NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-12-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

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With a major shift in our politics underway in this country, 1A is drilling down on what's at stake for you and our democracy. In our weekly series, If You Can Keep It, we put these changes into focus and answer your questions about the impact of the Trump administration on the U.S. Join us every Monday for If You Can Keep It on the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Qatar has offered President Trump a luxury plane that he can replace Air Force One, and Trump says he is not one to turn down that kind of offer. Trump is on his way to the Middle East and will be visiting Qatar later this week, as NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports.

In remarks from the White House, Trump said Air Force One jets were old and that replacements from Boeing had been delayed and that maintenance of the existing planes was very costly. I could be a stupid person and say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane. But I thought it was a great gesture. Trump says the plane would be decommissioned after his term for his presidential library, and he says he would not use the plane after leaving office. The White House says the plane would be a, quote, donation to the Department of Defense, the legal details of which are still being worked out.

Congress is also looking to weigh in on the matter. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News. Democrats say accepting the plane would be a clear violation of the Constitution's ban on gifts from foreign heads of state. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans hoping to finish crafting their massive spending bill this week. NPR's Elena Moore reports that the remaining three committees are set to mark up and advance their portions of the bill but that some internal divisions remain at play.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Agriculture will each meet tomorrow. GOP leaders must find a way to meet demands for deep spending cuts while also working to appease members who want to protect costly programs and tax incentives. One example is over SALT — state and local property taxes. Members in competitive New York, New Jersey and California districts say their support for the bill is tied to a higher cap for SALT deductions. It's crucial for GOP leaders to get these folks on board.

Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, and they'll need nearly full party approval to get the bill passed. Alaina Moore, NPR News. The détente in the US-China trade wars making Wall Street happy. NPR's Maria Aspin reports on today's rally in the major stock market indexes. Investors breathed a huge sigh of relief after weeks of uncertainty over the global impact of President Trump's sweeping tariffs. The US and China have agreed to slash their extreme taxes on each other's goods, for the time being. The

pause will last 90 days while negotiations continue. The Dow soared more than 1,100 points, or 2.8 percent. The benchmark S&P 500 rose more than 3 percent, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ jumped more than 4 percent. But the global economy isn't out of the tariff woods yet. U.S. tariffs are still broadly higher across the board than they were at the start of the year. And the pause with China only lasts 90 days, and could end sooner if trade talks sour. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. This is NPR. The last living American hostage held captive by Hamas in Gaza is back with his family. Hamas released Adan Alexander on Monday, the release being seen as a goodwill gesture toward

the Trump administration. Alexander was handed over and allowed safe passage to Israel during a brief pause in the fighting in Gaza. Israeli shelling has since resumed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said plans to intensify military action in Gaza are ongoing. Delays remain a problem at New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport. Officials say the backups are due to staffing shortages. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says a new software update prevented a third radar outage over the past

couple of weeks. Over the weekend, a new telecommunications issue cropped up, leading to a 45-minute ground stop at Newark. A new study estimates that nearly one in four children in the U.S. has at least one parent with a substance abuse disorder. And alcohol use is the most common, as NPR's Ritu Chatterjee reports. The new study used the latest data from the Household-Based National Survey on Drug Use and Health and found that nearly 19 million U.S. kids have a parent with a substance use

disorder. Study author Sean McCabe directs the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health at the University of Michigan. It makes you realize that the scope of this issue is vast. McCabe says a significant proportion of those children, 7.6 million, have a parent whose addiction is severe or moderate as opposed to mild. The findings are published in the latest JAMA pediatrics. Ritu Chatterjee, NPR News. And I'm Joel Snyder. This is NPR News.