NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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You've probably seen clips from the Jennifer Hudson show Spirit Tunnel on TikTok or Instagram, the ones where celebrities dance down the hallway to a clever song. These videos can reveal a lot. Do they have rhythm? And how famous are they really? We're breaking down the inescapable internet trend. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump says that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start ceasefire talks. Today, Trump held a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The president says the tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. He added that Russia wants large-scale trade with the United States after the war ends. Trump said he spoke to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of European leaders immediately after his call with Putin. Trump also says the Vatican had said it would be interested in hosting the talks. Trump provided the update on social media. A federal judge is blocking the Trump administration's takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The court says the federal government's actions against the institute, including the removal of its board, were unlawful. Here's NPR's Ryan Lucas. The Trump administration moved to take over the U.S. Institute of Peace in March, removing members of the board and dismantling its global operations. Board members sued, alleging they were unlawfully fired. Now U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell agrees. In her 102-page ruling, Howell says that USIP was created by Congress as an independent nonprofit think tank. She determined it is not part of the executive branch, meaning the president does not have the authority to remove the institute's leadership, as he did. The judge ordered the fired board

members and the USIP president reinstated. The actions to dismantle the institute, the judge said, including the transfer of ownership of its headquarters, are null and void. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. In a legal win for Trump, the US.S. Supreme Court is allowing the administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans and potentially expose them to deportation. The Biden administration had extended temporary protected status for Venezuelans. However, President Trump reversed that decision. President Trump's domestic agenda is also on the line. The White House is pushing

congressional Republicans to unite and pass the massive spending and tax cut package. The measure made it out of the House Budget Committee last night, but the GOP leadership faces the challenge of winning over fiscal hardliners who are demanding deeper cuts in spending to pay for tax cuts. One of them, South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman, who praised the bill, but refused to offer full support. We've been downgraded three times. We have problems with the money in this country, the debt. On Friday, Moody's downgraded the US credit rating.

However, US treasury yields remain elevated. This hour, U.S. stocks are mixed. The Nasdaq is down 21 points at 19,189. The S&P is off slightly. The Dow is up more than 100 points. From Washington, this is NPR News. Britain and the European Union have held their first official summit since Brexit. It's been five years since Britain left the EU. Here's NPR's Lauren Fraire in London. Polls show a majority of Britons regret Brexit, which hurt the British economy.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer calls this a reset, signaling a new era. Britain is back on the world stage, doing deals that will grow our economy. EU citizens still won't be able to live and work freely in Britain or vice versa, but students and twenty-somethings will be able to work short-term jobs. Stammer's opponents accuse him of selling out to the EU with deals that include access to British waters for European fishing boats. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London.

New research finds that plant protein is just as effective for building muscle as consuming protein from animals like meat and dairy. The new study reflects a growing body of evidence in the field of exercise and nutrition. Here's NPR's Will Stone. The study followed 40 young adults over three weightlifting sessions. They were randomly assigned a vegan or omnivore diet. Nicholas Bird, who ran the trial, says both groups had comparable results when they measured how the muscle was growing.

From muscle building potential, vegan diets are just as good. He says with the caveat that people are eating well-balanced plant-based meals, meaning they have multiple sources of plant protein. Historically, studies have found meat-based protein was superior, but those tended to focus on just one meal and one source of protein. And Bird says views have evolved with longer-term studies that included full meals.

Will Stone, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. Is America sliding towards authoritarianism? Hundreds of academics say yes. It is certainly reversible, but we are 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.