NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-23-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

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On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog and get to what's important in the news. Close out the week with us on our Friday News Roundup. Hear from reporters who've been embedded with the biggest news of the week. Join us every week for the Friday News Roundup. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. Federal authorities say they're investigating the double slings at the Capital Jewish Museum as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

Two Israeli embassy staffers were gunned down there late Wednesday after attending an event by the American Jewish Committee. D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith says authorities are beefing up security in the area. Around DC, you will see an increased presence of law enforcement officers around the community. You will find us around our faith-based organizations. You will see an increased presence around our schools and places like the DC Jewish Community Center.

The suspect in the slings, Elias Rodriguez, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Investigators are reviewing his social media accounts and postings while also interviewing relatives, coworkers, and associates. Congress has voted to roll back part of the Clean Air Act that controls toxic air pollutants. It's the first time lawmakers have loosened regulations in the law's long history as NPR's Alejandra Barunda reports. In the 1990s, Congress tasked the EPA with controlling emissions of toxic air pollutants,

especially seven super dangerous ones like dioxins and mercury. John Wach is an environmental lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He says the pollution comes from places like oil refineries, chemical plants and lead smelters. We call it the worst of the worst list. During the first Trump administration, the EPA rolled back some of those regulations. Then the Biden era EPA put some of them back in place. Now Congress has reversed them again in a more durable way. Supporters say it will ease the regulatory

burden on industry. Health experts worry it will increase cancer-causing air pollution. Alejandra Burunda, NPR News. The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students. As NPR's Alyssa Natwortny reports, details were spelled out in a letter 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 U.S. colleges and universities, contributing more than $43 billion to the U.S. economy.

Alyson Adwarne, NPR News. The U.S. Supreme Court says the president has broad authority to fire the board members of two independent agencies. The ruling is temporary, but it lifts a lower court order to reinstate officials from the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board. This is NPR. A small plane with six people aboard crashed into a military community in San Diego Thursday. There were no survivors.

The victims were all employees of a talent agency, including the company's co-founder. The plane went down in foggy weather, igniting a home and numerous vehicles in a Navy housing community. In Texas, the state's consumable hemp-based products industry is facing a backlash from the Republican-led state legislature. As Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports, Texas will likely join a growing list of states that now ban products containing THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis. Republican lawmakers argue products with THC are being marketed to children and endangering

public health. But Democrat Representative Jolanda Jones says the state is threatening a lifeline to veterans, many of whom rely on the products as an alternative to opioids to manage PTSD and chronic pain. My father and my uncle were both Marines. They both served this country. They came home different and both died by suicide. PTSD killed them. The system failed them. The Texas House voted Thursday evening to pass a complete ban on THC sales. Following a vote by the Senate, the bill is expected to go to Governor Greg Abbott for

his signature. I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. US futures are flat and after hours trading on Wall Street. Following Thursday's losses, the Dow edged a point lower. The S&P 500 fell two points when Asia Pacific market shares are mixed up a fraction in Tokyo. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. This is NPR News.