NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-21-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

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These days, with all the information coming at you, it can be hard to know what's accurate, what's not, and what's worth your time. Here to help you navigate it all is 1A. Five days a week, the 1A podcast provides a forum for curious minds to explore different angles on the biggest headlines and give you a more balanced take on what's happening. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The House Rules Committee convened two hours ago to try to iron out differences over the GOP spending plan.

President Trump traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to try to convince Republican holdouts to vote for a multi-billion dollar proposal that includes spending cuts and massive tax breaks. Before the meetings, Trump repeated a misleading claim about his predecessor's use of automatic signature machines. And then after about two weeks they said, wait a minute, this is a gift. He'll do anything. We're going to use the auto pen. And they used the auto pen and everything.

He didn't approve this up because when Joe Biden was with it, he would never have approved it. You take a look, he would have never approved open borders. The law does not govern the president's use of auto pen, which has been used by other presidents for decades. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to follow certain steps before deporting migrants to a country where they were not born. NPR's Semena Bustil explains what led to that ruling on so-called third country deportations. Semena Bustil, NPR News, Massachusetts federal judge Brian Murphy held an emergency hearing on Tuesday night over these third country deportations, this time to South Sudan. Immigration

lawyers say at least one Vietnamese man was sent to South Sudan in Africa despite political instability there. Murphy said if that were true, then this would violate his April order, which barred deportations to these countries where migrants aren't originally from, unless people get sufficient time to contest their deportations

and a notice in their native language. The federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to keep in its custody any migrants deported to South Sudan until he ensures they receive sufficient due process before their removals. The next hearing in the case is scheduled on Wednesday. Jimena Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. Some National Weather Service offices are halting 24-hour shifts because of understaffing at a time when tornadoes and severe weather are hitting parts of the nation.

The Mountain West News Bureau's Hannah Merzbach has more. Offices in Alaska, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Wyoming are shutting down from 11 at night to 6 in the morning. That's because staff is down by up to 60% in those offices due to federal cuts. The Weather Service Union's Tom Fahey says nearby offices could help pick up the slack. The Weather Service at this particular time

is simply doing triage. It's like battlefield medicine. You have a pop-up hospital that comes in, takes care of people. Fahey says the Trump administration has approved 155 temporary employees, but the Weather Service has lost about 600 workers in recent months. The agency said it continues to meet its core mission.

For NPR News, I'm Hannah Merzbock in Jackson, Wyoming. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading. This is NPR. President Trump is unveiling his plan for technology capable of downing missiles fired at the U.S. from anywhere around the world. Trump has proposed what he calls a golden dome that would include placing missile sensors and missile-destroying satellites into orbit. For decades, the Pentagon has used several systems to intercept shorter-range

missiles. A suicide car bomber has attacked a school bus in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan region, killing five people and wounding 38 others. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but a military statement blamed neighboring India. Actor George Wendt, who starred in the hugely popular television series Cheers, has died at the age of 76. Steve Futterman looks back at Wendt's career. George Wendt played Norm Peterson, a regular at the Boston bar where everyone knows your name. They certainly knew his name. His entrance and quick one-liners became a mainstay.

Good morning everybody. Hey Mr. Peterson what's up? The warranty on my liver. Wunt received six Emmy Award nominations for the role appearing in all 275 episodes of the show during its 11-year run. He also earned acclaim as part of a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live, being part of a group of devoted Chicago Bears fans. Stop bears! Stop bears! Wendt got his start in his hometown of Chicago as part of the Second City Comedy Club. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. This is NPR News.

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