NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-23-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

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Politics is a lot these days. I'm Sarah McCammon, a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast, and I'll be the first to tell you what happens in Washington definitely demands some decoding. That's why our show makes politics as easy as possible to wrap your head around. Join us as we make politics make sense on the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Activist Mahmoud Khalil has asked a U.S. immigration judge for asylum. The Trump administration is trying to deport Khalil over his pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University.

NPR's Adrian Florido reports Khalil says he fears the state of Israel could kill him if he is deported. Khalil testified in a courtroom at the Louisiana Detention Center where he's been locked up since ICE agents arrested him in early March. He said that since President Trump accused him, falsely he says, of supporting Hamas terrorism, he's had a target on his back. He told the judge that if he's deported to the Middle East, he fears Israeli agents could assassinate, kidnap, or torture him because he's become a high-profile Palestinian critic of Israel.

His wife brought their one-month-old son from New York so Khalil could meet him. Each time the baby cooed inside the courtroom, Khalil looked over and smiled. The immigration judge will rule on asylum next month. A different federal judge is also weighing whether to free Khalil while he fights his deportation. Adrienne Fleti, NPR News. The Trump administration is out with a report on what's driving chronic disease among children in the U.S.

NPR's Will Stone reports, much of this report reflects the priorities of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his Make America Healthy Again platform. The report catalogs the uptick in obesity, asthma, autoimmune conditions, and behavioral health disorders among kids. The 72-page document is a product of the Maha Commission, which was established by President Trump, and includes Kennedy and other members of Trump's cabinet.

It identifies four major drivers for childhood chronic illness, poor diet, environmental chemicals, chronic stress, and lack of physical activity, and over-medicalization. Public health experts say the report correctly identifies some of the causes, but also fails to acknowledge the importance of social factors like poverty,

and that it doesn't offer a clear vision for how this monumental challenge will be addressed, even as the administration cuts back on funding for research and public health. Will Stone, NPR News. Numerous events are being held in Minneapolis over the next few days. They'll mark five years since the police murder of George Floyd. From Minnesota Public Radio, Matt Sepick has more. George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in 2020 after a white police officer kneeled

on his neck and back for more than nine minutes. The killing, captured on video, sparked a worldwide racial justice movement. Events to honor Floyd and the movement include concerts, a street festival, art exhibits, and a candlelight vigil. Matt Sepick reporting. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to decades behind bars after being convicted on federal and state charges, including second-degree murder. Chauvin is currently being held at a federal prison in Texas.

On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow Jones' industrial futures are down nearly 500 points. This is NPR. President Trump is making a new tariff threat writing online this morning. Trump warned big tech company Apple he will impose at least a 25% tariff on all iPhones sold in the US. That is unless the iPhones are manufactured and built in the US and quote not in India or any place else. Trump is making an additional tariff threat.

Again, writing online, Trump says he'll impose a 50% tariff on the European Union. He claims the U.S. has a trade deficit with the EU of hundreds of millions of dollars. He says unless that changes, the tariff will take effect June 1st. There's been more testimony on the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs. Rapper Scott Meskety, known as Kid Cudi, testified about his relationship with Combs' former girlfriend. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento reports the girlfriend is a key witness in the case. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR

News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News testified that he grew close to Cassie Ventura in 2011. The singer allegedly confided in him that Combs was physically abusive and they were taking time apart. Meskiti said that's when he and Ventura started dating.

The musician said that after Combs found out, someone broke into his house. Meskiti told the court that about a month later, his car was set on fire in his driveway. Meskiti filed police reports for both incidents. During cross-examination, Mesquite acknowledged that no one was ever charged for the arson, but he told the court he believes Combs was responsible for both incidents. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. Again on Wall Street Dow, futures are down more than 400 points. This is NPR.

Conductor Robert Fron says a good melody captures our attention. And 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.