NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-16-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

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Shaun Diddy Combs could go to prison for the rest of his life if he's found guilty of charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. Keep up with the trial by following Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR. We're covering Diddy's trial, the rest of the news, and a lot more. Every afternoon on Here and Now Anytime. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. It's been a destructive week in Gaza.

The Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 300 Palestinians in the past three days. Israel says it's pressuring Hamas to lay down its arms and release the hostages. This comes as President Trump wraps up his trip to the Mideast today, and Piers Hadil Al-Shilchi reports. Israel's military has dramatically intensified its campaign in Gaza, with President Trump still in the region. That's the sound of a few of the strikes overnight in the north of Gaza.

Israeli officials say the intense bombing is their final warning to Hamas. Surrender or they will launch an expanded offensive in Gaza. In preparation for it, dubbed Gideon's Chariot, Israel has been calling up tens of thousands of reservists. The plan involves displacing a large number of Palestinians to the south. There were hopes President Trump would advance talks towards a ceasefire during his trip to the Middle East, but there has been no public announcement about the talks. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia are meeting in Istanbul, Turkey today. These are the first direct talks since Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago. NPR's Joanna Kikiss reports while they may talk about a ceasefire, hopes are low after Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show up for the discussions. Speaking to reporters in Turkey, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia missed an opportunity to work toward a peace deal by sending mid-level technocrats to the talks. Ukraine is clearly ready to play ball but that ball is now in the Russian court. Putin had proposed the talks for May 15th as the

Kremlin fueled speculation that he might attend. Then President Trump said he might go too. But only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed up in Turkey on Thursday. He sent his own delegation to Istanbul but won't be attending. Joanna Kekesis, NPR News, Kiev. The Department of Homeland Security is asking the Pentagon to provide some 20,000 National Guard troops to help in removing migrants illegally in the U.S. The New York Times was the first to report the story.

NPR's Tom Bowman reports military lawyers are reviewing the request. There's no sense at this point what role the Guard troops would play. It might be providing transportation or security, or if they would be detaining migrants or actually maybe taking part in arrests. This would be the first time Guard Troops at the national level have been asked to assist in deportations.

NPR's Tom Bowman reporting. As many as nine tornadoes crashed through Wisconsin and Minnesota yesterday. Significant damage has been reported in the town of Juneau, Wisconsin, north of Milwaukee. One injury has been reported. The storms have cut power to areas in the Great Lakes region. A tracking site says more than a quarter of a million customers in Michigan are without power this morning.

You're listening to NPR. Engineers who drive New Jersey's transits commuter trains have gone on strike. Hundreds of thousands of commuters are without transportation. Many cannot afford to take an alternate ride such as Amtrak. The engineers say they're seeking wage increases. New Jersey's governor says it's important to reach a deal that's fair to everyone. There are new academic standards in Oklahoma. These require Oklahoma students to identify, quote, discrepancies in the 2020 election

results. Beth Wallace reports the policy is going into effect, although there were no major discrepancies substantiated in the 2020 presidential election. The standards have been championed by Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a conservative firebrand. These new standards will ensure that kids have an accurate and comprehensive view of historical events while also reinforcing the values that make our country great. While Republican leadership raised concerns about a rushed procedure to get the standards

through the State Board of Education, the content of the standards has gotten little pushback from the majority party. A lawsuit filed by a former GOP Oklahoma attorney general could stall the implementation of the standards, which are set to take effect next school year. But like other Republican criticisms, the lawsuit takes issue with how the standards were approved, not the standards themselves. For NPR News, I'm Beth Wallace. Tomorrow is the grand finale of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland.

It launched the careers of groups like ABBA. Competitors from 26 countries will perform and then the audience votes. This is NPR.