NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-21-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: May 21, 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 NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. President Trump says the United States

will soon begin construction on a new missile defense shield. As NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports, the schedule and cost projections for the system are ambitious. From the Oval Office, President Trump laid out his plans for a Golden Dome missile shield that would be capable of stopping an attack from anywhere. Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space.

Trump says the shield can be built in just three years and will cost around $175 billion. Experts say that timeline is extremely ambitious and the price tag could end up being a lot higher. One recent estimate from the Congressional Budget Office suggests even a basic defense could cost half a trillion dollars. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. The House Rules Committee is in session at this hour to work on a spending plan covering President Trump's legislative agenda.

The ranking Democrat on the panel, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, says the package will raise the nation's debt by $4 trillion. He says it will also include more red tape and less health care for many Americans. McGovern accused Republicans of betraying their constituents for the benefit of the rich. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shouted at a Democratic senator during a hearing Tuesday, prompting the panel's chair to step in. That story from NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin. Senator Patty Murray of Washington criticized Secretary Kennedy for deep cuts he's made to HHS staff and investments in research and

services, and she asked him about cuts to child care grants. In response, Kennedy said he wanted to point something out. You've presided over the destruction of the health of the American people. Well, I am. Our people are now the sickest people in the world. Seriously. Because you have not done your job. Seriously. Kennedy continued to interrupt Murray until the Republican chair of the Appropriations Committee, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, addressed him. I would ask it to hold back and let the Senator ask the questions. Capito was among the Republicans on the committee who expressed their own concerns about Kennedy's agenda.

Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington. The FAA has imposed new flight limits at Newark International Airport. NPR's Giles Snyder reports that the move follows weeks of flight delays and tech issues there. The FAA is imposing the flight limits after meeting with airlines last week. The order limits arrivals and departures to 56 per hour until runway construction is largely completed on June 15. After that, the FAA says it will allow more traffic. Newark has experienced a string of problems that have led to congestion, including tech issues and outages that led a handful of air traffic

controllers to take trauma leave. Giles Snyder reporting. This is NPR. More than four decades after creating Dockers, Levi Strauss is selling the Khakis brand to the management firm Authentic Brands. Levi says it's giving up the Dockers brand this fall to focus on its core denim business and on expanding its direct sales. Authentic Brands retail holdings include Nine West, The Fry Company, Reebok and Champion. Actor George Wendt has died at the age of 76. For many years, Wendt played the character Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom Cheers. NPR's Mandela Del Barco has this remembrance.

TV's barfly Norm was always welcome at the Boston Pub Cheers. Afternoon, everybody. Ah! George Wynn played the lovable, beard-chugging Norm on every episode of Cheers, which ran on NBC from 1982 until 1993. The Chicago-born actor got his start in the 1970s at the famous improv comedy troupe, The Second City. For years, he played bit parts on TV shows and movies.

He even showed up in a Michael Jackson music video yelling at McCauley Culkin's character. ["Take this choice up!" music playing.] Wynn had his own short-lived sitcom in 1995, but he's most remembered as Norm, for which he earned six Emmy nominations. He reprised the character for Cheers spinoffs The Tortellis and Frasier.

Mandelit Del Barco, NPR News. Tuesday was World Bee Day, created eight years ago by the UN to remind people that populations of the insect are threatened with extinction. Experts say that climate change, disease, parasites, and insecticides all play a role in the decline of bee species. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. of bee species. This is NPR News.