NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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We've all been there, running around a city, looking for a bathroom, but unable to find one. Hello! Do you have a restroom we could use? A very simple free market solution is that we could just pay to use a bathroom, but we can't. On the Planet Money podcast, the story of how we once had thousands of pay toilets and why they got banned. From Planet Money on NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington on Kora Kohlmann, former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Biden is 82, and NPR's Tamara Keith reports he was America's oldest president to serve in the office. According to a statement from Biden's personal office, the cancer has metastasized to bone and is a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. But it appears to be hormone sensitive, which means there are options for effective management. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in elderly men. For Biden, the diagnosis came after experiencing urinary symptoms. The statement goes on to say that the former president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.

This comes as media attention has been focused on Biden's decline while in office as documented in a forthcoming book. Tamara Keith, NPR News. In a late vote last night, House Republicans on the Budget Committee voted to advance their huge budget package to the full House. The current agreement includes President Trump's demands. That means enormous spending increases for immigration enforcement and the extension of his tax cuts.

But four Republicans who say it doesn't go far enough to cut the federal deficit did not vote for it. Instead, they voted present so the bill could move forward out of committee. These Republicans had helped block the package last Friday. Texas Republican Congressman Jody Errington chairs the budget committee. He says lawmakers will continue to work on the bill right up until it goes to the whole House. People are confident that these things will be resolved.

And we'll get this bill, this big, beautiful bill to the president, and we'll make it a reality in the lives of the American people. Democrats vehemently oppose the bill. They say it won't work without deeply cutting it to Medicaid, food and nutrition assistance, and other basic services Americans need. Israel says it has begun stepped-up attacks in Gaza. The Israeli military says it's now engaging in extensive ground operations there. Scores

of people have been killed in Gaza over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is going to control all of Gaza. He says Israel will allow some aid to get into the Palestinian enclave. The BBC's Yalan Nel reports from Jerusalem the Israeli government has cut off all aid to Gaza for nearly three months. With global experts warning of famine, Israel's continuing blockade of Gaza, which it said was to put pressure on Hamas, has caused an international outcry. While Israel insists it's sticking to its controversial plans for a new aid system,

for now the UN, which has supplies piled up at Gaza's crossings, has confirmed that it's been approached about resuming deliveries. Israel's military is continuing its most extensive ground operations since ending a ceasefire two months ago. The BBC's Yalan Nel reporting from Jerusalem. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are lower. It's NPR. President Trump is scheduled to hold separate phone calls today with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He'll also speak to NATO leaders. It's part of Trump's effort to secure an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. The train engineers on strike against New Jersey Transit are expected to return tomorrow morning. The union, representing Locomotive Engineers, says it has reached a tentative contract agreement with the agency.

From member station WNYC, Catalina Colena reports. More than 450 engineers walked off the job Friday, halting all NJ Transit rail service across the state. The shutdown affected nearly 300,000 weekday riders, making it one of the most disruptive strikes in the transit agency's history. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen says the deal includes higher wages than the proposal union members rejected last month. Engineers have gone six years without a raise. The contract still needs to be ratified by union members and approved by NJ Transit's board in June.

For NPR News, I'm Catalina Gonella in New York City. The Federal Aviation Administration says it and representatives of major airlines have agreed to route fewer flights through Newark Liberty International Airport. This comes after several air traffic control problems were reported recently at the New Jersey airport. Initially, authorities will only allow a certain number of flights to land and take off each hour at Newark.

Ankurva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.