NPR News: 05-13-2026 9AM EDT

Summary

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NPR News Now: 05-13-2026, 9AM EDT

Main Theme

This concise NPR News Now episode delivers the latest global headlines, centering on international diplomacy, US domestic politics, educational research, violence in Asia, and US economic indicators. Key stories include President Trump’s state visit to China, dramatic developments in Tennessee politics, regional tensions and violence in Pakistan and the Philippines, and a new report highlighting troubling trends in US student achievement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. President Trump’s State Visit to China

• [00:16] Host Korva Coleman reports that President Donald Trump has landed in China for a state visit, his first in nearly a decade.
• Trump aims to focus primarily on “business arrangements” rather than discussion of the war in Iran.
• [00:28] Donald Trump directly states:

  "We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control."

• Despite a holding ceasefire between the US and Iran, Iran continues to restrict commercial oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—a key issue since China is a major buyer of Iranian oil.
• Iran's foreign minister recently visited China for further talks.

2. US Education: Decline Preceded the Pandemic

• [01:09] Cory Turner covers a new “Education Scorecard” report from Stanford, Harvard, and Dartmouth, which scrutinized decades of US math and reading test scores.
• Key finding: The decline in student achievement began around 2013, well before Covid-19.
• [01:26] Notable quote from researcher Shawn Reardon (Stanford):

  "You wouldn’t really know there was a pandemic effect if you just looked at the last 10 or 12 years of test scores. There’s been just a steady kind of decline."

• Two main theories for the decline:
  • The abandonment of major federal education legislation around 2013, which reduced pressure to improve.
  • The sharp rise in social media use among US youth.

3. Tennessee Democrats Punished for Protest

• [01:53] Mariana Bacallau (WPLN, Nashville) reports on the political fallout following Democratic protests over new Republican congressional maps in Tennessee.
• Tennessee, first to redistrict following a Supreme Court case, saw Memphis split over three districts; similar moves failed elsewhere.
• Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton responded to Democrats' walkout by stripping all Democratic legislators of their committee assignments.
• Democratic leader Karen Camper (Memphis) is quoted as saying the matter is "not about decorum, it's about control."

4. Violence and Political Turmoil in Asia

Philippines: Shots Fired in Senate

• [02:43] Reports emerge of shots fired inside the Philippine Senate in Manila.
• The unrest is tied to attempts to arrest Senator Ronald de la Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity related to the Duterte era.

Pakistan: Bombing near Afghanistan Border

• [03:31] Betsy Joels (Islamabad) details a bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least nine and injuring dozens.
• The attack—detonated on a rickshaw in a crowded outdoor market—heightens ongoing tension at the Afghanistan border.
• It follows another deadly militant attack just days earlier, with Pakistan blaming Afghan Taliban affiliates and pressuring the Taliban government, which retorts security is an internal Pakistani issue.

5. US Economic Snapshot: Surging Inflation

• [04:20] Korva Coleman reports that US wholesale inflation (Producer Price Index) soared 6% in April year-on-year.
• Gasoline costs accounted for roughly 40% of the price jump for businesses.
• Consumer Price Index also up 3.8% over the same period.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Donald Trump on Iran:

  "I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control."
  (Donald Trump, 00:28)

• Shawn Reardon on Education Decline:

  "You wouldn’t really know there was a pandemic effect if you just looked at the last 10 or 12 years of test scores. There’s been just a steady kind of decline."
  (Shawn Reardon, 01:26)

• Karen Camper on Tennessee Politics:

  "It's not about decorum, it's about control."
  (Karen Camper paraphrased by Mariana Bacallau, 02:04)

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Timeline of Segments

• 00:16 – 01:09: President Trump’s China agenda and ongoing Iran-US tensions.
• 01:09 – 01:53: New research on US educational achievement decline.
• 01:53 – 02:43: Tennessee Democrats retaliated against for redistricting protest.
• 02:43 – 03:31: Breaking news: Shots fired in the Philippine Senate in Manila.
• 03:31 – 04:20: Pakistan bombing amid strained Afghan-Pak relations.
• 04:20 – 04:55: US Producer Price Index surges; inflation breakdown.

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Episode Character & Tone

• News is presented in NPR’s signature clear, factual, and concise style.
• Notable use of direct quotes and field reporting, amplifying both official and local perspectives.
• The tone remains authoritative, neutral, and urgent given the fast-moving global developments and domestic tensions.

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For listeners seeking the latest on international diplomacy, political controversy, and economic trends, this episode delivers a deftly packed news briefing summarizing the stakes and signals in each headline.

Transcript

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[Korva Coleman]

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. President Trump has arrived in China for a state visit. It's his first trip there in nearly a decade. Trump hopes to focus on business arrangements and not on the war in Iran.

[Donald Trump]

We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn't say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.

[Korva Coleman]

The ceasefire between Iran and the US has been holding, but Iran continues to throttle commercial oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. China is a major purchaser of Iranian oil. Iran's foreign minister visited China last week for talks. A report out today offers new details on math and reading scores for students in the United States. As NPR's Cory Turner reports, researchers say big losses in learning didn't begin with the coronavirus pandemic some six years ago, but years earlier.

[Capital One Commercial Bank Announcer]

The annual report is called the Education Scorecard, and it comes from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth. Pouring over decades of math and reading scores. The researchers say America's students hit a learning recession not during COVID 19, but around 2013. Stanford researcher Shawn Reardon in fact, you

[Shawn Reardon]

wouldn't really know there was a pandemic effect if you just looked at the last 10 or 12 years of test scores. There's been just a steady kind of decline.

[Capital One Commercial Bank Announcer]

As for why learning got so derailed, the researchers have two theories. One, a big federal education law was essentially abandoned around 2013, meaning school leaders started feeling less pressure to improve. And two, social media use among US Youth started to skyrocket. Cory Turner, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

Tennessee Democrats are facing consequences for protesting the passage of new congressional maps. From member station WPLN in Nashville, Mariana Bacallau has more.

[Mariana Bacallau]

The state was the first to redistrict after a Supreme Court case paved the way for Republicans to split Memphis into three districts. A similar effort in South Carolina failed. But although Tennessee Republicans were successful, House Speaker Cameron Sexton is taking issue with a walkout Democrats staged during the redistricting session. Sexton is now removing all Democrats from their House committee assignments for breaking decorum, further limiting the say they're able to have in the Republican supermajority. Democratic leader Karen Camper from Memphis says it's not about decorum, it's about control. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bacallau in Nashville.

[Korva Coleman]

There are reports from the Philippines that Shots have been fired in the country's Senate chambers in Manila. It's not clear who was firing. Philippines authorities have been trying to arrest a senator who's also wanted by the International Criminal Court. Senator Ronald de la Rosa is a former national police chief for former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. The ICC is investigating de la Rosa for alleged crimes against humanity, the same charge Duterte is facing as he waits for trial in the Hague. This is npr. A bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan yesterday killed at least nine people and injured dozens more, as Betsy Joel reports from Islamabad. The bombing was in a region near the border with Afghanistan, stoking already tense relations between the neighbors.

[Betsy Joels]

Pakistani police say the blast in Sarai Norang in Khyber Paktun Wa Province was caused by a bomb on a rickshaw that was detonated in an outdoor market. It comes just days after 15 people were killed in another militant attack in a nearby district. These attacks took place amid a dispute between Pakistan and the Taliban government in Afghanistan over escalating militancy since launching a military campaign in late February. Pakistan claims to have killed hundreds of fighters from the Afghan Taliban and its ideological affiliate, the Pakistan Taliban, inside Afghanistan. Pakistan says it wants the Afghan Taliban to vow to control the groups carrying out attacks. The Afghan Taliban government says security is Pakistan's domestic problem. For NPR News, I'm Betsy Joels in Islamabad.

[Korva Coleman]

The federal government says that wholesale inflation jumped 6% in April compared to the same time period a year earlier. The Producer price Index measures how much US Businesses pay before the costs reach the consumer. A huge increase in gasoline costs made up 40% of the jump in prices that businesses paid in April. Yesterday, the federal government reported the Consumer Price Index showed an increase of 3.8% compared to a year ago. This is NPR.

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