NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-28-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

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These days, there's a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider This from NPR is a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world. Listen to the Consider This Podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge has ruled a lawsuit can move forward alleging Elon Musk and Doge are legally wielding power over government operations. Here's NPR's Stephen Fowler.

Several Democratic state attorneys generals say Elon Musk has been illegally given similar power to cabinet officials without being confirmed by the Senate. Judge Tanya Chutkin found the plaintiffs provided enough initial evidence to allow those claims to continue. The ruling highlights the often conflicting descriptions of the power Musk and the Doge entity have been given to implement President Trump's agenda and how efforts to downplay that power in court have been undermined by public statements and actions. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. President Trump is named an envoy to Syria, the latest sign the US is

rebuilding ties following that country's recent revolution. NPR's Greg Meyer reports Syria is looking to recover from a long civil war. Trump announced that Tom Barrack, the current US ambassador to Turkey, would take on the additional role of envoy to neighboring Syria. For now, the US Embassy in Damascus remains closed. It's been shuttered since 2012, a year after Syria's civil war erupted. The war ended when longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December. The U.S. and other Western countries are steadily reestablishing ties. During a Middle East trip two weeks ago, Trump lifted U.S. sanctions against Syria and met the country's new president, Ahmed al-Shara. While the war has ended, Syria's

economy is in shambles and most Syrians are living in poverty. Greg Myrie, NPR News. In a post on social media, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students. Rubio is saying it would involve quote those with connections to the Communist Party or studying in critical fields. Latest move adds to the current uncertainty for international students. China is the second largest country of origin for international students in the 2023-24 school year. More than 270,000 international students were from China. Transportation secretary says operations at airport in Newark, New Jersey have improved,

but as NPR's Joe Rhodes reports, Sean Duffy is still pushing for billions of dollars. Air traffic operations at Newark Liberty International Airport are running better since the Federal Aviation Administration capped the number of flights last week, Secretary Duffy said. The airport, which serves New York City, had experienced hundreds of delays, cancellations, and diversions in recent weeks because of equipment outages, runway construction, and staffing shortages. Still, Duffy reiterated his call for Congress to fund a new air traffic control system. I'm concerned that we could have more new works.

Duffy wouldn't say exactly how much money the administration is seeking, but he put the price tag in the tens of billions of dollars, and he called it the most critical infrastructure project in the country. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow was down 244 points. This is NPR. A Peruvian farmer and mountain guide has lost a landmark climate change lawsuit against one of Europe's largest power companies.

The farmer had spent nearly a decade arguing the company should help fund flood defenses near his home, citing its role in global warming. From Lima, Simone Tugel reports. A court in Germany today ruled that the probability of a lake of glacial meltwater overflowing and devastating the home of Saoul Luciano-Yuya was too small for energy giant RWE to be held liable. But environmental activists are still claiming a win. They say the court ruled on the specifics of this case while accepting the broader principle that climate change plaintiffs from around the world can sue German companies over their carbon emissions.

For NPR News, this is Simeon Tagle in Lima, Peru. Scientists say they've identified a new cluster of ancient people they say appear to have lived near the land bridge between North and South America roughly 6,000 years ago. They say the group lived in the high plateaus in an area that is the present-day Bogota, Colombia, because they aren't necessarily linked to Native Americans in North America or ancient or present-day South Americans. Scientists say they're still trying to figure out exactly where they fall in terms of the human tree.

The pot of ancient people appears to have faded away some 2,000 years ago for an unknown reason. The finding is published in the journal Science Advances. Critical futures prices moved higher today after OPEC and allies opted to lease for now leave output policy unchanged. Oil rose 95 cents a barrel to settle at 61.84 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.