NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-19-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump spent a chunk of today engaging in telephone diplomacy, having separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin

and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump's saying in terms of winding down Russia's war with Ukraine, holding talks at the Vatican could give them extra significance and help things along. Trump also acknowledged the leaders involved have to come to an agreement. Big ego's involved, I tell you. Big ego's involved.

But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going. Trump at one point called it a European situation. President declined to say what would prompt him to walk away from his efforts to broker an end to the war, but has indicated his frustration with both sides in the past. Authorities in Southern California continue their investigation into the car bomb that

badly damaged a fertility clinic in Palm Springs over the weekend, injuring four people. NPR's Jason DeRose reports police are now easing restrictions on evacuated areas. After more than 48 hours of strict road closures in a large area around the blast site, police in Palm Springs are allowing traffic to move more freely. A car bomb late Saturday morning nearly destroyed the American Reproductive Center's clinic here. The explosion sent debris flying and blew out windows in buildings for blocks around. Meanwhile, about an hour northeast of Palm Springs

in the town of 29 Palms, law enforcement is beginning to allow residents evacuated there to return home. The primary suspect in the bombing, Guy Edward Bartkis, died in the blast. He's associated with a home in 29 Palms that legal records show may belong to his mother. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Palm Springs, California.

Severe storms and tornadoes have killed more than two dozen people in the central U.S., at least 19 people in Kentucky alone. As survivors work to clean up the debris, more severe weather is in the forecast. Remember, station WEKU, Stan Engold reports. The days following the storm have been calm, allowing crews and survivors to continue working

on picking up the pieces of their homes and communities. That's about to change as the National Weather Service in Jackson, Kentucky is predicting more severe weather Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night. Chuck Greif is a senior meteorologist at the Jackson office. The tornado potential will be less than what we saw with the last system that went through there, but it is not zero and it probably will be a little higher than it normally is for these situations. Greif says they have enough staffing to cover events like this. For NPR News, I'm Stan Engold in Richmond, Kentucky.

National Weather Service's warning of more dangerous weather conditions in the days ahead with the risk of tornadoes from Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Stocks closed mostly higher on Wall Street today as investors mull over the latest sovereign debt downgrade and continue to look at how consumers could be affected by the Trump administration's tariffs. The Dow was up 137 points today. The Nasdaq rose 4 points. The S&P 500 was up 5 points.

You're listening to NPR. President Trump hosts the board of the Kennedy Center at the White House tonight, an indication of how much time Trump is apparently devoting to remaking one of the nation's premier cultural institutions. Tonight's meeting of the Center's Board of Trustees follows the firing of the board's previous members. An announcement Trump will serve as chair. The president has sought to mold the Kennedy Center in his own image with a different focus. CBS News Chief Wendy McMahon is resigning, saying she does not agree with corporate leadership on quote, the path forward.

As NPR's David Falkenflick reports, the company is in talks to settle President Trump's lawsuit over a 60-minute special. Trump sued the network last fall as a private citizen after it aired an interview with his rival, then Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS broadcast two versions of an answer she gave about the war in Gaza. A shorter one on Face the Nation and a longer one on 60 Minutes. Trump claimed that amounted to election fraud. Legal experts tell NPR that Trump has a weak case thanks to the First Amendment's free speech protections.

McMahon has opposed any settlement involving an apology. But CBS's owner is trying to complete a sale, one that requires the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, which is led by a Trump ally. David Folkenflick, NPR News. Vanishing species of whale appears to be giving birth to fewer babies, heightening concerns about the survivability of the animals. Scientists said the right whale continues to see its numbers fall. Current leads believe there are only about 370 of the whales left.

Right whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. coast. Authorities say they found this year only around 11 mother-calf pairs. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. Shakespeare and PR News in Washington.