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Jeanine Herbst
live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. Grain markets fell after President Trump left China with no firm trade deal for American soybean farmers. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports. Many farmers are nervous going into the planting season with China historically being their biggest buyer.
Kirk Siegler
There had been hope that the summit would result in China committing to buy even more than the 25 million metric tons of stuff soybeans that the White House says it's agreed to annually. That's only a verbal agreement and nothing out of the summit was put on paper, nor was there a deal to buy even more, which caused prices to plummet by 24 cents. Here's analyst Brian Split on the podcast Standard Grain.
Brian Split
We're running out of time to get additional details and and, and again, hopefully if there are details, it's something concrete, not just, hey, it's billions of dollars of goods by the end of the season. I think the the trade would really like to see something specific.
Kirk Siegler
Export dependent farmers tell NPR they're nervous about that and that no other firm deals were inked for commodities like corn. Kirk Zigler, NPR News, New York.
Jeanine Herbst
Colorado Democratic governor has shortened the prison sentence for Tina Peters, a former clerk convicted of tampering with election equipment after the 2020 election. Colorado Public Radio's Benta Berkland has more.
Benta Berkland
The controversial decision follows a months long pressure campaign from President Trump and his administration to free Peters from state custody. Govern Jared Polis says her nearly nine year sentence in 2024 was too long. She will be eligible for parole June 1st.
Brian Split
This is not a pardon. It's really making sure that her free speech was not a criteria for her overly harsh sentencing.
Benta Berkland
A Colorado appeals court ordered she be resentenced last month, saying the judge had sentenced Peters too harshly for her beliefs. This commutation puts Polis directly at odds with his own party and election clerks. For NPR News, I'm Benta Berk.
Jeanine Herbst
The CIA director made an unannounced visit to Cuba yesterday, delivering a strong warning from President Trump to Cuba's communist leaders. This is Cuba says it's run out of fuel and it's dealing with near total blackouts. There are questions on whether President Trump will do to Cuba what he did to Venezuela in ousting President Nicolas Maduro in January. Appears Greg Myre has more.
Ratcliffe Analyst
We should note that Trump dispatched Ratcliffe to Venezuela in January, less than two weeks after US Troops seized that country's president, Nicolas Maduro, who remains in US Custody in New York. Now Ratcliffe laid out what the US Expected of Venezuela at that time, and the Trump administration describes the relationships in generally positive terms, though it's mostly the same people as before, minus Maduro.
Jeanine Herbst
NPR's Greg MyReporting Venezuela supplied Cuba with oil, but the U.S. now controls Venezuela's oil industry and has stopped shipments to Cuba. This is NPR News. An Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 65 people, according to Africa CDC. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports. The outbreak has alarmed some global health experts.
Jonathan Lambert
The DRC has experienced several Ebola outbreaks recently. Just last fall, an outbreak killed 45 people over the course of several months. The fact that this new outbreak has already reported more deaths in just the first official announcement is causing major concern. So far, officials report 246 suspected cases. They're concentrated in two mining towns, Mongualu and Rampara, where many people come and go for work. There's also ongoing conflict in the region that could help fuel transmission in nearby cities, though the risk to people outside that area is currently low. Initial tests suggest the strain behind this outbreak isn't covered by the one licensed Ebola vaccine. That could make containment harder. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.
Jeanine Herbst
The Texas Supreme Court today refused to declare that the Democratic lawmakers who briefly left the state in 2025 to block a vote on new congressional maps pushed by President Trump had vacated their offices. Governor Greg Abbott and state Republicans wanted the Democrats punished for allegedly abandoning their offices. Democrats say they were exercising their right to dissent. The state's high court says Abbott and other Republicans had already handled the matter through fines and noted that the Democrats returned on their own within a few weeks. I'm Jeanine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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Host: Jeanine Herbst
This concise, five-minute news episode covers major stories affecting the U.S. and international audiences, including U.S.-China trade tensions, a high-profile sentence commutation in Colorado, U.S.-Cuba diplomatic developments, an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a ruling from Texas' Supreme Court. The update provides a snapshot of the shifting political, economic, and public health landscape as of May 2026.
Timestamps: 00:31–01:35
“We’re running out of time to get additional details and ... hopefully if there are details, it’s something concrete, not just, ‘hey, it’s billions of dollars of goods by the end of the season.’ I think the trade would really like to see something specific.”
— Brian Split, analyst on Standard Grain (01:11)
Timestamps: 01:35–02:31
“This is not a pardon. It’s really making sure that her free speech was not a criteria for her overly harsh sentencing.”
— Governor Jared Polis, paraphrased by Benta Berkland (02:06)
Timestamps: 02:31–03:18
“Trump dispatched Ratcliffe to Venezuela in January, less than two weeks after US troops seized that country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, who remains in US custody in New York.”
— NPR Analyst (02:53)
Timestamps: 03:18–04:30
“The fact that this new outbreak has already reported more deaths in just the first official announcement is causing major concern ... Initial tests suggest the strain behind this outbreak isn't covered by the one licensed Ebola vaccine. That could make containment harder.”
— Jonathan Lambert, NPR (03:44)
Timestamps: 04:30–05:10
On trade frustrations:
“We’re running out of time to get additional details... I think the trade would really like to see something specific.”
— Brian Split, Standard Grain (01:11)
On sentence commutation:
“This is not a pardon. It’s really making sure that her free speech was not a criteria for her overly harsh sentencing.”
— Gov. Jared Polis paraphrased (02:06)
On the risk in DRC Ebola outbreak:
“Initial tests suggest the strain behind this outbreak isn't covered by the one licensed Ebola vaccine. That could make containment harder.”
— Jonathan Lambert, NPR (03:44)
For regular, fast-paced news briefings like this one, subscribe to NPR News Now.