NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-18-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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You're listening to the NPR Network. A living, breathing record of your neighborhood, the country, the world. Told by thousands of local journalists who live in the places where stories unfold, backed by a national newsroom that puts it all in perspective. Hear the whole country story. Hear ways of thinking that challenge your own. Here's a bigger picture with NPR. Janine Herbst Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Reaction is flowing into word that former President Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that's metastasized to his bones. President Trump says he and wife Melania are saddened to hear of the diagnosis and they wish Biden a fast and

successful recovery. Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as she and her husband Doug, are sad to learn of the diagnosis and are keeping Biden and his family in their hearts and prayers. Biden's office says the cancer appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management. The 82-year-old and his family are considering their medical options. Republicans are hoping to get President Trump's big tax bill back on track with a rare Sunday committee meeting today. And here's Luke Garrett reports. Last week, five House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the domestic policy bill.

Fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee voted the bill down because of its price tag. South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman called the bill smoke and mirrors. At issue is work requirements for Medicaid, the federal health care program for poor, elderly, and disabled Americans. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News Sunday that he largely agrees with the rebelling lawmakers. Work requirements is a no-brainer. It's like a 90 percent issue on polling. Able-bodied adults who can work should work. But this group of Republicans believes the bill doesn't go far enough.

They want more cuts to Medicaid. Johnson said he is negotiating with them and that they'll fall in line. We're going to deliver on this and we'll get everybody in line to do it. The House Budget Committee is meeting again late Sunday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Israel's military says an extensive ground operation is underway throughout Gaza. This as ceasefire talks continue. And Pierce Kerry Kahn has more. A Hamas official says the militant group is now negotiating without preconditions. Prime

Minister Netanyahu's office says Israel is willing to talk terms for a permanent end to the war, not just a temporary ceasefire, as he has long demanded. The new movement in the talks comes as Israel's airstrikes pound Gaza, forcing residents like 43-year-old Fatia Nasser to flee. In a voice memo sent from northern Gaza, Nasser says before Israel would give some warning a strike was coming, but this time there was none, she says. Glass and rocks were flying after a close-by strike, and she says she's lucky she survived. Keri Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Israel's prime minister's office says it will now allow a limited amount of food into Gaza after blocking all humanitarian aid for 11 weeks. Futures on Wall Street are lower tonight after Moody's Analytics Friday downgraded the United States rating by one notch to AA1, citing financial challenges tied to the federal government's growing budget deficits. This is the economy is already under pressure from President Trump's tariffs. Dow futures are down a half percent. You're listening to NPR News. Commuters in New Jersey can once again ride the transit rails now that a

tentative contract with the engineers has been reached. The agreement ends a strike that brought rail service to a halt on Friday. The union says the deal gives a better pay package than the previous one they rejected. It still has to be approved by the union and the state transit board. Engineers have gone six years without a raise. Scientists are learning more about what makes a cat well orange. Unlike tigers, the orange fur of cats is linked to their biological sex.

And Piers-Emily Kwong has more on a scientific breakthrough in feline genetics. After decades of searching, scientists have pinpointed the exact gene responsible for calico, tortoise shell, and orange cats like my orange tabby, Zuko. Scientists have long suspected that orange color was a sex-linked trait. Now, research teams in the United States and Japan have independently located and characterized the mutation responsible for the orange color. Study have independently located and characterized the mutation responsible for the orange color. Study author Greg Barsh says the Stanford team partnered with cat

lovers and community scientists to gather orange cat DNA samples. It's an example, I think, of how scientists and the public can work together to not only uncover cool things, but also learn important aspects about biology. Both teams recently published their results in the journal Current Biology. Emily Kwong, NPR News. And US futures contracts trading lower at this hour. Dow futures are down about six-tenths of a percent. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.