Pope Leo says a similar challenge is emerging today due to artificial intelligence.

He also told Cardinals that he envisions a church that listens to the voices of lay Catholics. That approach follows in the footsteps of the late Pope Francis who convened synods to hear the voices of people in pews from around the world. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. A magnitude 4.1 earthquake hit Tennessee on Saturday. The quake was felt as far away as Atlanta, Georgia. The earthquake originated shortly after 9 a.m. about 12 miles from Greenback,

Tennessee. There have been no reports yet of any major damage. Earthquakes are not uncommon in that region. This is NPR News. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight have killed at least 23 people, including two children and their parents. That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The bombardment took place as concerns continue to grow over Israel's plans to control aid distribution to Gaza, and Israeli blockade on food and medical supplies for the region is entering its third month.

A newly rediscovered pilot of Thomas and Friends is being made publicly available for the first time. As NPR's Chloe Velpman reports, the 1983 episode of the beloved children's cartoon series about anthropomorphic steam trains was released on YouTube on Friday. The pilot has been restored and digitized in honor of the 80th anniversary of the first Thomas Book's appearance in 1945. Titled Down the Mine, it tells of Thomas's hubristic attempt to chuff past a danger sign. There's no danger, there's no danger. Look out! Shouted his driver.

Come back! Fire and smoke, said Thomas. I'm sunk. A producer of the series, which ran from 1984 until 2021, told the BBC his team recently stumbled across old film cans containing the footage shot in 35-millimeter film in a storage unit. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. With one round remaining, Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry

are sharing the lead at the PGA championship underway in Flower Town, Pennsylvania this weekend. Straka started the day two strokes sharing the lead at the PGA Championship underway in Flower Town, Pennsylvania this weekend. Strach has started the day two strokes off the lead, but carted just one bogey and five birdies to finish with a 4-under-66. Keith Mitchell, who'd held the lead through two days of play, now stands at 11 under par with Justin Thomas. They are both three strokes off the lead.

I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. You may have heard that President Trump has issued an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to NPR. This is the latest in a series of threats to media organizations across the country. Whatever changes that brings, NPR's commitment to reporting the facts won't change. Join the movement to defend public media.

Visit donate.npr.org.