NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: May 19, 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. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The House Budget Committee advanced President Trump's budget bill to the full house Sunday night. GOP Congressman Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania had voted no to the bill on Friday but now says he's confident the measure will become law. People are confident that these things will be resolved and

we'll get this bill, this big beautiful bill to the president and we'll make it a reality in the lives of the American people. The bill however may face some stiff hurdles. House Democrats are united against the measure and some conservative Republicans say they want more spending cuts along with the work requirement for Medicaid before offering their support.

President Trump will be working the phones Monday as he hopes to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine which is now in its fourth year. Trump is scheduled to speak with leaders from Russia, Ukraine and NATO. NPR's Charles Maynes reports. The phone calls come in the wake of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, Turkey on Friday, their first direct negotiations since the early days of the war. That led to an agreement for a mass prisoner swap, but fell short of Western demands Russia join Ukraine in signing on to an immediate 30-day ceasefire.

Instead, Russia has kept up the military pressure, launching mass drone attacks over the weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also signaling that may not change. In an interview on state television, he insisted Russia maintain the means to meet its military objectives and see the war through to what he called its logical conclusion. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow. Former President Joe Biden's office

says he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer and the cancer has spread into his bones. While the cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, doctors say the cancer is hormone sensitive, which allows for more effective management. Doctors discovered the cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, doctors say the cancer is hormone sensitive which allows for more effective management. Doctors discovered the cancer on Friday after the 82-year-old had reported urinary issues. Law enforcement officials have named a suspect in the bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, Saturday and pairs Jason DeRose as the latest. The FBI says it's fairly confident 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus is behind the explosion

that badly damaged American Reproductive Center's clinic. Akil Davis is assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office. The subject had nihilistic ideations and this was a targeted attack against the IDF facility. Make no mistake, we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism. The blast was powerful. It blew out windows in neighboring buildings. Debris is strewn across the five-lane street

where the IVF clinic is located, as well as for blocks around. Investigators are combing streets, yards, and parking lots nearby, looking for additional evidence. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Palm Springs, California. Officials in Fremont, Ohio say two people have been killed after a number of pedestrians were hit by a train there. One other person is missing.

Emergency crews are now searching the Sandusky River near the site of the crash. The accident happened around 7 p.m. on Sunday. This is NPR News. A liberal former member of the European Parliament has narrowly won the first round in Poland's presidential election. As Terry Schiltz reports, there will now be a runoff election on June 1st. Rafał Czaskowski did worse than polls predicted but managed to squeeze out a victory over his nationalist rival Karl Nabrowski to head into the second round of presidential voting. Two other far-right candidates garnered more than 20% of the vote

combined, so if they throw their weight behind Navrowski, it makes the next round even more daunting for Toskowski. He's the mayor of Warsaw and a member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform Party, who promises to roll back the conservative laws of the previous government. That hasn't been possible for Prime Minister Tusk without going President Andrzej Duda in office because the Polish president can block laws. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. A suicide bomber in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu killed at least 10 people and wounded 21 others. Officials say the bomber was targeting a group of young recruits waiting to register at a military camp. No group has claimed responsibility,

but the area has been frequently targeted by the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabaab extremist group. The Warner Brothers flick Final Destination Bloodlines grabbed first place this weekend in North American theaters with 51 million dollars in ticket sales. Disney's Thunderbolts, meanwhile, took the second spot with 16 and a half million dollars in sales. The big weekend for Hollywood, though, is next week, which will see the release of potential blockbusters Mission Impossible 8 and Lilo and Stitch. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.