NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-13-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 14, 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 Jack Spear. In a lavish welcome from his Saudi host,

President Donald Trump has kicked off his Mideast visit, Trump announcing what the White House says is 600 billion in commitments from Saudi Arabia to U.S. companies. NPR's Franco Ordonis is traveling with the president and has more on the start of the president's visit. They really rolled out the red carpet for Trump, or in this case, in Saudi's case, a lavender carpet.

You know, Trump was escorted to the Saudi airport by a group of F-15 fighter jets and the whole day was incredibly lavish with two Arabian horse welcomes, there were camels and multiple receptions. We just got back from a big state dinner where there were traditional drummers. The Saudis had a far frostier relationship with former President Joe Biden. Trump, meanwhile, said he will lift U.S. sanctions on Syria and say he'll meet with the country's new president, Ahmed al-Sharah, on Wednesday. Headaches continue at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

It's been plagued by technical problems and ongoing construction. NPR's Joe Hernandez reports the radar facility that serves the airport only had three traffic controllers per hour scheduled Monday night. The FAA confirmed that at least three controllers were scheduled each hour at the Philadelphia radar facility that directs traffic in Newark's airspace. The New York Times said an agreement between the FAA and the Air Traffic Controllers Union dictates that 14 controllers should have been working during most of that time. Neither the FAA nor the union responded to questions about that agreement.

Delays and cancellations have plagued Newark's airport in recent weeks due to staffing shortages, technical problems, and runway construction. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan last week to overhaul the National Air Traffic Control System, which some estimates say could cost billions. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. Lively elected Pope Leo XIV has spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Vatican's press office, NPR's Jason DeRose reports Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine,

Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine,

Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, for a true, just, and lasting peace in the war-torn nation. He also called for the children that had been deported from Ukraine to Russia to be returned to their families. Zelensky's social media post also said that his country counts on the Vatican's assistance

in bringing them home. And the Ukrainian president wrote that he invited the pope to make an official visit to his country to bring hope to the people there. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. Inflation ticked up slightly last month. The government's broadest measure of inflation in the consumer price index rose two-tenths of one percent. On Wall Street, a mixed close, the Dow was down 269 points today.

You're listening to NPR. Federal safety regulators are requesting more information from electric vehicle maker Tesla about how its driverless taxis will avoid causing accidents when they take to the streets of Austin, Texas next month. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking for specifics like how the taxis which lack steering wheels will operate safely in low visibility conditions like fog. Agencies already investigating accidents

involving the vehicles in similar conditions, one of which was fatal. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has assured investors the launch next month and a national rollout will not be delayed. The player holding the record for the most career hits, Pete Rose, is now eligible for admittance into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

From Cincinnati, where Rose spent much of his career, WVX used Bill Reinhardt as more. Pete Rose was banned from the MLB in 1989 after he was shown to have lied about gambling on the game. He was placed on a permanent ineligibility list as punishment. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says that list was meant to protect the integrity of the game. Rose died in September and Manfred says the hit king is no longer a threat. The chair of the Hall of Fame, Jane Forbes Clark, says now that Rose is no longer on

the ineligible list, sports writers will be able to put him on the ballot. Wednesday would have been Rose's 84th birthday. For NPR News, I'm Bill Reinhart in Cincinnati. For the first time since last fall, sides egg prices, an ongoing thorn in the side of the Trump administration are coming down. Trump had promised to do something about high egg prices, which reached a record price of $6.23 a dozen in March. Egg prices have fallen to below that, down about a dollar a dozen last month.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. month. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.