NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

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When the Star Wars prequels came out, they were polarizing. Many fans of the original trilogy hated the phantom menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, though many younger fans loved them then and love them still. So we're re-watching them with fresh eyes 20 years later. From Jar Jar Binks to the climactic nooooo that broke the internet in half, listen on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with cancer. The prostate cancer has metastasized to the former president's bone, which means it is

a more aggressive form of the disease. But according to a statement from his office, the cancer appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management. The statement goes on to say that the president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians. That's NPR's Tamara Keith with that report. The diagnosis came on Friday after Biden had reported urinary tract problems to his doctors. Authorities in California have identified the primary suspect in the bombing of a fertility

clinic in Palm Springs on Saturday morning The FBI says they believe the suspect was the person killed in the explosion that injured four others for member station KVCR Madison Aumont has our report FBI officials say they are fairly confident The primary suspect is 25 year old guy Edward Bartkiss from 29 Palms, some 50 miles northeast of Palm Springs. FBI investigators and local law have converged on a house where they believe Bartkiss lived and evacuated neighbors Saturday, including Thomas Bickel. All of a sudden, it wasn't just a knock. The sheriffs were pounding on my door. So I opened the door. There was about, I think, like five sheriffs there, and they told me

I needed to evacuate. Bickel had not been allowed back home as of Sunday morning. Authorities have asked the public to help them piece together Barkas's whereabouts before the explosion. For NPR News, I'm Madison Aumann in 29 Palms. Cleanup is continuing in several Midwestern states this weekend, where severe storms and tornadoes Friday left more than two dozen people dead. Kentucky was hardest hit with at least 19 people killed there. Karen Czar with Member Station WKY reports.

At First Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, congregation members celebrated their faith less than 48 hours after some of them lost everything. Pastor Jesse Armstrong's message to them? God was and he is and he will continue to be all over this community. The church has become a hub to collect supplies for storm survivors. There were so many people that came up here to help and I didn't call a single one up within hours. They were out of room, so Armstrong recruited the church down the street to become a second donation center for NPR News.

I'm Karen czar in London. After enforcing a blockade on humanitarian supplies to Gaza for more than two months, Israel has reversed course. This country, that country's cabinet has approved a decision to allow in what it calls a basic amount of food. The move comes days after global experts on food security warned of famine in Gaza. However, no details have been released when the aid will begin or how. This is NPR News. In Portugal, the governing right-of-center coalition has won a snap

legislative election but it's again fallen short of a majority in Parliament but the opposition Socialist Party is in turmoil with its leader announcing his resignation after it ended up neck-and-neck with the far-right Shega Party. Alison Roberts has more details from Lisbon. The Democratic Alliance increased its seat tally but fell short of a majority, even if it teams up with the smaller Liberal initiative. Still, its leader, Luis Montenegro, told supporters he's ready to get back to work if Portugal's president asks him to form a new government. It's unclear who will lead the opposition, as the historic Socialist Party was left with the same number of seats as Schegger, an anti-immigration party that also campaigned on the issue of corruption.

Schegger looks set to pick up another two seats from votes cast abroad and it is likely it will form the largest opposition bloc. Its leader, Andre Ventura, has already declared this election as marking the end of two-party dominance. For NPR News, I'm Alison Roberts in Lisbon. Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves and Florida scored three times in the second period as the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leaf 6-1 Sunday night. The Panthers now advance to the Eastern Conference Final where they'll play the

Carolina Hurricanes. Game one will be Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Oklahoma Thunder is moving into the NBA Western Conference Finals. They had a convincing 125-93 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 on Sunday. The top seeded Thunder will now host the Minnesota Timberwolves. The first game will be on Tuesday. It's Oklahoma City's first trip to the Conference Finals since 2016. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. World news is important, but it can feel far away. Not on the State of the World podcast. Willman, NPR News.