NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-16-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

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The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media today at GoACPR.org. Thank you. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. On the fourth day of its offensive,

Israel says it has achieved control of the skies over Iran. But as NPR's Greg Myrie reports, Israel has not been able to suppress heavy missile strikes coming from Iran. Israel's military says it's achieved full air supremacy over Iran's capital Tehran and is also striking at many other sites throughout the country. Israeli warplanes have dismantled Iran's air defenses, clearing the way for hundreds of bombing raids against military targets and nuclear sites. Israel says it hasn't lost a single plane. However, Iran is still firing ballistic missiles at Israel nightly, and a small number are breaking through Israel's defensive shield, causing deaths and damage.

Israel is receiving help from U.S. ships and planes that are part of the effort to shoot down the incoming Iranian weapons. Greg Meyry, NPR News, Washington. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is abruptly leaving the Group of Seven summit due to the problems in Israel and Iran. Investigators are looking through numerous notebooks belonging to the man arrested in connection with targeted political violence in Minnesota over the weekend. They say Vance Belter's writings included the names of dozens of Democratic officials

and abortion rights supporters. NPR's Odette Youssef reports. Videos of Vance Belter sermonizing in Africa and his reported connection to the Christ for the Nation's Institute in Texas suggest that Belter may be involved with a new apostolic Reformation. NAR is a decentralized, neo-charismatic movement that seeks to establish top-down, Old Testament biblical governance across the globe. Fred Clarkson is with political research associates.

There's been a decided uptick in the rhetoric and vision of violence in the United States from apostolic leaders for some time. Some NAR leaders were involved in organizing and fomenting anger among Trump's base in the period leading to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Odette Youssef, NPR News. In Los Angeles one of the doctors accused of supplying actor Matthew Perry with the drug ketamine has agreed to plead guilty. More from reporter Steve Futterman. Dr. Salvador Plasencia was accused last year along with four others of being part of a money-making scheme to get Matthew Perry large quantities of ketamine,

the drug that eventually played a key role in his death. When the charges were filed in 2024, then US attorney, Martina Strada, said all those involved knew that Perry had substance abuse problems. These defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his wellbeing. Placencia, according to the US attorney, has agreed to plead guilty to four counts

of distribution of ketamine, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. Stocks close higher on Wall Street, the Dow up 317 points. This is NPR. A fast-moving wildfire has now spread on the Hawaiian island of Maui, forcing the evacuation of around 100 homes there. The fire that erupted over the weekend is on the opposite side of the island from a devastating fire two years ago that killed more than 100 people in the town of Lahaina. The latest fire is now estimated to have consumed upwards of 330 acres, though the fire has

made some progress in terms of being contained. No injuries or major structural damage has been reported. Nearly half of all Americans have some connection to the Catholic Church. That's according to a new report from Pew Research, because NPR's Jason DeRose explains it does not always mean aligning with church teachings. Twenty percent of U.S. adults said they're Catholic when asked about their current religion. An additional nine percent said they were culturally Catholic. Another nine percent said they were former Catholics.

And yet another nine percent said they had some other connection, such as a Catholic parent or spouse. When it comes to what's essential to their faith, the report found that seven in ten said a personal relationship with Jesus, half responded devotion to Mary, and just under half said helping the poor or receiving the Eucharist. Less than a third of Catholics said opposing abortion, caring for immigrants, or belonging to a parish was essential. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Leonard Lowndes, a philanthropist who grew his family's cosmetics business into a global brand, has died. Lowder, the oldest son of Estee and Joseph H. Lowder,

who founded the Cosmetics Company in 1946, joined the family business in 1958. Leonard Lowder was 92 years old. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.