NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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Conductor Robert Fron says a good melody captures our attention. And then it moves you through time. Music is architecture in time. If you engage in the moment with what you're listening to, you do lose a sense of the time around you. How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. That's on the Ted Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The House is advancing a multi-trillion dollar spending package that includes many of President Trump's legislative priorities. The bill includes an extension of the President's 2017 tax cuts and significant rollbacks to

environmental regulations. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports the vote came just two days after a handful of Republicans voted to tank the legislation. House leadership spent the weekend in discussions with fiscal conservatives who voted against advancing the bill out of committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson said one area of negotiation is accelerating work requirements for Medicaid. Hardliners were concerned the requirements wouldn't kick in soon enough.

The original holdouts ended up voting present at essentially a do-over committee vote late Sunday night, which allows the bill to move forward. But negotiations aren't over yet. There are multiple groups within the conference who say they aren't yet satisfied. Yet Johnson says they are still on track to pass the bill by Memorial Day. Barbara Sprint and PR News, The Capital. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. NPR's Lou Garrett reports the president and his family are said to be reviewing treatment

options. Last week, former President Biden went to the doctors and was evaluated for a small nodule found in his prostate. The 82-year-old had also been, quote, experiencing increasing urinary symptoms, end quote, according to a statement. It goes on to say that Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday and that the cancer received a Gleason score of nine. This means it's a more aggressive case. The statement ends by saying that the cancer, quote, appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management, end quote. That's NPR's Luke Garrett reporting. The death toll in Kentucky from severe weather has risen

to at least 19. Crews have been working to clean up after a series of storms ripped through the southern and southeastern parts of the state over the weekend. Stan Engel from Member Station WEKU reports FEMA is expected to begin assessing the damage today. The National Weather Service in Jackson, Kentucky has announced preliminary findings of an EF-2 tornado that hit the town of Somerset and an EF-3 tornado that devastated the town of London, Kentucky. Over the weekend, Governor Andy Beshear said he had put in a request for a federal disaster

declaration, a process that he noted has become familiar. I've now been governor for at least 14 federally declared disasters, 13 of them weather, and this is one of the worst. It's one of the worst in terms of the loss of human life. It's one of the worst in terms of damage, and it's tough. This is the third major natural disaster to hit Kentucky this year, with two rounds of heavy flooding

happening in April and in February. For NPR News, I'm Stan Engold in Richmond, Kentucky. This is NPR News in Washington. Crypto exchange Coinbase is set to join the S&P 500 when Wall Street opens today. NPR's Rafael Nam reports it's the first crypto company to become part of this major stock index. Just over two years ago, crypto exchange FTX collapsed. Today, a different exchange, Coinbase, is set to join the ranks of 500 of the biggest public companies in the US. Here's Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase chief policy officer. And that's in part because things have changed

under President Trump. His administration is taking a far friendlier approach to the crypto industry. Trump himself has a financial stake in the crypto sector, raising major concerns about conflicts of interest. All of this is alarming consumer advocates who warn this is an nascent industry rife with potential for fraud and shady characters. Rafael Num in PR News. A statewide rail strike in New Jersey has come to an end. Union leaders and New Jersey Transit reached a deal after more than 2,000 workers walked

off the job last week bringing service to a standstill. The tentative agreement includes wage increases, improved safety measures, and revised scheduling protocols. Trains are expected to resume full service by Tuesday morning. If ratified by union members in the coming days, the agreement would avert future strikes for at least the next four years. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.