by Brittney Melton

May 18, 2025

Good morning. This week, the Department of Homeland Security asked for 20,000 National Guard troops to help with deportations, the Menendez brothers were resentenced in the 1989 murder case of their parents, and the president named his former defense lawyer as the new acting Librarian of Congress.

“We are done waiting.”

by Julia Simon, NPR’s Climate Solutions correspondent

One of the best things about being a journalist is that you really don't ever know where your reporting will lead you.

When NPR visuals editor Ryan Kellman and I went to Vienna in March, we were there to report a story for NPR's upcoming climate solutions week (more on that later). But we ended up leaving with two stories.

An aerial view of a body of water meeting grassy land where a few people are standing. Behind it are bare tree with multiple tall buildings.

Ryan Kellman/NPR

It all started with Nina Abrahamczik, the city councilor who heads the Committee on Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personnel.

We weren't sure if she’d find time in her busy politician schedule to see us. But we finally met up on a gray morning with daffodils blooming outside Vienna's 19th-century city hall.

Abrahamczik explained that Vienna was about to pass a historic climate law. The law (which passed not long after we saw her) outlines a plan to get Vienna’s climate pollution down to zero by 2040 and has new checks to hold the city legally accountable for its targets.

The Austrian federal government, Abrahamczik explained, had not passed a climate law. The new federal government, which had just come into office that month, was taking actions already that concerned climate researchers. Like dismantling a climate "super ministry" that had grouped climate, energy and transport together so it could be more effective.

But Abrahamczik — and her colleagues in Vienna — were undeterred. Even if the Austrian federal government backtracked on climate action, Vienna would move forward. " Waiting for others is something we cannot afford in the time of climate crisis," Abrahamczik told us. "We are done waiting."

As Abrahamczik talked, Ryan and I looked at each other. A second story was coming into focus.

The U.S. federal government is also backtracking on climate action. Agencies like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are seeing mass layoffs. Federal grants to fund infrastructure that reduces climate pollution or helps communities prepare for extreme weather threats are now cancelled or in limbo.

What if we told the story of how a city like Vienna can lead on climate action in the face of federal inaction? And how other cities, including in the U.S, are taking a similar approach? It turns out cities can have a big climate impact. 70% of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions take place in cities.

You can read more about the many things Vienna is doing on climate — and hear from the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, on how cities in the U.S. are also pushing forward — here. And check out Ryan's transporting photos.

As for the story that brought us to Vienna in the first place? Here's a hint. It's about a climate solution that can help tackle global warming, as well as another huge challenge that U.S. is facing, all at the same time: housing. In June, keep an eye out for a special project at NPR and member stations that will spotlight how communities are trying to solve both problems.

You can find it at npr.org and on your local public radio station next month.

Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:

New academic standards in Oklahoma call for the teaching of "discrepancies" in the 2020 election results, perpetuating a false narrative that has persisted since it was first promoted by President Trump and his allies.
In an era of stringent immigration enforcement, many international musicians are finding that the complicated process of obtaining a U.S. artist visa may not be worth the financial and safety risks involved. Several artists have already canceled the U.S. leg of their tours.
Taylor Carty, a California woman who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby, is fighting to make medical professions more accessible for those with disabilities. Carty began her mission after Wayne State University rescinded her acceptance after she formally requested accommodations or modifications to meet the school’s technical standards under federal disability rights law.
Sun Zan, 32, and Cheng Qing Ling, 28, spoke to NPR about their lawsuit accusing performing arts group Shen Yun of forced child labor. The troupe tours worldwide and is known for its contentious relationship with the Chinese government. They shared that they are still recovering from the physical and emotional harm they experienced during their childhood.

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Podcast Club

A grayscale photo of two houses with a dust storm approaching in Springfield, Baoa County at 4:47 p.m. in May 1937.

Three Lions/Getty Images

Thanks for tuning in last week to NPR’s Code Switch episode “40 years ago, Philadelphia police bombed this Black neighborhood on live TV.” The podcast discussed the MOVE bombing, when a Philadelphia police department helicopter dropped a bomb on a rowhouse, leaving 11 people dead and hundreds homeless. Kendall A., a Black Philadelphian, says that, just like any other movements, one way is not completely right. “However, MOVE members should still have been treated with a basic human decency regardless of their beliefs, and that simply was not the case,” they said. “I learned more than I initially did about their origins, and I appreciate the additional mentions of resources to turn to for more information.”

Today, we’re listening to NPR’s Throughline. “California's 'Bum Blockade'” tells the story of the Los Angeles police chief who, faced with one of the largest internal migrations in American history, tried to close California's borders to stop it. One of the episode’s guests, Mark Wild, a professor of history at California State University, Los Angeles, said he believes the blockade shows the “malleable definition of who deserves to belong or not belong in a community.” Wild stated that different people can come be under attack, even people you wouldn’t expect, like native-born white American citizens. Listen to the episode or read the transcript for the episode here.

Listen to this episode and let us know your thoughts here. Your response could be featured in next week’s newsletter.

In today’s episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, NPR’s Frank Langfitt explores how American democracy is changing under President Trump as hundreds of U.S. scholars say America is sliding toward authoritarianism.

That’s HANDY

The words "Sunday Puzzle" over a white background. The name "Will Shortz" is under the Sunday Puzzle title, etched into red dice.

NPR

It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For today's on-air challenge, Will Shortz, NPR's puzzle master, has prepared a game of Categories based on the word HANDY. For each category he gives, you provide something in it, starting with each of the letters H-A-N-D-Y. For example, if the category were "Two-Syllable Girls' Names," you might say Heather, Audrey, Nancy, Denise, and Yvette. Any answer that works is OK, and you can give answers in any order. Test your skills here. Check this page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m.

This week's online challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Name a popular magazine. Rearrange its letters. Then add an O at the end and you'll name a prominent subject in this magazine's current issue. What magazine is it? Hint: You don't need to read this magazine in order to guess the answer. Submit your answer and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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