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

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

NPR News: 05-22-2025 7PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Trump administration is revoking the Harvard's ability to enroll international students. NPR's Alistair Nadwany reports details were sent

a letter to the school from the Department of Homeland Security. The letter signed by Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, says the administration is terminating Harvard's student exchange certification. That prevents Harvard from enrolling new students and pulls the rug out from under currently enrolled international students. In a statement, Noem says the administration is holding Harvard accountable for quote, fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party. Harvard says the government's actions are quote, unlawful.

The university has nearly 7,000 international students, roughly one fourth of the student body. More than a million international students study at US colleges and universities contributing more than 43 billion dollars to the US economy. Alyson Adworni, NPR News. One of the victims of a fatal shooting in Washington DC last night grew up in a Kansas suburb and was an active member of a Jewish community there. Reporter Solisou Kolokol from Kansas City has more. Police say a gunman shot and killed Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lishiski outside the Capital

Jewish Museum. The couple met at work at the Israeli Embassy, and they were on the verge of getting engaged. Milgram, who was 26, grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas. Her father, Robert Milgram, told KCUR he thinks education is important to stopping these acts of violence. Many different people living in the US, there's no reason to hate one another. This hate cannot divide us. We need to overcome it. The temple where Sarah worshipped said in a statement that her commitment to Judaism was

deeply personal and described her as a radiant presence. For NPR News, I'm Salisa Kolakol in Kansas City. Shares of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hit their highest levels since 2008, as after President Trump posted he may take them public. As NPR's Chris Arnold reports, that could make a lot of money for some big investors who are allies of the president. Fannie and Freddie are the most powerful forces in the multi-trillion dollar US mortgage market. And they've been prisoners of the Treasury Department ever since their bad investments

forced a government bailout during the 2008 crash. So President Trump is basically talking about letting Fannie and Freddie add a jail. But a former official tells NPR that there's a way to do that where investors that hold the old Fannie and Freddie stock get wiped out, and another way to do it where those investors would make billions. The biggest holder of that old stock is reported to be Bill Ackman, a backer of President Trump. Taking Fannie and Freddie Public would also be complicated, and if done wrong, it could cause turmoil in the stock and bond markets. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

On Wall Street, stocks ended the session on a mixed note. The Dow was down a point. The Nasdaq closed up 53 points. The S&P 500 rose two points. You're listening to NPR. The Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to survivors of clergy sex abuse, but survivors say it averts accountability and, as the Gulf State Newsroom's Drew Hawkins reports, the deal may not go through. Lawyers representing a group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse call the proposed settlement a backroom deal and say it falls short by about $100 million.

They say the settlement also prevents records of the abuse from being released. One of our goals was to expose all of this stuff. Rick Trahant is a lawyer representing a group of survivors. Hundreds took part in a suit filed in 2020. The agreement has to be approved by two-thirds. Trey Hans says that is unlikely. In a statement, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Amund called for healing for survivors. For NPR News, I'm Drew Hawkins in New Orleans. Homeowners sick of maintaining their immaculately manicured lawns are finding creative ways

to put forth alternatives. Themes like Nomow May, let it bloom June, or leave the leaves. Supporters of the trend say it cuts down on the use of fertilizer that can often find its way into rivers and streams, along with providing a habitat for insects and pollinators during the crucial spring months. In Nashville, one homeowner who tried the trend

says he was simply sick of mowing. Now, Brandon Griffith says his flower and grass-filled front yard is home to insects, lizards, birds and butterflies. Crypto oil futures prices settled lower today as investors wait to report OPEC is discussing a production increase for July, something that could lead to a glut of oil on markets. Oil dropped 37 cents a barrel to 61.20 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News.