NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-23-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

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A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes, because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the up first podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking a watchdog group from assessing records from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, it follows a lawsuit seeking to shed light on the team's secretive activities.

The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is suing the Trump administration to uncover details about Doge's dealings in the U.S. government. The lawsuit argues Doge is exceeding its legal authority and asks that internal communications, financial disclosures and other documents be released to the public. A federal district judge found Doge is likely subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. But after an appeal, Chief Justice John Roberts is pausing that ruling, meaning Doge records do not have to be turned over as the appeals process continues. It's a win for the Trump administration, which has stated Doge is operating transparently

despite most of its activities being shrouded in secrecy. Those activities have resulted in tens of thousands of federal workers being fired and the unwinding of entire government agencies. Bobby Allen, NPR News. President Trump has signed another slew of executive orders today, some of which are aimed at speeding up the development of nuclear power. Orders would grant the Energy Secretary the authority to approve advanced reactor designs and take authority from the Independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

However, NPR's Jeff Brumfield says how much it will change the industry remains to be seen. One company called Oglo actually had its permit for a new reactor design denied by the NRC a few years ago. Today its CEO was standing behind President Trump and its stock surged 25%. But despite that, I do want to say the fact remains nuclear power remains very, very expensive to build and it's unclear whether these executive orders are really going to change that. NPR's Jeff Brumfield, the White House has said there will be significant staffing reductions

at the NRC. Top investors in the cryptocurrency named after President Trump dined at his DC area golf course last night. NPR's Stephen Fowler has that story. Attendees of the Trump Coin Gala were greeted by protesters outside the Trump National Golf Club Thursday night. Inside, the president spoke positively about crypto, according to videos that some people shared from the dinner. The president and the White House say there's no conflict of interest

with his crypto businesses and assets. A recent analysis from crypto research firm Chain Analysis estimates businesses tied to the Trump Organization have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in fees from people buying and selling the coin. Stephen Vowler, NPR News. The consulting firm Booz Allen has announced it's cutting upwards of 2,500 jobs. The company blames the Trump administration's crackdown on federal contracting. Company's share price took a double-digit hit on the news. Booze makes the vast majority of its work from government-related contracts. The latest cut would amount to about 7% of the

company's workforce. Stocks are going into the long holiday weekend on a down note. The Dow was down 256 points. This is NPR. In what amounts to cooperation in otherwise failed peace efforts, Russia and Ukraine have begun the first phase of a major prisoner swap. Hundreds of soldiers and civilians have been exchanged between the two sides. Even as broader efforts to reach a ceasefire continue to falter. President Volodymyr Zelensky says the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians. Russia says it received the same amount of prisoners from Ukraine. Sides last week agreed to exchange 1,000 captives from each side. This is a reminder.

Please check yourself for ticks after spending time outside. As NPR's Peng Wang reports, there are early signs this could be an especially bad year for them. A lot of people have been seeking emergency care for tick bites. That's according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports the highest rates in more than five years. Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist at CDC, says May and June are prime time for tick bites. Taking showers within two hours of coming outside really has shown to be a good way to prevent tick-borne diseases. That's because it can wash off ticks that are crawling on you and let you search for

ticks that have latched. The key thing, she says, is to get the tick off your body as soon as you can. Ticks can transmit pathogens that cause things like Lyme disease, Heartland virus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but it usually takes at least several hours of them feeding on your blood before the pathogen gets Transmitted ping-huang NPR news critical features prices moved higher today as some buyers moved in ahead of the long holiday Weekend oil up 33 cents a barrel to sixty one fifty three a barrel in New York. I'm Jack spear NPR news in Washington When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR News in Washington.