NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-14-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Through Line podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Through Line, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Through Line podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A state dinner at Qatar's Lusail Palace tonight capping hours of pomp and ceremony around President Trump's arrival in Doha today from Saudi Arabia. NPR's Franco

Ordonez is covering Trump's first major international trip since his return to office. For a second day in a row, President Trump received a lavish welcome, this time from the Qatari Emir, including Arabian horses, camels, and a red carpet arrival ceremony. Trump touted their friendship and thanked the Emir for helping the U.S. as it works to resolve the conflict in Gaza, as well as the war in Ukraine, and tease some upcoming news about the conflict. I think we're having some pretty good news coming out of there today and maybe tomorrow and maybe Friday, frankly.

But we'll see about that. Like in Saudi Arabia, the Qatar stop is expected to be defined by business deals, but it also comes with some scrutiny over his idea to accept a luxury jet from Qatar that could serve as a temporary Air Force One. Franco Ordonez, NPR News. Earlier today, Trump said he was still considering whether to attend Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks scheduled tomorrow in Turkey. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he'll be there, but it's not yet known

if Russian President Vladimir Putin will go. NPR's Charles Maynes reports on the possibilities. If Trump, Putin, and Zelensky really do gather in a room together, I think anything could happen. But without them, some kind of ceasefire seems the best hope, and even that would take some doing. The Kremlin sees an extended truce as a way for Ukraine to rearm at a moment when Russia has the battlefield advantage. And Russia is demanding a stop

to all Western arm shipments to Ukraine as a result. NPR's Charles Maynes reporting. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on Capitol Hill telling lawmakers why he wants less money for his agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. NPR's Selena Simmons-Stefan reports earlier today Kennedy told the House Appropriations Committee that Elon Musk's team developed the restructuring plan that he implemented. 10,000 staffers at HHS have been fired since Secretary Kennedy began leading the agency with thousands more taking buyouts or early retirement. Here's Kennedy responding to a question about who decided which staff to cut.

Elon Musk gave us help in figuring out where there was waste, fraud, and abuse in the department. It was up to me to make the decision. Lawmakers of both parties questioned the wisdom of shrinking the size of the National Institutes of Health, which Kennedy described as being corrupt and in need of a new direction. Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Washington. US stocks end the day mixed with the NASDAQ closing up 136 points. You're listening to NPR News. Some Maryland schools were closed today and people were told to stay off the roads because of flash floods. Allegheny County officials

say several secondary roads are still underwater earlier today. Meanwhile, authorities in Central Virginia posted on social media this morning crews recovered the body of a child. They believe the victim's a 12 year old boy they've been searching for since he was swept away by rushing water on a road. More than a thousand baristas at Starbucks have been on strike at dozens of US sites since Sunday. They're protesting a new dress code, solid black shirt and khaki black or blue denim bottoms under a green apron that the coffee chain says will stand out. The MAX streaming service will get a new name this summer, HBO Max. And Pierre's Eric Decken says the change resurrects the original name the streaming service had when it debuted in 2020.

Two years ago, when Warner Brothers' discovery dropped the HBO from the name of its streaming service, some questioned the wisdom of discarding a brand name associated with groundbreaking TV hits like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Game of Thrones. The restoration of the HBO Max title, announced at an event for advertisers in New York, seems to acknowledge that idea, as executives said it signaled a focus on specifically unique, quality content. The name change could also signal a move towards separating some assets owned by Warner Brothers Discovery,

like its cable channels, into an independent company. Warner Brothers Discovery did not provide a specific date for the name change. Eric Deggans, NPR News. The Dow closed down 89 points, the NASDAQ was up 136. You're listening to NPR News.