NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, a watchdog group is suing the Trump administration for allegedly withholding public records. In a new lawsuit, the group, American Oversight, is accusing multiple agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act. And Piers Luke Garrett reports. The watchdog group says the White House is breaking federal law by blocking the release of its records. Here's American Oversight executive director Chiomo Chukwu.

Our lawsuit seeks to compel the IRS, the Department of Treasury, and the Department of Education to release records that they're unlawfully withholding from the public. The group is seeking White House communications regarding President Trump's attacks against Harvard University. The White House has criticized Harvard for not doing enough to protect Jewish students and cut billions in grants to the university. But Chukwu says the suit is about more than just Harvard. Today is Harvard. Tomorrow it could be any university. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is going to allow some food aid to get into Gaza. Israel has blocked all relief aid from reaching Palestinians in the territory, raising fears of famine. The Israeli government is trying to pressure Hamas to release hostages. NPO's Daniel Estrin says some Israelis do not want Netanyahu to allow any supplies to reach Palestinians.

And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing right-wing criticism in Israel about renewing this food. And he said, look, we would not be able to continue to have international support for our offensive in Gaza if there is mass starvation he said we're gonna take control of Gaza we need to do it in a way that they won't stop us. And Piers Daniel Estrin reporting separately Israel has launched an expansive ground offensive in northern Gaza Palestinians are reporting constant and heavy bombing and shelling.

Telecommunications company Verizon is the latest big company to scale back on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts under pressure from the federal government. And Piers Maria Aspin reports the Federal Communications Commission gave Verizon its blessing on Friday for a $20 billion deal. Many big companies are backing away from what's known as DEI, after once promising to create more equitable opportunities for all employees. But now, President Trump has declared such programs illegal, and the Federal Communications Commission has taken a big role in trying to pressure companies to do away with them.

For example, Verizon has been seeking approval to buy Frontier, a broadband provider. So it told the FCC that it would end many of its policies relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Verizon will no longer set goals to hire more minorities, and it will remove references to DEI from its websites. Now the FCC has approved Verizon's deal and it specifically cited Verizon's promise to end DEI related practices. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. On Wall Street, stocks are lower. The Dow Jones industrials are down more than 20 points. You're listening to NPR. The White House says President Trump has begun his phone

call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has been pushing for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. The White House says Trump will speak with the leader of Ukraine and NATO officials later. More than a quarter of adults in the U.S. report having a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in the medical field, the number is less than 3%. NPR's Kristen Wright has this report on a California woman who filed a civil rights complaint in an effort to change that.

Kristen Wright Taylor Cardi's complaint to the Justice Department alleges Wayne State University's School of Medicine in Detroit accepted but then denied her admission because of her disability. Cardi has cerebral palsy. Limited mobility in her hand made it hard to meet the med school's technical standards. These are required skills set by each school. Cardi asked for modifications to perform CPR and suture a wound. But Wayne states that her request for accommodations wasn't reasonable.

She's focused on changing the rules. I know there is a young child who is putting on that stethoscope and I want to make that accessible for them. Since 2021, the Association of American Medical Colleges has encouraged med schools to make their technical standards more inclusive. Wayne State declined to talk to NPR. Kristen Wright, NPR News. In case you missed it over the weekend, Austria won this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The Austrian contestant, JJ, beat out 25 other competitors for the top prize. Eurovision has launched other groups to stardom, like ABBA. I'm Korva Kuhlmann, NPR News in Washington.