NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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Is America sliding towards authoritarianism? Hundreds of academics say yes. It is certainly reversible, but we're no longer living in a liberal democracy. Where is American democracy heading? Listen now to the Sunday story on the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump's engaging in phone-based diplomacy today in his quest to end the largest land war in Eastern Europe since World War II. This morning, Trump got on a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin has so far resisted direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt Russia's full-scale operation against its neighbor. White House

Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says Trump is frustrated. He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and a ceasefire as soon as possible. But as for specifics on a timeline, I won't get ahead of the president. President Trump was also expected to speak with Zelensky. Pope Leo XIV has met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports a conversation comes ahead of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Vance, a Catholic convert, was among the last political leaders to meet with Pope Francis before he passed away.

Pope Francis and the Trump administration had starkly different views, particularly on the topic of migration. Pope Leo has already spoken out in support of migrants, and in a readout of the meeting with Vance, the Vatican described, quote, an exchange of views and calls for, quote, respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved. The Vatican has offered to host peace talks to try to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Ruth Sherlock and PR News, Rome.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF3 tornado cut across part of southern Kentucky Friday night, killing at least 19 people. In London, one of the hardest areas hit. Neighbors are helping neighbors in the aftermath. It took hours for Sherry Shepherd to reach her home after the storms. She arrived to the sounds of people calling for help and first responders trying to reach her home after the storms. She arrived to the sounds of people calling for help and first responders trying to reach them. The pictures don't do it justice until you've seen it.

They just kept removing people, our friends, our neighbors. Street after street, homes were gone. Miraculously, Shepard's was barely touched. So she turned her garage into a staging area for supplies. It's filled with things like food, water, tarps and cleaning supplies. We feel blessed. We're almost kind of feel guilty. We're just trying to help as much as we can. Volunteers from as far as California have been working out of Shepard's garage. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in

London, Kentucky. President Trump's domestic priorities now head to the full house for a vote, but its fate is still far from certain The Republican leadership is attempting to secure full GOP backing for a measure the Democrats are already united against Republican House leaders have pledged modifications to appease fiscal hawks Who've been demanding deeper spending cuts including the Medicaid to pay for the bills tax cuts. It's NPR pay for the bill's tax cuts. It's NPR. A U.S. official confirms with NPR that a Boeing 747, formerly used by the Qatari government, now parked at the San Antonio airport, has not yet undergone retrofitting. There was speculation that the defense contractor, L.S. Harris Technologies, had begun work on the plane, but the official said that was not

the case. The official was not authorized to speak publicly. The Air Force is expected to take ownership of the plane once the proper paperwork is done, and then it will go to a defense contractor for a specialized overhaul with plans for it to be used as Air Force One. Telecommunications company Verizon is the latest big company to scale back on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts under pressure from the federal government. NPR's Maria Aspin has more. 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. The Dow is up nearly 150 points. This is NPR News. Look, we get it. When it comes to new music, there is NPR News.