NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-14-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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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 in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. is testifying before House Committee. He says he needs less money for his agency. Thousands of agency staffers are leaving. Kennedy says core work at the agency will be safe, including at the National Institutes of Health. We will fund cutting edge research at the NIH while cutting risky or non-essential services. That includes ending of gain-of-function experiments and research based upon radical gender ideology. Gain-of-function research involves studying how viruses could cause a pandemic by spreading

more easily or causing more serious illness. There are accusations that COVID-19 was started by a virus created during gain-of-function research in China. Many other scientists dispute this. They warn that blocking these studies will also block research that could help prevent or respond to the next pandemic. A federal grand jury has indicted a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge. She is accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The case has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities

over Trump's sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration. From member station WUWM, Mayon Silver reports. The grand jury found the prosecution has probable cause to move forward in its charges against Judge Hannah Dugan. She's accused of concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstructing a proceeding for allegedly directing a Mexican citizen defendant out of her courtroom as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to arrest him. One of Dugan's lawyers issued a statement on her behalf that she, quote, asserts her

innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court. Dugan will have a preliminary hearing and arraignment Thursday amid growing tensions between President Trump and the judiciary. For NPR News, I'm Ayaan Silver in Milwaukee. President Trump's 90-day tariff pause on Chinese goods could offer American consumers a brief window of price relief. But as NPR's Windsor Johnston reports, that relief may be limited. Consumers may see more price stability on goods like electronics, clothing and household

items, especially if importers use this window to restock without adding costs. Mark Wu is an international trade expert at Harvard University. Some of the feared price increases may either be delayed or possibly not as large as have been feared, but it still leaves the consumer with quite a bit of uncertainty as to where things may be headed. Analysts say the pause in tariffs may not immediately reduce prices. The benefit could be more visible toward the end of the summer, depending on how quickly

import patterns adjust. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 60 points. You're listening to NPR. President Trump has arrived in Qatar, the next stop on his Mideast trip this week. Earlier today, he met Syria's new interim leader, Ahmad al-Sharah. He says his administration is open to normalizing relations with Syria. Yesterday, Trump said the US would lift sanctions on Syria. The president is not visiting Israel on this trip, but he

says his relationship with Mideast countries is good for Israel. In the U.S., dozens of wildfires are burning in Minnesota. Three of them are blazing out of control in the northeastern part of the state. NPR's Giles Snyder reports the National Weather Service says there's near- near critical fire conditions there. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says the unseasonably high temperatures combined with low humidity and drought conditions are teaming up to create dangerous fire conditions. I think right now it's important for us to start thinking about the habits we're doing, start thinking about containment and making sure that we're prepared to protect property and of course most importantly protect life."

State officials say more than 80 fires have cropped up since Sunday, including the largest. The Camp House fire has destroyed dozens of structures. The early season heat to Minnesota and also in the Dakotas has broken records. But while relief is expected later this week, forecasters say the same weather system will make parts of the South sizzle for the next 6 to 10 days, especially in parts of Texas and Florida. Trial Snyder, NPR News. Separately, heavy rain in the mid-Atlantic led to flash flooding in parts of western Maryland and in neighboring West Virginia.

Some areas got more than six inches of rain. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.