NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-14-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's been talking about, or catch the show that the internet can't get over? At the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we chase that feeling four times a week. We'll serve you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, and more. From low brow to high brow to the stuff in between, catch the Pop Culture happy hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump's plans to replace Air Force One with a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar is drawing some pushback from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. NPR's Elena Moore has that story. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said

the move shows Qatar wants to build a closer relationship to the U.S. but gifting Trump a jumbo jet. I prefer a big beautiful plane built in the United States, made in America, bought in America. He says if Qatar wants to help the U.S. they could reevaluate their ties to multiple groups in the region that the U.S. is critical of. Notably, the country has a long relationship with Hamas. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul also cast doubt on the plan, telling Fox News on Monday that he wonders whether the U.S.'s ability to judge Qatar's human rights record would be, quote, clouded by this gift.

Elena Moore, NPR News, The Capitol. The Trump administration has pledged to fight anti-Semitism. But as NPR's Tom Dreisbach reports, three senior administration officials have ties to anti-Semitic extremists. The White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, the Communications Director for the Office of Management and Budget, and a senior Justice Department official have various links to extremists, including a prominent Holocaust denier and an alleged Nazi sympathizer who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Two of the officials have now condemned the anti-Semitic rhetoric

of the January 6th rioter and denied that they are themselves extremists. Amy Spitalnik is the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. If the administration were serious about countering anti-Semitism, first and foremost, they wouldn't be appointing people with anti-Semitic and other extremist ties to senior roles in the administration. The White House did not respond to NPR's requests

for comment. Tom Dreisbach, NPR News. Former President Biden's been making public appearances as excerpts of a forthcoming book tease explosive allegations about him. The authors of Original Sin, CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson write about the extent to which Biden's advisors allegedly tried to keep the public from finding out about

Biden's declining physical and cognitive health as he sought re-election. Democratic political consultant David Axelrod, a senior presidential advisor during the Obama administration, told NPR's Michelle Martin that Biden's latest public appearances don't help the Democratic Party. If he's concerned about President Trump and some of the things that President Trump is doing, then he should want the Democratic Party to be in a position to move on and do well in the midterm elections.

Him being out there does not serve that purpose. NPR reached out to former President Biden's office for comment. A spokesperson said the office did not review the book and was not contacted for fact checks. From Washington, this is NPR News. Washington, this is NPR News. Shipping volume remains light at the Port of Los Angeles days after the U.S. and China pause steep tariffs for 90 days. In an interview with NPR's Here and Now, Gene Soroka, the port's executive director, said companies are still figuring out how to move forward amid an uncertain trade climate. Under

the deal, the U.S. had agreed to temporarily bring down its tariff on Chinese imports from at least 145 percent to a base levy of 30 percent, and China agreed to pull back its levies on U.S. goods to 10 percent from 125 percent. Box office figures show Broadway productions have taken in $1.8 billion worth of ticket sales in their current season. Jeff London reports three major productions featuring Hollywood stars are helping to fill seats. You could say everything's coming up roses on Broadway. Or is it? In the 2018-2019 season, the last one before the pandemic, the total gross at this point was $1.793 billion.

With a few weeks to go, the total box office will almost certainly hit a record. Part of the reason was the trifecta of star-driven vehicles featuring Denzel Washington, George Clooney, and Kieran Culkin, which charged sky-high ticket prices. Their three shows accounted for 20 percent of the box office take. But audiences are down 3 percent and production costs have risen so much that only one out of ten shows now turn a profit. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. in New York.