NPR News

FILE - CIA Director John Ratcliffe, accompanied by President Donald Trump, speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, April 6, 2026.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Raul Castro's grandson in Havana, US and Cuban officials say

The Associated Press

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raúl Castro's grandson during a high-level visit to the island Thursday, Cuban and U.S. officials said.

Pope Leo XIV, accompanied by, from left, Prefect of the Pontifical Household Archbishop Petar Rajič, Dean Antonella Polimeni, and his vicar for the city of Rome Cardinal Baldo Reina, visits the Città Universitaria (University City) at Sapienza University of Rome to meet with faculty and students at the institution's primary campus, one of the world's oldest and largest universities, Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Pope decries rise of AI-directed warfare, saying it leads to a spiral of annihilation

The Associated Press

Pope Leo XIV denounced how investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weaponry were leading the world into a "spiral of annihilation," as he called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Map showing where a vessel was seized off the UAE coast.

Tensions flare near Strait of Hormuz as a ship is seized and another is sunk

The Associated Press

Tensions are escalating again near the Strait of Hormuz after a ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and taken toward Iran and another was attacked and sank near the coast of Oman.

Officials in the Salmon River Central School District in Fort Covington, New York, have acknowledged that wooden boxes were constructed and used to confine elementary school children, including Native children, with disabilities. The practice was ended in December 2025 after these images, confirmed as authentic by school officials, circulated on social media. In a new report, New York's state has ordered sweeping reforms at the public school.

Native kids with disabilities were held in wooden boxes. Sweeping reforms are coming

Brian Mann

State officials in New York say the Salmon River district's special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren't notified.

Abortion-rights activists protested outside of the Supreme Court in March 2024, when the overall FDA authorization of the abortion pill mifepristone was challenged. It remained available after that case.

The Supreme Court keeps abortion pill mifepristone available by telehealth

Selena Simmons-Duffin

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the abortion pill mifepristone can continue to be prescribed online or over the phone and sent through the mail.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon fields questions Thursday from members of Congress about the dismantling of her agency, student loans and other issues.

Linda McMahon defends dismantling the Education Department, shifting its work

Cory Turner

The education secretary faced questions about the shrinking of her agency, limits on federal student loan borrowing and oversight of the education of students with disabilities.

People look at a barricade set up by residents protesting against prolonged power outages in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday.

Cuba's power grid collapses and plunges eastern provinces into a major blackout

The Associated Press

Cuba's aging power grid has eroded in recent years as it faces a prolonged economic crisis, made worse by a U.S. energy blockade of the island.

Michael Jackson's biopic has pushed his music up the Billboard charts

Stephen Thompson

The commercial impact of the Michael Jackson biopic Michael is reaching well beyond the global box office.

Samya Stumo in an undated handout photo provided by the Stumo family. Stumo was killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019.

Jury orders Boeing to pay $49.5 million to family of 737 MAX crash victim

Joel Rose

A federal jury in Chicago awarded $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a young woman who was killed in the second of two Boeing 737 MAX crashes within months of each other in 2018 and 2019.

Shakira is often referred to as the unofficial queen of World Cup anthems.

Shakira, Madonna and BTS will headline World Cup final halftime show

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

For the first time ever, the final match will feature a halftime performance of three acts capturing this year's global spotlight.