NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-20-2025 1AM EDT

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from MPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. President Trump says he had a constructive phone call

with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday. Putin wants concessions from Ukraine before agreeing to a permanent ceasefire, while Trump has said that he, Russia must agree to immediate negotiations. Big ego's involved, I tell you. Big ego's involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions if Russia fails to agree on a ceasefire deal, but he downplayed that threat during Monday's phone call. President Trump signed a bipartisan bill into law Monday that makes it a federal crime to post online sexually explicit images without the subject's consent. As NPR's Maura Liason reports, the bill was first backed by First Lady Melania Trump. In a rare show of bipartisan support, the bill passed the Senate with 99 votes. The bill is known as the Take It Down Act. It criminalizes the distribution of sexually explicit imagery

posted without the subject's consent. It covers both real images and deep fakes that can be generated by artificial intelligence. And it requires social media platforms to remove the material within 48 hours after a request from a victim of the online harassment. The new law also empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce it. Those convicted of intentionally distributing the material would face up to three years in prison. Mara

Liason, NPR News, The White House. Cleanup continues in areas from Texas to Kentucky following multiple tornadoes blamed for at least 28 deaths. Forecasters say the storms will shift to the southeast and mid-Atlantic regions this week. Mississippi is still awaiting federal disaster relief, meanwhile, more than two months after that state was hit by 18 tornadoes. The twisters claimed seven lives

and damaged hundreds of homes. The director of emergency management in one of Mississippi's hardest hit counties as debris removal operations have ground to a halt. A leading human rights activist has been arrested in El Salvador. As NPR's Ada Peralta tells us, it comes amid a crackdown on dissidents in the country. Ada Peralta, NPR's Director of Emergency Management, El Salvador Ruth Lopez is a lawyer who runs an anti-corruption and justice program for the human rights organization

Cristosal. Lopez has been an outspoken critic of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. She and her organization have documented human rights abuses in El Salvador, including inhumane conditions at jails and how the government has ignored due process to throw tens of thousands of suspected gang members in prison. In a statement, Cristócal said López was arrested at her home on Sunday evening. Over the past couple of weeks, the Salvadoran government has arrested protesters. President Bukele blamed non-profit organizations for pushing people to the streets.

Bukele also announced he would begin to tax NGOs on the money they receive from abroad. The move is broadly seen as an attack on his critics. Eder Peralta, in Peer News, Mexico City. This is NPR. President Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to convince Republican holdouts to back a spending plan that embraces his agenda. Negotiations have been bogged down by Republican infighting over domestic spending cuts needed to fund sweeping tax breaks.

Some GOP lawmakers are refusing to accept cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs. CBS News Chief Wendy McMahon is resigning, citing disagreement with management, saying she does not agree with leadership on, quote, the path forward. As NPR's David Folkenflick reports, the company is in talks with, settlement talks with President Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes episode. Trump sued the network last fall as a private citizen after it aired an interview with his rival then Vice President Kamala Harris.

CBS broadcast two versions of an answer she gave about the war in Gaza, a shorter one on Face the Nation and a longer one on 60 Minutes. Trump claimed that amounted to election fraud. Legal experts tell NPR that Trump has a weak case thanks to the First Amendment's free speech protections. McMahon has opposed any settlement involving an apology. But CBS's owner is trying to complete a sale, one that requires the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, which is led by a Trump ally. David Folkenflick, NPR News. Sesame Street has a new home. Starting later this year, the popular children's program can be viewed on the streaming service

Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app. Sesame Street first aired on public television in the late 1960s before moving to HBO in 2016, then max four years later. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. four years later. This is NPR News.