NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-16-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

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Fall in love with new music every Friday at All Songs Considered. That's NPR's music recommendation podcast. Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week. Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey are over they were supposed to focus on ending Russia's war in Ukraine President Trump is on his way home from his trip to the Middle East and Pierce Franco Ordonia's reports Trump decided not to stop in Istanbul for the

talks at the beginning of his trip President Trump teased that he might go to Turkey, but Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't show up. And Trump said this morning, he doesn't think anything will happen until they meet. You know, they all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. And I said, if I don't go, I guarantee Putin's not going. And he didn't go. And I understand that. But we're going to get it.

We're going to get it done. We've got to get it done. Trump said it's time and that he'll meet Putin as soon as a meeting can be set up. He didn't go to Turkey today because he said he needs to get back to meet his new grandchild. His daughter Tiffany just had a baby. Franco Ordonez, NPR News Abu Dhabi. From Mumbai, NPR's Diya Hadid reports that President Trump has lashed out at the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, after he said that most iPhones sold in the U.S. will come from India. That may complicate India's hopes of replacing China as a global base for iPhone manufacturing.

President Trump said this during his whistle-stop tour of the Gulf. I said, Tim, look, we've treated you really good. We've put up with all the plants that you built in China for years. Now you've got to build us. We're not interested in you building in India. It came after CNBC quoted Tim Cook as saying that he expected most iPhones to be built in India. India has long sought to siphon more iPhone manufacturing from China. It already makes nearly 15% of all iPhones.

India is also negotiating a trade deal with the United States, which it hopes will curb 26% tariffs that Trump has vowed to slap on the country. It's so far unclear if these tensions over where iPhones should be built will hinder that deal. Diyya Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai. Sean Diddy-Cohm's sex trafficking and racketeering trial in New York will conclude a week of testimony today with the defense cross-examining the prosecution's star witness. R&B singer Cassie Ventura has alleged, in graphic detail, that her powerful hip-hop mogul ex-boyfriend had

for years sexually and physically and emotionally abused her, forced her into taking part in drug-fueled sex parties and prevented her from pursuing her music career. And Piers Isabella Gomez-Admiento says the defense is attempting to undermine her testimony. The defense admitted that Combs has been violent, but they say he didn't coerce or traffic anyone. So when they began cross-examining Ventura, they relied heavily on text message evidence. They had her read out loud these loving, caring texts she exchanged with Combs over the years. The defense is really trying to establish grounds for consent. NPR's Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento. This is NPR News.

A prominent Thai businessman is among those who've surrendered to police on charges of criminal negligence linked to the deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in the March earthquake that killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar. Michael Sullivan has more from Thailand. Construction magnate Premchai Konosut, the president of Italian Thai Development Company, the main Thai contractor for the project, was president of Italian Thai Development Company, the main Thai contractor for the project, was one of nearly 20 people charged with professional negligence causing death, according to police, including an executive in charge of the joint venture's Chinese partner,

China Railway No. 10. All have denied the charges. Thai media reports in the past month have focused on the Chinese firms' involvement. More than 90 people, mostly construction workers, were killed when the building under construction collapsed in Bangkok, more than 600 miles from the Quakes epicenter. Police say that evidence and testimony from experts suggested the building's construction wasn't up to code. For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai. Three European countries held nuclear talks today with Iran, separate from similar talks between the US and Iran. Britain, France, and Germany, known as the

E3, are trying to determine when or even whether they should reimpose UN sanctions against Iran, otherwise known as the snapback mechanism, if there's no progress in ratifying the 2015 nuclear pact. A federal judge is allowing Iowa to continue to restrict instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade schools. The limit does not extend to elective programs under the court's ruling yesterday. This is NPR. Politics is a lot these days. I'm Sarah McCammon, a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast, and I'll be the first to tell you what happens in Washington definitely demands some decoding.

That's why our show makes politics as easy as possible to wrap your head around. Join us as we make politics make sense on the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.