NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-17-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 17, 2025

NPR News: 05-17-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from the Kresge Foundation. Established 100 years ago, the Kresge Foundation works to expand equity and opportunity in cities across America. A century of impact, a future of opportunity. More at kresge.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Seven people have died after severe storms and a suspected tornado hit the St. Louis region Friday. St. Louis Public Radio's Chad Davis reports. St. Louis officials say more than 5,000 homes have been affected and that several buildings have collapsed.

The storm caused damage in areas of St. Louis County and neighborhoods in St. Louis City. St. Louis Mayor Kara Spencer issued a curfew Friday evening through Saturday morning for the northern parts of the city. She says the city will be going through a lot in the next few days. We're going to have a lot of work to do in the coming days. There is no doubt there. But tonight we are focused on life, saving lives and keeping people safe and allowing our community to grieve. City leaders requested residents stay off their phones Friday so that cell service could be used for critical needs. For NPR News, I'm Chad Davis.

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using a 1798 law to deport a group of Venezuelan immigrants in Texas. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran explains the ruling. The court says the Trump administration did not give people at a detention center in northern Texas enough time to challenge their deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The unsigned order says the detainees are entitled to more notice than the roughly 24 hours the government gave the Venezuelan men at the center of this case. It's important to note that conservative justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. The court was also clear that today's

ruling did not address the question of whether Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act was legal. That's NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran with our reports. This week a federal judge in New Mexico dismissed trespassing charges for dozens of migrants caught in a newly created military buffer zone along the southern border. The dismissals are the latest development in the Trump administration's expansion of immigration enforcement in the state. Johnny Coker, member station KRWG, reports. Federal Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth ruled that the original criminal complaint failed to establish probable cause.

New Mexico Democratic Congressman Gabe Vazquez said the ruling highlights the lack of clarity. The Trump administration imposed this military zone without transparency and to this day we still don't know where it begins or where it ends. It's not clear to the public, not to local officials, and certainly it's not clear to the people who are being arrested. The arrested migrants are still being detained and face deportation. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico did not immediately respond to request for comment. For NPR News, I'm Johnny Coker in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

U.S. consumer sentiment has reached a three-year low. The much-watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped again in May for the fifth month in a row. The index hit 50.8, which is its lowest reading since June of 2022. Consumers are expressing concern that President Trump's ongoing trade war will worsen inflation. This is NPR News. Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Friday, but after the market closed, Moody's downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA1. The company cited rising debt and interest rates for the drop. The Trump administration quickly explained the adjustment by offering a personal attack on a Moody's trader. This spring home buying season there are some new rules around

how agents are paid. That follows a settlement from the National Association of Realtors last year. As NPR's Laura Wamsley reports, some buyers and sellers have embraced a new way to pay their realtor with a flat fee. For a long time, buying and selling a home was pretty straightforward. The seller paid a commission to both the buyers and seller's agent, totaling 5% to 6% of the sales price.

For Jim Hsiao, a home buyer in Georgia, it was just too much money going to the realtors. When you try to negotiate, you basically just told, no, that's our rate. But following the realtor's settlement, agents must now tell their prospective clients that their rates are fully negotiable. So Xiao found an agent who agreed to a flat fee to help him buy a new home. And he got $14,000 back to put toward the closing. Despite the new rules, commissions for buyer's agents

overall have barely budged. Shau says consumers just need the confidence to ask for options beyond the status quo. Laurel Wamslee, NPR News. Commuters in New Jersey struggled to get to work on Friday after train engineers for New Jersey Transit walked off the job. The major commuter rail system normally carries

350,000 passengers a day. Many of them used buses, cars, taxis, and boats to get to their destinations. The major commuter rail system normally carries 350,000 passengers a day. Many of them used buses, cars, taxis and boats to get to their destinations. The strike did not seem to cause major traffic jams. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees.

Join millions of customers and visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply.