Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts - podcast episode cover

Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts

May 20, 202513 min
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Summary

This episode covers President Trump's conversation with Russian President Putin regarding a ceasefire in Ukraine, highlighting conflicting accounts of progress and international pressure on Russia. It also delves into the intense pressure on Israel from allies to end its Gaza offensive amidst a soaring death toll and stalled ceasefire talks. Finally, the episode examines the recent surge in tornado outbreaks in the U.S., the ongoing debate about a link to climate change, and challenges facing the National Weather Service due to budget cuts.

Episode description

Unpacking President Trump's hourslong conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Gaza, Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of Khan Younis, but residents have nowhere to go. Plus, a look at how Trump administration budget cuts have left the National Weather Service scrambling to cover basic forecasting needs amid climate change.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Neela Banerjee, Ryland Barton, Carrie Kahn, Ally Schweitzer and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.


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Transcript

Intro / Opening

Good morning. We have two hosts in the same studio today. It's very exciting. We're behind on our work, though, because Layla and I were... We were trying to solve the world's problems. Thank you. That's a really nice, high-minded way to say gossiping. We gossiped. We failed. that he made progress on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. and whose own statement suggested he's in no rush. What's the state of play? I'm Leila Faldin with Stephen Skeep and this is Up First from NPR News.

Three of Israel's allies have warned Israel to end its offensive in Gaza. They're objecting to an operation that intensified in recent days and an Israeli order to evacuate. How are Israelis responding to the pressure? Also we've had an active tornado season which is... normal tornado season. It used to be kind of unusual. day and now we get that year after year what evidence if any shows a link to climate change stay with us we've got the news you need to start your day

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Listen to the Planet Money podcast from NPR. Conductor Robert Franz says a good melody captures our attention and then it moves you through time. Music is architecture in time. If you engage in the moment with what you're listening to, you do lose a sense of the time around you. How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.

Trump, Putin Discuss Ukraine Ceasefire

President Trump spoke with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin for more than two hours on Monday about ending the war in Ukraine, and then Trump gave an account of the call. I said, what are we going to end this, Vladimir? I've known for a long time now. I said, when are we going to add this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath. Trump claimed some success towards peace, but Putin again resisted Trump's calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Putin proposed more talks, which would take place even as the war continues. NPR's Charles Maines has been covering all this from Moscow. Hey there, Charles. Morning, Steve. What did this call accomplish? Both sides were really complimentary about the tone of the conversation itself, which Trump called excellent and Putin said was constructive and useful. But the two leaders seemed at odds about what had actually been achieved.

Trump took to social media to say Russia had agreed to immediately start ceasefire talks and, more importantly, in Trump's words, seek an end to the war. But in a brief statement to journalists, Putin suggested he was in no hurry. So here Putin says he agreed with Trump to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a possible future peace deal.

but made clear all sorts of details needed to be worked out before they could possibly lead to a ceasefire of some defined length. Moreover, Putin again emphasized that any peace deal would still have to address what he called the root causes of the conflict. That's always been, Kremlin speak, for Russia's fundamental desire to control Ukraine, and Ukraine knows it. So, not really changing any of the demands that Putin has had since 2022, how did Ukraine respond?

I think it's first important to point out that Trump held talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky before the Putin conversation and after. So Trump is certainly giving Zelensky time and attention. But Zelensky has to be sensitive to offending Trump's desire to show progress here, or at least not appear to be seen as an obstacle to peace. All the more so because Trump is also suggesting new business opportunities for both Russia and Ukraine once the fighting ends.

Speaking after the calls, Zelenskyy repeated Ukraine's support for a full and immediate ceasefire, even as he really made clear he does not trust Putin's motives in these negotiations or Putin's blurring of the language of peace. Let's listen. but of course Russia is Russia. They want something. But they even don't know what they want. And when they say they want something, they won't ever say.

Okay, so hard to see what the progress is, but we do have France, Germany, and the UK, other players here, threatening more sanctions against Russia if Putin doesn't agree to an immediate ceasefire. How do they see all this? Putin's refusal to sign to this ceasefire deal puts Europe in an odd position. Do you let Trump's peace efforts play out or risk undermining them with pressure on Moscow now?

That said, even if Europe does choose to impose additional sanctions, Russian analysts say the Kremlin fundamentally doesn't see it as a threat. Here's Avanti Maffaev of the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow. Sanctions are inflicting harm, but this harm is not critical for macroeconomic stability of Russia and actually further escalation of sanctions. would hardly be critical as well.

So the result, says Timofev, is that Russia remains convinced it can simply afford to continue the conflict. if or when these peace negotiations break down. So Moscow really sees little incentive to compromise here. Charles, thanks very much for breaking that down. Really appreciate it. Thank you, Steve. NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow.

Pressure Mounts On Israel Over Gaza

Okay, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are now at an impasse. That's according to three people briefed on the negotiations who spoke to NPR, and Israel faces unprecedented pressure from three allies. The leaders of the UK, France, and Canada are calling on Israel to end the war or face consequences. The death toll in Gaza is soaring. Hundreds have been killed.

in Israel's newest assault, according to health officials in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin is gathering all the information he can in Tel Aviv. Hey there, Daniel. Hi, Steve. So what does Israel's offensive look like, as best you can determine? While Israeli strikes have expanded across Gaza, Israel has ordered a mass evacuation of civilians in southern Gaza in Han Yunus. It's affecting around a quarter of Gaza's territory, according to the United Nations.

A Palestinian journalist there has sent us footage of people fleeing by foot. One young man, Tahir Farah, was carrying a big yellow water can on his shoulders and a pile of masks. لقدر بلد مشترعيش هادقاء It's no longer livable in this land, he says. No food, no drinking water, no education, no health care. Just displacement and humiliation and destruction. And every day we're dying, he says.

And I want to just tell you a few details of some of those who were killed. A paracycling team in Gaza is reporting their teammate. 33-year-old Ahmed El Dali was killed. And a colleague of ours from Gaza says his longtime neighbor, Hatem Abu Samra, an older gentleman, He survived more than 19 months of war. He was just killed in a strike in his home in central Gaza. I should add, there was a spontaneous march yesterday in Gaza where people were protesting the war and...

chanting anti-Hamas slogans. Okay, so this, interesting, that last detail, so this is the context in which three long-time allies of Israel, the UK, France, and Canada, are saying Israel should end all of this. How is Israel responding to that pressure? There is international pressure Israel is responding to. It allowed in a small number of trucks of baby food into Gaza so far. That's after nearly three months of a blockade.

Gaza on the brink of famine. The UN says that's not enough. The leaders of the UK, France, and Canada put out that extraordinary statement you referred to. I want to read you a few lines. They say the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. The denial of essential supplies to civilians risks breaching international law. They say if Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift restrictions on aid, they're threatening to take action.

Steve, this is a big shift in rhetoric from these major allies, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded saying their statement rewards Hamas. Well, why are ceasefire talks at an impact? Well, the Prime Minister of Qatar, who is hosting the talks, says the talks have gone nowhere because of fundamental differences between Israel and Hamas.

We've spoken to three people briefed on the talks, including an Egyptian official and a Hamas official. They spoke on condition of anonymity to give details. They say, we are looking at the same long-standing impasse. Israel wants a temporary ceasefire and the release of some hostages, and Hamas wants much more. They want international guarantees that a temporary ceasefire would lead to the permanent end of the war.

And the people we spoke to said the U.S. refused to promise Hamas those guarantees. But we will have to see. Israeli and Hamas negotiators are still in Qatar. And NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks so much. You're very welcome.

Tornadoes, Climate Change, Weather Service

Kentuckians are recovering from last weekend's tornadoes. and they might be in for more dangerous weather today according to the National Weather Service. Much of southern Kentucky is at high risk for a significant tornado just days after a burst of storms killed more than two dozen people in that state, as well as in Missouri and Virginia. Earlier this spring, another cluster of deadly tornadoes tore across eight states in the Midwest. So is climate change

making tornadoes more frequent. It's a question we pose from time to time and NPR's Rebecca Hersher is here to talk through the evidence. Good morning. Good morning. First, has this been a particularly bad spring for tornadoes? Well, yes, it actually has. There have been more tornadoes than average, and that's according to data from the National Weather Service. So usually by this time in May,

There have been a little over 600 tornadoes reported in the U.S., but this year there have been more than 850 tornadoes, so significantly more. Okay, so is this just a bad year, or is there evidence that the frequency is increasing in a real way over time? It's just a bad year. You know, the annual number of storms varies a lot year to year, so it's not surprising to have a really active year or two like this year. I spoke to a tornado expert about this. Her name is Melissa Widhelm.

And she helps lead the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University. There's not really an increase or a decrease in the overall number of tornadoes that we see. That number's been pretty stable. Year after year, that's going back to the 1950s. But here's what is changing. She says big outbreaks of tornadoes like the ones in Kentucky and Missouri over the weekend

Those are getting more common, where lots of storms move over a really large area in a short period of time. Oh, this is interesting, and this is a thing that people have said about climate change, that you end up with more extreme weather events. So not more tornadoes. total but more of these clusters of tornadoes. Yeah, exactly. And Woodhelm says those clusters or outbreaks are a new phenomenon. In the past, we didn't see the kind of large outbreak days that we do now.

It used to be kind of unusual to see dozens of them in a day, and now we get that year after year. Now, she points out that warning people about those big clusters is really labor intensive. You know, it requires a lot of weather forecasters and radar data to track the storms as they move across multiple states. which is notable at a time when the Trump administration is cutting weather forecasting budgets, and there are a lot of vacancies in the National Weather Service, you know.

During the outbreak over the weekend the local weather service office in jackson kentucky had to borrow forecasters from other offices in the region because they didn't have enough staff on their own and that's according to a statement from the national weather service I appreciate that last detail. It is the National Weather Service acknowledging this in a statement.

So let's try to figure out what's going on. We understand that climate change can lead to more extreme weather events. We have these more extreme weather events, but can we be a little more precise about the mechanics? Do scientists understand why big outbreaks of tornadoes are getting more common?

I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately tornadoes are very complex and this is just one of many unanswered questions about how they're changing especially as the climate changes you know in general climate change is causing more severe weather as you said one of the ingredients for a tornado is moist warm air so obviously as the atmosphere heats up it makes sense that tornado conditions could show up more

There have been some studies that suggest that there might be more tornadoes in the fall and winter as the earth heats up, as opposed to now when most tornadoes happen in the spring and summer. But it's really an area of active research. Rebecca, thanks so much. Thanks. That's NPR's Rebecca Hurt. And that's up first for this Tuesday, May 20th. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Leila Faldin. The NPR app lets you keep public radio in your pocket. You'll find a mix of local, national,

Plus the best podcast from the NPR network. Download the NPR app in your app store today. How do you hear it? Anyway, today's episode of I'm First was... Oh, thank you. Thanks for the... up first was edited by Nila Ryland Barton, Carrie Kahn, Alice Schweitzer, and Alice Wolf. Produced by Ziad Bach, Ben Abrams, and Christian. Join us again tomorrow. I feel like there were a lot of nice extra flourishes on all the names today. Thank you. I try to give people credit where I can.

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