NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-23-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens.

A vigil was held outside of the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Thursday to honor the two Israeli embassy staffers who were killed there on Wednesday. Embassy officials say 30-year-old Yaron Leshinsky and 26-year-old Sarah Milgram were a couple who would soon be engaged. Their suspected assailant, Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, is facing two counts of first-degree murder.

Authorities say Rodriguez shouted, free Palestine, after being arrested. A new lawsuit challenges the Trump administration's demand that states share personal information on millions of people receiving food assistance. As NPR's Jude Joppe Block reports, the lawsuit comes as some states prepare to release data that could be used for immigration enforcement. Recent guidance from the USDA orders states to provide names, birth dates, social security numbers, and addresses of people who've applied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since 2020. The lawsuit in federal court argues the USDA did not follow proper protocols to collect that data under federal privacy laws. Attorney Madeline Wiseman is with the National Student Legal Defense Network. This case is part of a pattern that we're seeing from the Trump administration of

agencies reaching out and grabbing the personal data of Americans. USDA declined to comment on the lawsuit, but previously told NPR the data collection would comply with privacy laws and regulations. Jude Jaffe Block, NPR News. A federal judge in Boston is blocking an executive order calling for the shutdown of the Department of Education. The temporary injunction was issued at the request of two school districts in Massachusetts, the American Federation of Teachers and 21 state attorneys general.

A department spokesperson says the judge overstepped his authority. Supreme Court has given President Trump the power to fire key federal agency leaders. As NPR's Nina Totenberg reports, the move reverses a precedent that was set some 90 years ago. The decision is technically temporary, but its tone is pretty final, allowing President Trump broad leeway to fire key independent agency leaders at will. What's more, it all but outright reverses the Supreme Court's unanimous decision 90 years ago, holding that a president cannot fire agency leaders just because he disagrees with them. In a two-page, unsigned

order, the Sixth Justice conservative court majority clearly forecasts the eventual outcome of the case when and if it is argued before the court likely next year. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. Danielle Pletka The Supreme Court is deadlocked on the issue of using taxpayer money for religious charter schools. The 4-4 ruling prevents the state of Oklahoma from using public funds for such schools. The Oklahoma Supreme Court had already found the proposal unconstitutional. This is NPR. The Board at Penn State University has voted to close seven of its 19 campuses at the end

of the spring semester 2027. The proposal came in response to the public university's steep enrollment decline in recent years. NPR's Janet Ujong-Lee reports that it is not a one-time solution to Penn State's financial crisis, but it is the first step towards sustainability. At their meeting, Penn State University President Neeli Bendapudi urged the board of trustees to quote,

reimagine the Penn State ecosystem. Many are understandably hoping for a way to have it all, but honestly, the numbers tell a different story. Maintaining the status quo is not sustainable. Ben-De-Pudi attributed the public university's financial turmoil to the enrollment cliff, having fewer high school students coming to college. The president and board members said they're committed to focusing its resources on transitioning students to their remaining campuses and programs.

Janet Zhangli, NPR News. A woman who sneaked a border flight from New York to Paris is facing six months in prison after being convicted on stowaway charges. Fifty-seven-year-old Svetlana Dali of Russia has been in custody since she slipped past airline security at JFK Airport five months ago. Dali says that no one asked for her boarding pass when she walked onto the plane. Prosecutors say she was stopped by security but then joined a special security lane for flight crew. U.S. futures are flat

and after hours trading on Wall Street. On Asia Pacific markets, shares are mixed. This is NPR News. On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog and get to what's shares are mixed. This is NPR News.