The Headlines - Trump Backs Down on Russia, and Representative Is Arrested After ICE Clash

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

Plus, how to stop doomscrolling? On Today’s Episode:Trump Backs Off His Demand That Russia Declare a Cease-Fire in Ukraine, by Erica L. Green and Anton TroianovskiIsrael Wavers as Far Right and Military Disagree on Gaza Strategy, by Patrick KingsleyRep. McIver Charged With Assault Over Clash Outside Newark ICE Center, by Luis Ferré-SadurníSupreme Court Lets Trump Lift Deportation Protections for Venezuelans, by Abbie VanSickle and Adam LiptakCan TikTok Help Young People Take a Break From Screens?, by Sadiba HasanTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, May 20th. Here's what we're covering. After a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, President Trump seems to have backed down from his demand for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. It's something he publicly called for earlier this month, even threatening Russia with sanctions if it didn't agree. But he's now endorsing what Putin has proposed, extended negotiations with no pause in the fighting.

In another pivot, while Trump previously claimed he'd personally be able to broker an end to the war, he said yesterday that Russia and Ukraine themselves are best suited to work out an agreement. Big ego's involved, I tell you. Big ego's involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going. Trump now seems at least somewhat eager to surrender his role as mediator altogether.

He pointed to the Pope's recent offer to host negotiations at the Vatican, saying, let the process begin. After the call with Putin and two phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump leaned into the potential economic benefits to the end of the war, After the call with Putin and two phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump leaned into the potential economic benefits to the end of the war, saying that Russia eventually wanted large-scale trade with the U.S. And in Russia's recap of the conversation, Putin's foreign policy adviser told reporters that Trump, quote, spoke quite emotionally about the future of the US-Russia relationship and said Russia would

be a key trading partner for the US in the future. In Gaza yesterday, a few trucks carrying food were allowed to enter the territory, the first in over two months. Since March, Israel's been blocking all food and fuel as a pressure tactic against Hamas. For Prime Minister Netanyahu to suddenly announce that Israel was letting aid back into the Gaza Strip was something of a surprise. It was a big turnaround. Patrick Kingsley is the Times' Jerusalem bureau chief. He says aid groups and the United Nations have been repeatedly warning that Gazans are

on the brink of starvation. And in recent days, President Trump also joined in, warning about the growing humanitarian crisis. That seems to have been a tipping point for Netanyahu, seeing the president of the world's most powerful country, a country that sends billions of dollars in military aid on which Israel's military campaign in Gaza depends, suddenly joined that group of critics saying that Gaza is on the brink of starvation and something needs to be done about it. And Netanyahu made an explicit reference to this diplomatic pressure on Monday when he

said we must not reach a point of starvation, both as a matter of fact, but also as a diplomatic issue. Without the resumption of aid, Israel quote, will not be supported and we will not be able to achieve victory. So it's not an act of philanthropy, it is a reversal that has been made to help Israel sustain what little diplomatic support it has for its war in order to continue that war for the foreseeable future.

Patrick says that as of this morning, just nine trucks have been let into Gaza, compared to the dozens, if not hundreds of trucks a day that were crossing into the territory before the blockade. Israel's also continued to carry out deadly airstrikes on Gaza, and has said it's preparing for a major new ground offensive. The DHS says that, in their words, you were body slamming an ICE officer. Is that what happened? Absolutely no.

I mean, I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone. There's no video that supports me body slamming anyone. The Justice Department has charged a member of Congress from New Jersey with assault over a clash with federal agents outside an immigration detention center. On May 9th, Representative LaMonica McIver went to tour a building in Newark that had recently been converted by a private prison company into a detention center under a billion-dollar contract with the Trump administration. McIver and other Democratic members of Congress went to inspect the conditions there, concerned that it had been opened without proper

permits. They tried to bring the mayor of Newark with them inside, and a chaotic scuffle broke out as they were met by federal agents wearing face coverings and military fatigues. Body cam footage released by the Department of Homeland Security appears to show McIver pushing a law enforcement officer in the crowd. Footage captured by a bystander from another angle seems to show McIver pushing a law enforcement officer in the crowd. Footage captured by a bystander from another angle seems to show McIver was also being shoved from behind herself. Newark's mayor was arrested and charged with trespassing. That has since been dropped, but McIver now faces charges for assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement.

In a statement, McIver alleged the charges against her are political and accused federal agents of instigating the clash. The detention center in Newark, which can hold up to a thousand people, is part of the administration's efforts nationwide to expand holding facilities, as it tries to step up immigration enforcement and deportations. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court announced it will allow the Trump administration to remove protections for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants. The migrants have been allowed to live and work in the U.S. legally under a Biden-era expansion of the Temporary Protected Status Program, which the Trump administration has moved to end. That effort has been met with legal Program, which the Trump administration has moved to end. That effort has been met with legal challenges, which are still working their way through lower courts.

But for now, the Supreme Court's order potentially puts the migrants at risk of deportation. And finally, if you have ever made the mistake of opening up TikTok late at night when you totally intended to go to sleep, you know the feeling of scrolling and scrolling, and all of a sudden it's 2 a.m. and you've watched a skincare tutorial and a viral dance trend and a hack about how to make the perfect fried egg and you really should just have gone to sleep? Well, this week, TikTok itself has rolled out a new option to try and break that doom-scrolling

cycle. I'm Dr. Willow, I'm a child psychiatrist and a mom, and I want to remind you that your brain needs sleep to function. The new feature is specifically aimed at kids. Starting at 10 p.m., all TikTok users under 18 now see their For You page turn into a blue screen with relaxing music and a guided meditation session. It's that easy to get a restful, uninterrupted sleep, and I promise your brain will thank you.

Good night, TikTok. Naturally, TikTok is promoting the new feature with a child psychiatrist who's a paid influencer. The update comes just months after more than a dozen states sued the company, TikTok is promoting the new feature with a child psychiatrist who's a paid influencer. The update comes just months after more than a dozen states sued the company, accusing it of creating an intentionally addictive app that harms children and teenagers. The state said the app is designed to make young users lose track of time and keep their attention so that TikTok can show them more targeted ads.

The meditation feature is optional. You can dismiss it when it pops up. An hour later, another prompt will show up, checking in again about whether you want to keep scrolling. One child mental health expert the Times talked to said the new feature might be helpful for some kids who already feel like their doom scrolling is a problem. But one 15-year-old told the Times

that the feature was just annoying. Quote, I have free will, so I just click off. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.