NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-18-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: May 18, 2025

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Politics is a lot these days. I'm Sarah McCammon, a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast, and I'll be the first to tell you what happens in Washington definitely demands some decoding. That's why our show makes politics as easy as possible to wrap your head around. Join us as we make politics make sense on the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Giles Snyder Live from MPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the Brooklyn Bridge did not suffer major damage when a Mexican Navy sailing ship struck it last night, shearing off the top of its three mass and killing two crew members. Adams says 19 people aboard the ship needed medical attention. Reporter Bruce Convizer is in New York. The Mexican sailing ship was attempting to pass under the Brooklyn Bridge when the tops of its three masts

snapped one after another as the boat glided underneath the bridge. The vessel, the Cuauhtemoc, had more than 275 crew members on board when the accident occurred. The masts of the ship are listed as 147 feet high. The clearance underneath the Brooklyn Bridge is listed as 127 feet. An investigation will be forthcoming. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Convyser in New York. Initial reports say the ship had lost power due to a mechanical issue, but officials say that's preliminary and the cause remains unclear. The FBI calling yesterday's explosion of a car near a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California an intentional act of terrorism. Authorities have

not released the name of the suspect thought to have been responsible but believe the person died in the blast. Investigators say they are not looking for anyone else. President Trump says Walmart should quote eat the tariffs rather than raise its prices because of increased costs, and Piers Michael Levin reports. In a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said Walmart made billions of dollars last year and that the retailer should, quote, not charge valued customers anything. The post comes after Walmart execs said the retailer could see increasingly high prices on their shelves in the coming months, the result, they say, of the president's trade policies. The president's rebuke of Walmart comes as he continues to make the case

that his tariffs will yield long-term benefits for the economy, including a revitalized American manufacturing sector. However, stock markets have stayed volatile despite the president's assurances and economic experts remain worried of the possibility of a recession. Michael Levitt, NPR News, Washington. The Vatican, tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square to see Pope Leo XIV, formerly installed as the leader of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo leading his inaugural mass, marking the official start of his papacy, he received

two signs of his pontificate, a vestment known as a pallium and the fisherman's ring. Vice President J.D. Vance led the U.S. delegation. He was one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died. Health officials in Gaza say at least 300 Palestinians have been killed over the past few days, Israel pressing a new military offensive in Gaza as negotiators for Israel, and Hamas held a fresh round of indirect talks in Doha yesterday. No breakthrough has been reported, but the BBC is reporting that Hamas is offering to

release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire deal. This is NPR. Talks aimed at getting New Jersey's commuter train engineers back on the job are expected to resume today. The engineers walked out Friday leaving hundreds of thousands of commuters scrambling to find alternative transportation. New Jersey Transit President Chris Kaluri says he wants to make sure the striking engineers get a fairer wage, but he can't break the bank doing it. All we're basically saying is, let's work out a deal that gets to a solution that they want, but that taxpayers can afford.

This isn't rocket science. Kaluri says his agency is surging buses to help commuters, but he says they can't handle the entire volume of the commuter rail system. The Horse Journalism has won the 150th running of horse racing's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. Wamboy Kamau of Member Station WYPR reports. Nine horses burst from the gate at Pinnacle Racecourse. After a bump in battle in the final stretch, journalism surged ahead, galloping to victory.

Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli is a first-time pre-kness winner. I can tell you I couldn't sleep for four nights after the Kentucky Derby, but I know if I could ride a perfect race, but this takes some of the pain off, and I'm glad that then I have this opportunity. I have to wait 20 years but it was worth it to wait. The first place comes with a 1.2 million dollar payout of the race's 2 million

purse. The next leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, is in three weeks. For NPR News, I'm one boy Kamau in Baltimore. And I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington. We've all been there, running around the city, looking for a bathroom, but unable to find one. Hello, do you have a restroom we could use? A very simple free market solution is that we could just pay to use a bathroom, but we can't. On the Planet Money podcast, the story of how we once had thousands of pay toilets and why they got banned. From Planet Money on NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.