NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-22-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

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Conductor Robert Franz says a good melody captures our attention. And then it moves you through time. Music is architecture in time. If you engage in the moment with what you're listening to, you do lose a sense of the time around you. How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korava Coleman. A few minutes ago, the House of Representatives voted to pass the multi-trillion dollar budget bill that's backed by President Trump. It passed by a single vote, 215 to 214.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says one lawmaker voted present. Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., have been shot and killed. They were leaving an event at a Jewish museum last night. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith says a suspect is a 30-year-old man from Chicago. He has been arrested. Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified

where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense The suspect chanted free free Palestine while in custody the Israeli embassy has identified the slain staffers as Yaron Lashinsky and Sarah Milgram President Trump continued to tell South Africa's visiting president yesterday that his country is ignoring white genocide. He handed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa articles and showed him a video in the Oval

Office in front of reporters. Ramaphosa again told Trump, that's not true. Kate Barlow reports from Johannesburg, South African media have praised Ramaphosa for his handling of the 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 their encounter, fact-checking some of the

U.S. 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. The Walt Disney Company has placed some of its Florida-based employees on unpaid leave. They're living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. This comes after the Supreme Court cleared

the way to end TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans. NPS' Chloe Veltman reports. Chloe Veltman, NPS News Anchor Around 45 employees received emails from Disney saying they must provide valid new work authorizations or they will lose their jobs next month. A Disney spokesperson says the company has placed affected employees on leave with benefits for 30 days effective May 20th to ensure the company is not in violation of the law. New Yorker Melendez is the co-founder of the nonprofit Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid. It is terrible. We as Venezuelans feel really frustrated.

Temporary protected status provides non-permanent legal status to individuals threatened by armed conflict and other catastrophes in their home countries. A California federal judge is scheduled to hear a case next week, challenging the Trump administration's plans to end this protection for Venezuelans. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. This is NPR. The ACLU says detained activist Mahmood Khalil will be allowed to have a visit with his wife but apparently not

his newborn baby whom he's never met. Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and permanent legal US resident, is being detained in Louisiana. The Trump administration wants to deport him. His lawyers say that's for his peaceful activism calling for an end to the war in Gaza. A large number of Americans are consulting non-traditional spiritual practices. That's according to a new survey. Catherine Post of Religion News Service has more. According to a new survey from Pew Research Center, three in 10 American adults consult a fortune teller, tarot cards, or astrology at least once a year. Those practices are especially popular among younger adults and women. And the survey finds nearly half of LGBTQ Americans consult

astrology at least once a year. Chip Rotolo of Pew says this isn't surprising. These practices sometimes emphasize things like fluidity and openness. Still, just 6% of U.S. adults say they rely on these practices when making major life choices, according to Pew. For many, it's just for fun. For NPR News, I'm Catherine Post. This story is from a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service. The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, but forecasters say a powerful

nor'easter is headed for the northeastern part of the U.S. The rare May storm will pour heavy rain from mid-Atlantic states up to New England. Officials warn flash flooding may be a threat. This is NPR. Hey, it's Sarah Gonzalez. The economy has been in the news a lot lately. flooding may be a threat. This is NPR.