NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-20-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

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These days, there's a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider this from NPR as a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world. Listen to the Consider This Podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are at an impasse. As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv, three major allies of Israel are calling on the Israeli government to end its latest military campaign in Gaza.

Qatar is hosting Israel-Hamas negotiations. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Qatar Economic Forum talks quote didn't lead us anywhere yet. We couldn't bridge this fundamental gap. He says the gap is that Israel wants a partial hostage release deal and temporary ceasefire, and Hamas wants a full hostage release and permanent end of the war. Meanwhile, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada are calling on Israel to end its latest offensive in Gaza and allow essential supplies into civilians or face consequences.

On Monday, Israel said it allowed a small number of trucks into Gaza with baby food after nearly three months of a blockade, and Israel says it will allow in flour, food and medical supplies. Daniel Estrin, flour, food, and medical supplies. Danielle Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. A new book is alleging that White House staff concealed the declining health of former President Biden when he was in office. The book is called Original Sin, President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.

Biden's team had told many that the then president was doing well, but the book's co-author, Alex Thompson of Axios, says interviews with other people close to Biden told a different story. The one top aide who left the White House said that they intentionally shielded him from other members of the administration, other members of the cabinet, other senior White House officials. The inner circle became smaller the cabinet, other senior White House officials. The inner circle became smaller and smaller and this White House official said that was intentional

so that they did not realize the extent of the decline. He spoke to NPR. Biden disclosed over the weekend he has stage four prostate cancer. His office says it appears the disease will respond to treatment. President Trump initially said he thought Biden's diagnosis was very sad, but Trump later said without evidence Biden had delayed sharing the information.

The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to end temporary legal status for 350,000 Venezuelan migrants. And Piers Ximena Bustillo reports the move reverses a Biden-era decision. The Trump administration sought to reverse temporary protected status for Venezuelans after former President Biden extended it in 2023. A federal judge paused the White House's plans a week before protections were scheduled to expire. The Trump administration appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court in an emergency application. The court didn't weigh in on whether the Trump administration

could end TPS for Venezuelans permanently. That continues to be litigated in lower courts. Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street and pre-market trading, Dow futures are slightly lower. This is NPR. Authorities in Louisiana have recaptured a fourth inmate who escaped from a New Orleans jail last Friday, but six others remain on the loose. NPR's Giles Snyder reports state officials are launching an investigation into operations at the city jail. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell says the investigation is aimed at preventing any future incident, saying the investigation will look into any deficiencies that may have led to the jailbreak.

The sheriff, who oversees the jail, says defective locks were a key factor and that the inmates might have received help from within her department. NPR's Giles Snyder reporting. Some of the Trump administration's cuts to the United States Agency for International Development or USAID are being felt in an unexpected place, high school science fairs. Henry Larson reports from Boulder, Colorado. In February, sophomore Max Kurtz presented a project at Boulder Valley School District's annual science fair. It measured microbial activity in soil, which could help farmers get better crop yields.

Kurtz won an award, and then, days later, the prize was walked back. That's because his award was sponsored by USAID. In February, the agency cut its contract with the organization that coordinated Max's fair and hundreds of others around the world. Also on the chopping block, prize money for an international competition later this year.

In an emailed statement, a State Department spokesperson said supporting science fair awards didn't fit within the Department's standards for U.S. foreign assistance. For NPR News, I'm Henry Larson in Boulder. And I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.