NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-20-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump has emerged from his meeting with House Republicans after more than an hour today saying his party is united behind his quote, big, beautiful bill. I think it was a really great, that was a meeting of love. Let me tell you, that was love in that room. There was no shouting. I think it was a meeting of love. There were a couple of things that we talked

about specifically where some people felt a little bit one way or the other, not a big deal. However, it is still unclear if Trump has persuaded Republican holdouts to support the massive bill of spending and tax cuts. The GOP cannot afford to lose more than three Republican votes in the House where the GOP has a narrow majority. This week, four fiscal hardliners helped advance the bill out of committee without supporting it on grounds that the spending cuts don't go far enough. Democrats are united against the measure that they say undermines the most vulnerable Americans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is defending the Trump administration's outreach to Russia to try to end the war in Ukraine. He's testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he used to serve and is facing tough questions from Democrats. Here's NPR's Michelle Kelliman. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jean Shaheen, says the Trump administration is giving up its leverage with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What Vladimir Putin is doing now is playing for time and he's playing this president like a fiddle.

Rubio rejected that, saying Trump is trying to end a war that no one can win. Russia wants what they do not currently have and are not entitled to. And Ukraine wants what they cannot regain militarily. And that's been the crux of the challenge. He also argues that the U.S. hasn't given Putin any sanctions relief. Shaheen and other Democrats say Putin should face more pressure to stop Russia's aggression. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Over the weekend, tornadoes killed more than 24 people in Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri.

NPR's Rebecca Hersch reports large outbreaks of tornadoes are getting more common. The total number of tornadoes has been stable since scientists started tracking them in the 1950s. But big outbreaks, where lots of storms move across a large area, have gotten more common in recent decades. Melissa Widhelm helps lead the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University. In the past, we didn't see the kind of large outbreak days that we do now. It used to be kind of unusual to see dozens of them in a day, and now we get that year

after year. It's unclear what role, if any, climate change might play in tornado trends. Scientists are actively working to understand how tornadoes are changing in order to better protect people in harm's way. Rebecca Herscher, NPR News. U.S. stocks are trading lower this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Hourage is down more than 100 points. You're listening to NPR News. The World Health Organization's member countries have voted to adopt a pandemic agreement. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports the U.S. did not attend the meeting in Geneva.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts from around the world began working on plans to ensure that the world responded better to the next pandemic. Now, member states have voted overwhelmingly to adopt an agreement aimed at just that. The 30-page treaty covers a range of topics, from preventing spillover of viruses to protecting health care workers. The treaty won't go into effect for at least a year, as countries have to work out a few contentious details,

most notably language that would obligate rich countries to share vaccines and treatments. Because of the Trump administration's withdrawal from WHO, the U.S. won't be part of the accord. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Whether influenced by statistics or perhaps horoscopes, bets are being made on which two teams will reach the NBA Finals next month. The Western Conference Finals begin tonight. No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder hosting No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves. The Eastern Conference Finals come down to

the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. No. 3 Seed vs. No. 4 Game 1 begins tomorrow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down 122 points at 42,669 the S&P's off 19 points and the Nasdaq is down 65 points I'm Lakshmi Singh NPR News in Washington