NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-12-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

NPR News: 05-12-2025 6PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Imagine, if you will, a show from NPR that's not like NPR, a show that focuses not on the important but the stupid, which features stories about people smuggling animals in their pants and competent criminals in ridiculous science studies, and call it Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me because the good names were taken. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Yes, that is what it is called wherever You Get Your Podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Hamas has released an Israeli-American hostage from Gaza. The U.S. made a deal with Hamas to secure his freedom.

More from NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Hamas militants in Gaza handed Edan Alexander to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is then handing him over to the Israeli military to reunite with his family. Alexander is a 21-year-old dual US-Israeli national who was serving in the Israeli military when Hamas captured him in the October 7 attacks in 2023. He was the last living US citizen held captive in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Trump and thanked him for helping secure Alexander's release.

Israel is sending negotiators to Qatar to hold talks for a Gaza ceasefire and further hostage releases. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Harvard University is pushing back on the Trump administration, saying federal intervention on campus issues may be doing more harm than good. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports the Department of Education is currently investigating the school for alleged anti-Semitism and discrimination. Harvard University president Alan Garber says the school shares some goals with the Trump administration like fighting

anti-Semitism and encouraging diverse viewpoints. But in a letter to the Department of Education, Garber warns that heavy-handed federal involvement is actually hurting those efforts. Garber says the university is committed to addressing hate and protecting free expression, but he says it must be allowed to do so independently. Harvard has been under increasing pressure

since pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted on campus following the start of the war in Gaza. The White House has accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students and allowing anti-Semitism to spread. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. President Trump has begun a week-long trip to the Middle East with stops planned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates earlier today. He signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Wall Street is rejoicing over a detente in the U.S.-China trade war, more from NPR's

Maria Aspin. Maria Aspin Investors breathed a huge sigh of relief after weeks of uncertainty over the global impact of President Trump's sweeping tariffs. The U.S. 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. You're listening to NPR News. The obesity drug ZepBound appears to help people lose more weight than Wigovie. That's according to new research. NPR's Rob Stein reports. Researchers studied 751 obese volunteers who got weekly injections of either ZepBound or Wigovie.

In results published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reported at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain, the researchers found that those who got Zepbond lost more weight over the next 18 months than those who got Wigovie. The volunteers who got Zepbond lost an average of about 20% of their body weight. Those taking wagovi lost an average of about 14 percent. The study was funded by Eli Lilly, which makes ZipBound. Novo Nordis makes wagovi. Rob Stein, NPR News. Pope Leo XIV speaking to an audience of more than 6,000 journalists in Rome to cover his election as the first American pope, called for the release of

imprisoned journalists and also affirmed what he called, quote, the precious gift of free speech in the press. The 69-year-old pontiff received a standing ovation as he entered the Vatican auditorium for his first meeting with representatives of the general public. The Augustinian missionary was elected pope last week during an approximately 24-hour conclave, he urged journalists to use words for peace to reject war and give voice to the voiceless. Crude oil futures prices bounced to a two-week high today as the U.S. and China said they'll slash tariffs for a 90-day period, oil up 93 cents a barrel to end the session at $61.95 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.