NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-22-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

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Find us wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. The White House says President Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today about the shooting that killed two Israeli embassy aides in Washington, D.C., last night. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the two leaders also discussed U.S. talks with Iran taking place later this week. President Trump has said he believes the talks are moving in the right direction.

A federal judge in Massachusetts is ordering a full stop to the president's efforts to close the U.S. Department of Education. And PRS Cory Turner has details. U.S. District Judge Mi--John issued a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking Trump's executive order calling for the Education Department to be wound down. He also froze any effort to move department functions, including special education and federal student loans, to other agencies. The order even demands that the Trump administration reinstate the roughly 1,300 employees who

were told in March they would lose their jobs as part of a reduction in force. Otherwise the judge was convinced the department would not be able to carry out its statutory functions. In a statement, the department said once again, a far left judge has dramatically overstepped his authority. Corey Turner, NPR News. A budget battle now moves to the Senate with the president pressing the chamber's narrow

Republican majority to do what their colleagues in the House finally pulled off early this morning, passage. NPR's Deepa Sivaran with more. The House bill includes major pieces of Trump's agenda like funding for border security, no taxes on tips, and funding for a major new defense project called the Golden Dome. It's a huge legislative accomplishment for Republicans and Trump, who visited the Capitol earlier this week to sway members who had issues with the bill. Trump says the Senate should move on passing it as soon as possible, but Republicans in

the upper chamber have said they want to make changes to the legislation, which throws into question how soon the bill will land on Trump's desk. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, The White House. Community groups in Louisiana have filed a federal lawsuit alleging a state law regulating air pollution monitoring violates their constitutional rights. The groups have been using low-cost sensors to detect toxic air pollution from refineries and chemical plants. NPR's Michael Copley reports. For community groups in Louisiana to allege violations of environmental rules, they now have to use federally approved monitoring equipment, which often costs more.

The law enacted by the state last year also sets restrictions for analyzing and sharing data. Community groups suing the state say the regulations violate their rights to free speech and to petition the government. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell says she'll fight the lawsuit. The Louisiana Chemical Association says community groups can still collect and share data. The data just has to meet federal standards if it's used to enforce regulations or as the basis of a lawsuit. Michael Copley, NPR News. From

Washington, this is NPR. Well hurricane season is almost here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is anticipating a 60% chance of above-normal activity in the Atlantic from June to November. NOAA also projects that 6 to 10 name storms will strengthen into hurricanes. Anywhere from 3 to 5 may exceed 110 mile-per-hour winds. The Supreme Court is deadlocked on whether religious schools can constitutionally receive taxpayer money through state charter school programs. The four to four Supreme Court ruling today left in place

a lower court decision that blocked Oklahoma from opening the nation's first religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case without explanation. The humble pennies days are numbered. The Trump administration plans to stop minting pennies because it says it's just too expensive. And PR Scott Horsley reports each one cent coin actually costs four cents to make. A Treasury Department spokeswoman says the government has placed its last order for blank pennies and will stop production of the one-cent coins as soon as that's exhausted. The phase-out is expected to save the government about $56 million a year in reduced material cost.

Pennies will remain legal tender, which is good since there are about $114 billion of them floating around out there. Most don't really circulate, though. Instead they gather dust in dresser-top change jars and forgotten pants pockets. The phase-out of the penny may force businesses to round prices up or down to the nearest nickel. That's less of a hassle, though, now that customers pay cash for fewer than one in five transactions. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

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