NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-15-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: May 16, 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. Representatives from Russia and Ukraine

are still slated to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, the hopes for any major breakthrough have dimmed after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey. Speaking aboard Air Force One, on his way to the United Arab Emirates, U.S. President Donald Trump said he'd planned to possibly go to Turkey as well,

but said that won't be happening now. Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together, okay? And obviously, he wasn't going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there. And I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen whether you like it or not until he and I get together but we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.

The fact Putin was in no show was not a surprise to many observers. Zelensky sent a team to Istanbul despite the fact that in his words Moscow's side does not include anyone who actually makes decisions. A Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, pleaded not guilty today in federal court. NPR's Joel Rose reports the case is part of an escalating clash between the Trump administration and Democrats over the president's crackdown on illegal immigration. Milwaukee County circuit judge, Hannah Dugan,

pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment in federal court. Dugan is charged with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. The judge is accused of directing a defendant without legal status out the back door of her courtroom as U.S. immigration and customs enforcement agents tried to arrest him. The man, who was in court on domestic abuse charges, was apprehended a short time later. A federal grand jury indicted Dugan earlier this week.

She and her attorneys left the hearing without speaking to reporters. The trial is set for July. Joel Rose, NPR News. With last minute talks continuing in New Jersey, transit workers' strike would happen as early as 12 a.m. Harrison Malkin reports the strikes would impact around 350,000 commuters and many are making backup travel plans. It's hot and busy on the Gladstone Direct Line with NJ Transit issuing a critical service advisory strongly warning commuters to finish their travels before 1159 p.m. Already the agency canceled train and bus service

to MetLife Stadium for two Shakira concerts. NJ Transit says it will increase bus service and is working with private bus carriers. Those who can work from home in carpool probably should. New Jersey's brotherhood of locomotive engineers and trainmen have worked without a contract since 2019. They're seeking wage increases comparable to Long Island Railroad and Metro North.

For NPR News, I'm Harrison Malkin in New Jersey. Consumers up their spending last month at retail stores. The government says the 1 10th of a percent rise in retail spending Follows a much stronger bump up the previous month where that increase was primarily driven by a big uptick in car sales as Customers sought to get ahead of new tariffs stocks again drifted to something of a mixed close the Dow was up 271 points the Nasdaq fell 34 points. This is NPR points, the Nasdaq fell 34 points. This is NPR. Athletic retailer Dick's Sporting Goods is buying Footlocker, the seller of shoes in many shopping malls. The deal is worth $2.4 billion. In Piers Alenia Seljuk explains the

rationale. Dick's Sporting Goods is the largest sports retailer in the US, and it's been on strong financial footing, but it does not have reach outside the country. Footlocker has struggled as a mall-based chain, but it has a massive footprint of stores, about 2,400 across 20 countries. Dix also says Footlocker has a broader range of shoppers that it would bring to the chain. Think sneaker culture. Footlocker's biggest brand by far is Nike. Together, they will have to wade the choppy waters of new tariffs on imports, including footwear, and they'll face the growing challenge of big brands trying to sell more shoes directly to shoppers themselves.

Dick's Sporting Goods plans to keep Footlocker as its own chain under its own name. Alina Seluk, NPR News. A 55-year-old man who says he wants to educate the public about sharks says he hopes to be the first person ever to swim around Martha's Vineyard. Athlete Lewis Pugh will make his attempt to complete the 62-mile swim in 47-degree water over a dozen days. Pugh says he's timing the swim to the start of the Great White Shark Migration season and to correspond with the 50th anniversary of the movie Jaws.

Pugh says the sharks were maligned by the 1975 movie, which they were portrayed as cold-blooded killers. He's calling for more protections for the animals. Critical futures prices lost ground today made talk of progress toward a US-Iran nuclear deal that could result in an easing of sanctions and more oil on the markets. Oil fell $1.50 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.

This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.