NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-24-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: May 24, 2025

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Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's been talking about, or catch the show that the internet can't get over? At the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we chase that feeling four times a week. We'll serve you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, and more. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, catch the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. stuff in between, catch the pop culture happy hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Today marks the second day of prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Hundreds of prisoners were released as part of a deal reached last week in Istanbul, where the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.

NPR's Joanne Kikissis is at the border where the exchange sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement. MPR's Joanna Kikissis is at the border where the exchange took place. This is the 65th prisoner exchange since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but it's the biggest one. It's happening over three days to accommodate 1,000 Ukrainians. And this exchange came out of the talks in Istanbul

between Ukrainian and Russian representatives. It's the only breakthrough from these talks. It's the one area where Russia and Ukraine can cooperate. However, there are still thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. Many are civilians. Some of these were freed already in the first day of this exchange. Most of the families we met here, though, were waiting for soldiers. And here's Joanna Kikissis reporting from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the war continues. At least 15 people were wounded overnight in a Russian attack on Kiev. The National Weather Service is down some 600 employees as Doge drastically downsizes the federal government, leaving some weather offices critically understaffed. As NPR's Amy Held reports, it comes as an above average Atlantic hurricane season is forecast, which starts June 1st. The National Weather Service is around 30 percent below full staffing.

Tom Fahey, with the Union National Weather Service Employees Organization, says some weather offices are now closed overnight, including in Wyoming. So for those hours, Denver or Boulder, those offices would monitor the weather activity going on inside of Cheyenne. Workers, in this case in neighboring Colorado, being asked to do more with less. The resiliency of the National Weather Service is indeed being stretched. In other cases, Fahey says workers are being asked to transfer to understaffed offices. This as forecasters call for above-average hurricanes

and fire potential in the coming months, part of a pattern of worsening natural disasters as the globe heats up. Amy Held, NPR News. Millions of Americans are on the move this long holiday weekend. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, this weekend's travel numbers could break a record that has stood for two decades amid lower gas prices around the country. A AAA is forecasting that 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this holiday weekend.

That's expected to break the record set back in 2005. That's mostly because a record number of Americans will be driving this weekend, according to AAA. Drivers will find gas prices at their lowest levels on Memorial Day since 2021, according to GasBuddy. Air travel is not quite expected to break the all-time record, but AAA says air travel is still forecast to be up 2% over last year and up 12% compared to levels before the COVID pandemic. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR News. Memorials and vigils are being held today, marking three years since the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

It took 77 minutes for police standing outside the room where the gunman killed the children and teachers to enter. Then police chief was fired three months after the attack because of the slow response to the shooting. Last month, Uvalde City Council unanimously approved a $2 million settlement with the victims' families that calls for the city to establish May 24 as an annual day of remembrance. Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado has died at the age of 81. He was celebrated around the world for his powerful portrayals of nature and humanity.

Julia Carnado has this remembrance. Sebastián Salgado traveled the globe to capture places ravaged by the human hand and places left untouched. His silvery black and white pictures reveal the depths of the Amazon, the plight of refugees, the human struggle to survive, and the sheer might of nature. Last year, when he won the Sony World Photography Awards for outstanding contribution, he told the BBC the stories were what mattered most. Having the opportunity to be there, to look the things from inside,

to know people, to be in touch of the planet. This is what the photographers have. That is a huge privilege. In a statement, Salgado's family said he fought tirelessly, quote, for a more just, humane and ecological world through his lenses. For NPR News, I'm Júlia Carneiro in Rio. This is NPR News. 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.