NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-22-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

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Politics is a lot these days. I'm Sarah McCammon, a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast, and I'll be the first to tell you what happens in Washington definitely demands some decoding. That's why our show makes politics as easy as possible to wrap your head around. Join us as we make politics make sense on the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasing security at his country's diplomatic missions around the world following last night's deadly shooting in Washington, D.C.

Two staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot and killed outside the capital Jewish Museum in downtown DC. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith says a 30-year-old suspect from Chicago, identified as Elias Rodriguez, is in custody. We don't see anything in his background that would have placed him on our radar at this time. But our Joint Terrorism Task Force is working very closely with the FBI to ensure that we can do a deep dive into his background. Smith says Rodriguez chanted, free, free Palestine, while in custody, though a motive remains under investigation. President Trump clashed with South

Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday during an Oval Office meeting. Trump presented articles and played videos he claimed were evidence of white genocide in the country. As Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg, the media in South Africa are praising Ramaphosa's handling of that meeting. Composed but firm was the verdict from South African media after Ramaphosa managed to avoid a shouting match with Trump, despite what one local news outlet called, quote, serious provocation.

Many South African news websites live blogged then counter fact-checking some of the US leaders' misinformation in real time. They debunked the conspiracy theory that there's a genocide of white farmers and noted no land had been seized by the government. The Daily Maverick newspaper summed up the meeting writing, quote, all in all it was awful, but it could have been worse. For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. Congressman Jerry Connolly of Virginia is being remembered by family and friends for his dedication

to public service. The nine-term Democrat died yesterday at the age of 75 after battling cancer. Margaret Barthel with member station WAMU in Washington says Connolly had recently announced he would not seek reelection. Connolly's public service career spanned decades, starting in 1995 with his election to local office

in DC's Virginia suburbs. He won his seat in Congress in 2008. He was known for advocating for the federal workforce on the powerful House Oversight Committee, most recently as its ranking member. Freshman Democrat Suhas Subramaniam represents a neighboring Northern Virginia district. We had a fight on protecting federal workers in recent months. And I mean, he was unapologetic about standing up for every single person affected by cuts. Connolly is survived by his wife and daughter.

For NPR News, I'm Margaret Barthel in Arlington, Virginia. This is NPR News from Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson is hoping for a vote as soon as today on a massive budget bill that includes President Trump's push to extend tax cuts approved during his first term in the White House. Republicans released an updated version of the bill last night. It includes much of the President's agenda. Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate remain unified in opposition to the legislation, which is more than a thousand pages. Federal regulators are temporarily restricting the number of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

This follows numerous days of flight delays and cancellations tied to a series of technical outages. NPR's Joel Rose spoke to one air traffic controller who says concerns about the equipment had been raised long before the recent failures. Joel Rose, NPR's Joel Rose, NPR There had been warning signs before radar and communication systems went dark at the facility that manages the Newark airspace, according to an air traffic controller who works there. The controller asked NPR not to use their name, because they're not authorized to speak publicly by their employer, the Federal Aviation Administration. They say the FAA rejected earlier requests from Newark air traffic controllers to reduce

the number of planes using that airspace, but they say the FAA is now more receptive to their concerns. The controller was on duty during one of the recent tech outages and described their initial reaction as disbelief, followed by frustration and anger. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. Wall Street is coming off a down day for stocks that now lost 816 points yesterday or more than 1.9 percent. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington. When the Star Wars prequels came out, they were polarizing. Many fans of the original I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington.