NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-26-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

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This is Fresh Air contributor Anne-Marie Baldonado. I talked with actor Cole Escola about their hit Broadway play, Oh Mary. Cole plays an unhinged alcoholic Mary Todd Lincoln, who's an aspiring cabaret performer. If that makes no sense, that's part of the point. You can find my interview on the Fresh Air podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all took part in the wreath-laying ceremony this morning at Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown

Soldier. The president paid tribute to veterans who died in America's wars. But as NPR's Jacqueline Diaz reports, he couldn't resist wading into politics. In a speech following the ceremony, Trump praised the men and women of the military who gave their lives, and the gold star families that were left behind. After speaking about the first soldiers who died during the American Revolution, Trump took shots at former President Biden's administration. The valor gave us the freest, greatest, and most noble republic ever to exist on the face

of the earth. A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through. Earlier in the day, in a Memorial Day post on social media, Trump also lashed out at the former administration for its immigration policies and at judges who have blocked the Trump administration's agenda. Jacqueline Diaz and PR News. Former Congressman Charlie Rangel died this morning. The Harlem Democrat was first elected to the House in 1970 and stayed until 2017.

He was the first African American to head Powerful Ways and Means Committee. Wrangel lost the chairmanship after an ethics investigation in 2010. At that time, Wrangel told NPR he wasn't going to leave Congress. I don't know where you really start over when you're 80 years old. You don't start over. You continue. And like every setback that I think that most people have, you analyze what went wrong, try to correct it, and move forward. Charlie Rangel died at 94. Republican lawmakers in Texas have advanced legislation that would require the Ten Commandments

be displayed in all public school classrooms. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports the bill is expected to provoke a First Amendment court challenge. Republican State Representative Candi Noble sponsored the measure in the House. The displaying of the Ten Commandments in our Texas classrooms will bring back this historic tradition of recognizing America's foundational heritage in both our educational and judicial systems and remind students of the importance of this cornerstone of American and Texas law. During debates several Democrats said roughly a third of Texans are neither Christian nor Jewish and do not consider the Ten Commandments foundational to their belief systems.

Following a final concurrence by the state Senate the bill will go to Governor Greg Abbott who is expected to sign it. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. Russia launched another major drone attack on Ukraine last night, the third night in a row. Ukrainian officials say it was the largest aerial attack, 355 drones, since the war began more than three years ago. This is NPR News. Federal funding for the drought-stricken Colorado River has largely been on pause since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

But now, some of that money is coming back. From member station KUNC, Alex Hager reports. It's the kind of funding that was common under the Biden administration, but stands out now. Sarah Porter directs the Kyle Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. She says we shouldn't read into it too much, but. It does indicate, I think, that the bureau and maybe the interior department understand that the Colorado River is in pretty precarious shape and that, you know, something needs to be done.

In total, the feds will pay $128 million to groups in Arizona and California. In exchange, those groups will leave some of their water in Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Fort Collins, Colorado. In France, farmers drove their tractors on Paris roads today to urge Parliament to loosen environmental regulations. Several European Union states are relaxing some rules as farmers struggle with rising costs. Prosecutors in Norway have filed charges against the navigator on duty when a

cargo ship ran aground last week. Pictures showed the enormous vessel just meters from the house. Officials say the navigator had fallen asleep on the job. The owner of the home was also asleep at the time. He told Norwegian broadcaster NRK he only woke up when a neighbor rang his doorbell. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.