NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-27-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

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We've all been there running around a city looking for a bathroom but unable to find one. Hello, do you have a restroom we could use? A very simple free market solution is that we could just pay to use a bathroom, but we can't. On the Planet Money podcast, the story of how we once had thousands of pay toilets and why they got banned from Planet Money on NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge has struck down President Trump's executive order

targeting the law firm Wilmer Hale, marking the third time a court has permanently blocked one of Trump's punitive orders against a big law firm. More from NPR's Ryan Lucas. In his 73-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon says that the cornerstone of the American justice system is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases. For some 250 years, he says, no executive order had been issued challenging these fundamental rights, until now with President Trump's executive orders

targeting several big law firms. That includes the executive order in this case targeting the firm of Wilmer Hale. Now Judge Leon has found that the order against Wilmer Hale is unconstitutional and has struck it down in its entirety. The order follows two similar rulings earlier this month from two other federal judges striking down Trump's orders targeting two other prominent law firms. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Big cuts to Medicaid in the tax bill House Republicans passed

are sparking concerns around the country that millions could lose health coverage. But feelings are complicated in one Arizona county as Noam Levy reports. Like a lot of rural places around America, Gila County, Arizona has become increasingly dependent in recent years on government health insurance like Medicaid. But many people in this copper mining center in the mountains east of Phoenix also say there's plenty of waste that should be trimmed. Debbie Cox works at a property management company. She has tenants who rely on Medicaid, she says.

It's not that I don't see the need for it. I see the need for it literally on a weekly basis. But I also see a need for revamping it significantly because it's been taken advantage of for so long. How many people are actually taking advantage of Medicaid and how much waste there is are hotly debated. That debate will be front and center as the Senate prepares to take up the House GOP plan. That's Juan Levy with our partner KFF Health News. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is preparing not for peace but for

new offensives, NPR's Polina Livnova reports from Kyiv. In recent days, Russia has launched more than 900 drones on Ukraine. Zelensky says it's a sign that Russia wants to continue the war. In his address, he asked Ukraine's allies for new sanctions. Russia deserves full-scale pressure, he says. Everything that can be done to limit its military capabilities. Meanwhile, Russian forces have occupied four villages in the northeastern Sumy region. Local authorities report the Russians are trying to advance to take more territories under control. Polina Litvinova, NPR News.

SpaceX's Starship lifted off successfully. It appears to have quickly run into trouble. Shortly after lift off, Starship went into an uncontrolled spin. It is now said to have re-entered somewhere over the Indian Ocean. You're listening to NPR. A new report says the potency of street fentanyl being sold illegal in the US has dropped sharply. As NPR's Brian Mann reports, the government says a decline in parity may be contributing to a national decline in fatal drug overdoses.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of street drug deaths in the US, but a report released by the US Drug Enforcement Administration shows the purity of illegal fentanyl being sold by drug cartels has dropped sharply. According to the DEA, the change may be due to actions by the Chinese government, which has cracked down on companies that manufacture chemicals used to make fentanyl. The drop in fentanyl purity coincides with the national decline in U.S. street drug overdoses, with roughly 30,000 fewer deaths reported in 2024. It's not all good news. Dealers are mixing other toxic chemicals into street drugs, including xylazine, a tranquilizer that causes severe skin wounds. Brian Mann, NPR News. For a group of the nation's top spellers, this year's annual Scripps National Spelling

Bee has special significance. It is the 100th anniversary of the Spell Off, which was first held in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. The annual Spelling Bee is now held just outside the nation's capital. This year is actually the 97th bee since it was canceled from 1943 through 1945 during World War II and again in 2020 due to COVID-19. Stocks gained ground on Wall Street today. The Dow is up 740 points to 42,343. The Nasdaq rose 461 points. The S&P was up 118 points.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News.