NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-13-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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Sean Diddy Combs could go to prison for the rest of his life if he's found guilty of charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. Keep up with the trial by following Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR. We're covering Diddy's trial, the rest of the news, and a lot more. Every afternoon on Here and Now Anytime. I'm here and now, anytime. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. President Trump says he will lift U.S. sanctions on Syria.

As NPR's Franco Ordoniez reports, Trump announced the policy change while visiting Saudi Arabia. President Trump made the announcement at the beginning of his four-day tour of the Middle East. Trump said he decided to lift the sanctions after speaking with the Saudi crown prince and the president of Turkey. There is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace. That's what we want to see in Syria. The president received extended applause for the announcement,

which came near the end of his 45-minute address. Trump is expected to meet briefly with the Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara on Wednesday. Trump added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet with his Syrian counterpart later this week. Franco Ordonez and PR News Ria. Food banks across the nation are raising alarms over proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP, which provides food aid to low-income families. Details from Texas Public Radio's Paul Flave.

The Congressional Agriculture Committee will take up a bill with steep cuts proposed for the largest food program in the country. The proposed changes include shifting as much as 25 percent of the cost to the states. Advocates are concerned the cost will make it harder to feed people as recessions often lead to tighter state budgets as unemployment rises and people need the programs more. Texas could see an additional billion-dollar cost as a result of the proposal. Celia Cole with Feeding Texas calls the cuts the most severe in the history of the program. This is unprecedented. I think we don't ever want to balance our budget on the backs of the poor, and that's what this proposal will do.

SNAP reached an estimated 41 million people nationwide last year. I'm Paul Flavance, San Antonio. A federal judge in Pennsylvania has given the Trump administration the green light to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to gangs. Judge Stephanie Haynes also ordered the government to give migrants facing deportation at least 21 days notice. Inflation cooled last month thanks in part to lower egg prices. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the government's latest cost of living numbers. Consumers got a break last month at both the grocery store and the gas station.

Grocery prices fell by four-tenths of a percent in April, led by a sharp drop in the price of eggs, as farmers got a seasonal reprieve from avian flu. Consumer prices overall were up 2.3 percent from a year ago. That's the smallest annual increase in more than four years. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core inflation was 2.8 percent unchanged from the month before. Furniture prices were up last month, which may reflect the cost of higher tariffs. So far, though, retail prices show limited fallout from the trade war. Analysts say that could change in the months to come.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has re-sentenced Eric and Lyle Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, making them eligible for parole. The two siblings have been serving life in prison without parole for the 1989 murders of their wealthy parents. A federal grand jury has indicted a Wisconsin judge who's accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested last month on charges of obstruction and preventing an arrest. She's scheduled for court appearance on Thursday and faces up to six years in prison if convicted. Major League Baseball is lifting its lifetime bans on a number of players including Pete Rose making them eligible for the Hall of Fame posthumously. From member station WVXU, Bill Reinhart has details.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says lifetime bans are meant to protect the game and after someone has died they're no longer a threat. He made the decision after a request from the family of Pete Rose. Rose was banned from the MLB in 1989 after he was found to have been betting on the game. Rose died last September. Manfred's decision also applies to shoeless Joe Jackson and other members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox for taking bribes and intentionally losing the World Series. The chair of the Baseball Hall of Fame says its policy has been to follow a removal from the ineligible list, meaning Rose, Jackson and others could be on the ballot, but probably not before 2028. For NPR News, I'm Bill Reinhart in Cincinnati.

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