NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-18-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: May 18, 2025

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On NPR's ThruLine, witnesses were ending up dead. How the hunt for gangster Al Capone launched the IRS to power. Find NPR's ThruLine wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. An explosion outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California is being investigated as an act of terrorism by the FBI. One person was killed, four others injured. From member station KVCR in San Bernardino, Madison Aumann reports.

Akil Davis, who's the director of the Los Angeles FBI field office, says the bomb exploded outside the American Reproductive Center in downtown Palm Springs. Davis says they believe the clinic was targeted. He says they're still working to identify the person who was killed and where the explosion originated. Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills says the blast reached several blocks in all directions.

There are blocks of debris, and it will take a meticulous effort to make sure that we get every piece of evidence so we understand very thoroughly what happened. Mills says this was an isolated incident. Dr. Mahar Abdallah, who runs the reproductive center, said in a post on Facebook that none of the staff was hurt. And he says all eggs, embryos and other reproductive material are safe and intact. For NPR News, I'm Madison Aumann in Palm Springs.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says at least 18 people were killed when what's believed to be a tornado that swept through the southern part of the state. John McGarry of Memor Station WEKU reports 17 of the dead were in the city of London. Mamie Cottle says it was a close call for her and her young grandson. She lives in an area where many homes were destroyed by the severe weather. She says her daughter called to say it's at the nearby London Corbin Airport and to get in the closet. The house started shaking and then the next thing I heard was like rumbling.

Next thing was just like glass breaking everywhere and wood breaking. We couldn't hardly open the closet door to get out. Cottle says she and her grandson were uninjured, but she doesn't know whether her home of 10 years can be saved. Governor Andy Beshear says efforts are underway to secure emergency housing. For NPR News, I'm John McGarry in London, Kentucky. Investigators in New York City working to figure out why a Mexican sailing ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge last night, killing two crew members.

At least 19 others on board needed medical attention. Tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square today to mark the official beginning of Pope Leo XIV's papacy. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marka Rubio were among the foreign dignitaries at the Mass in which Leo called for peace and unity. MPR's Ruth Sherlock was there. At his inaugural Mass, Pope Leo XIV's main message is what he called his great desire for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leave-in

for a reconciled world. Nat. Jim Collison MPR's Ruth Sherlock reporting from St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. And you're listening to NPR News. Romanians are going to the polls today. They're choosing a new president in an election that had to be run twice Due to allegations of interference from Russia. Terry Schultz reports the two candidates are running neck and neck The candidates offer very different pledges for Romania's future

The centrist pro-european union mayor of Bucharest Nico Sardan promises to crack down on corruption and to continue supporting Ukraine As the best insurance against threats from Russia. Hard right candidate Georges Simeon is a Euro skeptic who wants to cut off Romanian help for Kiev. His decisive win in the first round earlier this month prompted the government to resign. Simeon says if he wins, his prime minister will be Kalin Georgescu, the little known far right politician who came out of nowhere to sweep an election held last November. But signs that Russia had flooded the internet with support for Georgescu led officials to invalidate the vote and reschedule it for now.

For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. A similar dynamic is playing out in Poland where voters are also casting ballots today. In the first round of her presidential election, the results could determine whether the country remains on a pro-European union path laid out by Prime Minister Donald Tusk or turned toward the far right. The Polish president has limited executive authority but can veto legislation. Voters in Portugal are returning to the ballot box for the third time in three years, with polls suggesting they might not end political turmoil. They show the election could result in another fragile minority government. The

prime minister called for the election after failing to win a confidence vote back in March. I'm Joel Snyder. This is NPR News. Tariffs, recessions, how Colombian drug cartels gave us blueberries all year long. That's the kind of thing the Planet Money podcast explains. I'm Sarah Gonzalez and on Planet Money, we help you understand the economy and how things all around you came to be the way they are. Para que sepas. So you know.

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