Deadly Kentucky Storms, Supreme Court Ruling, European Presidential Elections

Summary

Up First from NPR: May 17, 2025

NPR’s Up First delivers the most important stories of the day in a concise, engaging format. In this episode, hosts Scott Simon and Ayesha Rascoe cover the devastating storms in Kentucky, a significant Supreme Court ruling on immigration, and pivotal presidential elections in Europe.

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Severe Kentucky Storms Leave Over 20 Dead

Timestamp: 00:02 – 04:38

The episode opens with grim reports of deadly storms and tornadoes wreaking havoc across several states, with Kentucky bearing the brunt of the devastation. Over 20 fatalities have been confirmed, primarily in Laurel County.

Karen Zar, correspondent from member station WUKY in Lexington, provides a comprehensive update:

"We are in Lexington, which is the central part of Kentucky, and it seems like south of us sustained the most damage. Officials in several counties say that they're going to have a better assessment of the scope of the damage as the sun comes up." (01:21)

The city of London, Kentucky, is highlighted as one of the hardest-hit areas, with mayor Randall Weddell stating:

"I'm hopeful that in those cases that they've been taken to the shelter or they've just not made contact yet." (02:23)

Zar describes the extensive damage with vivid imagery:

"There are areas where there used to be a neighborhood and there's nothing left but sticks. It is completely flat. The damage is devastating and it looks similar to what we saw in western Kentucky several years ago." (03:10)

The ongoing efforts involve rescue crews searching for survivors amidst the collapsed homes and buildings. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues its support, with recovery centers operational statewide to assist those affected by recent and past storms.

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Supreme Court Halts Trump Administration’s Deportation of Venezuelans

Timestamp: 04:43 – 09:09

The next major story delves into a significant Supreme Court decision impacting the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The Court has ruled that the administration cannot deport a group of Venezuelan immigrants while their cases are under judicial review.

Ximena Bastillo, NPR’s immigration reporter, explains:

"The Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction which extends the pause on deportations of Venezuelan immigrants in North Texas via the use of the Alien Enemies Act... The Supreme Court said in its Friday order that it meant to preserve its jurisdiction over the case while letting lower courts decide just how much notice should be given to people the government wants to quickly remove using this power." (05:13)

In response to the ruling, President Trump voiced strong opposition on his Truth Social platform:

"The Supreme Court will not allow us to get criminals out of our country." (06:21)

Trump criticized the Court, asserting that their decision impedes his administration’s efforts to enforce immigration laws swiftly. Bastillo highlights the administration's stance:

"He complained that the court is forcing his administration to go through what he called a long, protracted and expensive legal process to deport migrants in the country." (06:21)

Additionally, the Court's deliberations touched upon birthright citizenship, stemming from Trump’s executive order challenging the 14th Amendment. Justice Brett Kavanaugh notably questioned Department of Justice attorneys on the logistics of managing citizenship for children born in the U.S. to non-legal immigrants, revealing uncertainties within the administration:

"Conservative Brett Kavanaugh really questioned DOJ attorneys over exactly how the government was supposed to manage and oversee babies born without citizenship in the U.S. and government lawyers said they didn't know." (07:11)

The episode also covers ongoing tensions between the White House and federal judges, particularly regarding the treatment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man deported to El Salvador by error. Judge Polazzini has expressed frustration with the administration’s lack of transparency and cooperation:

"She simply just hasn't been given enough information to determine whether the government's efforts to free Abrego Garcia from El Salvador should be covered by national security concerns." (08:06)

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Pivotal Presidential Elections in Poland and Romania

Timestamp: 09:17 – 12:54

Shifting focus to European politics, the episode highlights crucial presidential elections scheduled for the following day in Poland and Romania. Both elections feature a contest between far-right candidates and pro-Western reformers, set against a backdrop of rising populist movements across the continent.

Rob Schmitz, NPR’s Central Europe correspondent based in Berlin, provides in-depth analysis:

Poland: Battle for Democratic Institutions

In Poland, the Law and Justice Party (PiS), known for its far-right stance and previous efforts to undermine democratic institutions, is poised for another showdown. Current President Andrzej Duda, an ally of PiS, is termed out, opening the field for new leadership.

"The Civic Coalition has a chance here to win the presidency because their candidate, Rafa Czkovsky, the mayor of Warsaw, has a commanding lead in the polls. Law and Justice's candidate, Carl Novrotsky is trailing by around 5%." (10:57)

However, with multiple candidates in the fray, a runoff election between the top contenders is anticipated in early June. Schmitz emphasizes the high stakes:

"This is one of the most important presidential elections in a generation... Poland's democracy could be in trouble if there isn't a president to check their power." (11:25)

Political analyst Andrzej Bobinski underscores the president's role as a guardian of the constitutional order:

"The president is super important as somebody who will be basically checking the next government." (11:29)

Romania: A Contested Race Amidst Foreign Influence

In Romania, the presidential race is equally contentious. The election follows a tumultuous previous cycle where a far-right pro-Kremlin candidate, Talim Gorgescu, was initially declared the winner before an annulment due to alleged Russian interference through social media manipulation.

This time, voters will choose between:

• George Simeon: A hard-right nationalist with affinities towards President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

• Nikoshor Dan: A pro-Western reformer and mayor of Bucharest, advocating for stronger ties with Western institutions.

"Given what happened last November, the outcome of this election could be unpredictable and full of controversy." (12:33)

Rob Schmitz notes the absence of a clear frontrunner in Romania, making the election particularly unpredictable and a focal point for European observers concerned about foreign influence and the balance between east and west.

"Many Europeans are nervously watching this one." (12:50)

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Looking Ahead

As the episode concludes, listeners are invited to tune in to the Sunday Story, which will explore the theme "The US on the path to authoritarianism". This segment promises insights from scholars and individuals who have experienced repressive regimes, drawing parallels with current political dynamics in the United States.

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Produced by Alaina Torrek with contributions from Danny Hensell, Martin Patience, and the NPR team.

For more updates and in-depth coverage, subscribe to Up First+ and support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Transcript

[Scott Simon]

Deadly storms and tornadoes tear through several states, leaving devastation in Kentucky.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

More than 20 people are reported to have been killed. I'm Ayesha Rasco.

[Scott Simon]

And I'm Scott Simon. And this is up first from NPR News.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

The Supreme Court says the Trump administration cannot deport a group of Venezuelans while their cases are being litigated in the courts.

[Scott Simon]

President Trump is trying to use a wartime law to deport the detainees who are accused of being gang members.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

And it's a big weekend for elections in Europe.

[Scott Simon]

Voters in both Poland and Romania head to the polls to elect new presidents. But what's at stake for the region.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. Severe storms and tornadoes swept through Kentucky, causing widespread devastation. Rescue crews are now searching for survivors after homes and buildings were torn apart.

[Scott Simon]

One of the worst affected areas was the city of London, Kentucky, where there are reports of multiple casualties. We're joined now by Karen Zar from member station wuky. Karen, thanks for being with us.

[Karen Zar]

Thank you for having me.

[Scott Simon]

What areas of your state seem to be hit worse?

[Karen Zar]

Well, we are in Lexington, which is the central part of Kentucky, and it seems like south of us sustained the most damage. Now, those reports were in the overnight. And as the sun comes up, officials in several counties say that they're going to have a better assessment of the scope of the damage. And as the storm was passing over the WUKY studios here in Lexington last night, we were under tornado watches and you could see the rotations on the radar. And then as the storm moved south, those watches quickly turned to warnings and weather spotters captured what appeared to be funnel clouds. And several local meteorologists confirmed tornadic activity. We, of course, are waiting on confirmation from the National Weather Service.

[Scott Simon]

And the death toll went up throughout the night. Laurel county, where most fatalities are reported.

[Karen Zar]

Yes. I spoke with London Mayor Randall Weddell. He said at least 23 people have died in the county and some are still unaccounted for.

[Randall Weddell]

I'm hopeful that in those cases that they've been took to the shelter or, you know, or they've just not made contact yet.

[Karen Zar]

There's also one reported fatality in Somerset where it appears a tornado or straight line winds cut through. Mayor Weddle and officials in Somerset are saying the best way everyone can help right now is by staying away from the area so that first responders can continue recovery efforts.

[Randall Weddell]

Right now, we are worried with human life and we are trying to ensure that there is no one in this debris that needs help. The roads are pretty much open and cleared. But right now, our main focus, rather than any tree laying on the road, our main focus is to make sure that no one is laying in this debris.

[Scott Simon]

Karen, what kind of damage have you seen?

[Karen Zar]

Several videos came in, one in particular where a father and son in Somerset filming the storm. And it was pitch black. But as the lightning, you could see what appeared to be a funnel cloud touching down and they, of course, quickly went inside. Mayor Weddell has sent photos and there are areas where there used to be a neighborhood and there's nothing left but sticks. It is completely flat. He says the damage is devastating and it looks similar to what we saw in western Kentucky several years ago.

[Scott Simon]

Some of the areas that were hit by flooding just last month also affected.

[Karen Zar]

By last night's storms, we are still gathering reports. And again, in areas where the destruction wasn't as severe or widespread, officials say we won't know the extent of the damage until they're able to do surveys by the light of day. And as you mentioned, dozens of Kentucky counties were affected by storms in April, but we also saw storms in February. So FEMA has been on the ground in Kentucky for several months. That is going to be an incredible asset for us because currently we have recovery centers open across the state helping people who were affected by those storms so that they can apply for individual assistance. Ironically, just a week ago, 24 more counties were added to the list approved for individual assistance.

[Scott Simon]

WKY's Karen Zar, thanks so much.

[Karen Zar]

Thank you.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

President Trump is taking a sweeping approach when it comes to immigration policy. He wants to speed up arrests and.

[Scott Simon]

Deportations, but the president is facing legal resistance at the highest level, the U.S. supreme Court. NPR immigration reporter Ximena Bastillo has been covering those legal challenges and joins us. Ximena, thanks for being with us.

[Ximena Bastillo]

Good morning.

[Scott Simon]

Yesterday, the court issued its latest order on Trump's immigration policies. This is related to the Alien Enemies Act. What did they say?

[Ximena Bastillo]

The Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction which extends the pause on deportations of Venezuelan immigrants in North Texas via the use of the Alien Enemies Act. Earlier this year, Trump invoked that rarely used wartime power in order to streamline deportations. But the Supreme Court had already ruled that the government has to give immigrants a chance to contest their deportations under this act. Lawyers on behalf of Venezuelans held at a Texas detention facility moved to quickly stop their clients removals when they learned that they had only received hours notice that they were about to be removed using the Alien Enemies Act. The Supreme Court said in its Friday order that it meant to preserve its jurisdiction over the case while letting lower courts decide just how much notice should be given to people the government wants to quickly remove using this power. But the court did not directly address the larger question of whether Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies act at all was legal.

[Scott Simon]

The Trump administration has criticized federal judges who've taken steps to block its policies. Presidents even called for their impeachment. How did he respond to this latest order?

[Ximena Bastillo]

In a post to his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said, quote, the Supreme Court will not allow us to get criminals out of our country, end quote. And one of the biggest, strongest rebukes of the Supreme Court. Specifically, Trump explicitly said that he believes that the court is not allowing him to do what he was elected to do on immigration. He complained that the court is forcing his administration to go through what he called a long, protracted and expensive legal process to deport migrants in the country. But the decision from the Supreme Court shows that they think it's not that simple. The justices point out that once detainees are placed into custody of another, government officials tell the court that the courts can't provide any relief if there are errors.

[Scott Simon]

Justices also heard arguments related to questions about birthright citizenship. How did these play out?

[Ximena Bastillo]

On his first day in office, you might remember, Trump issued an executive order to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, stating that being born in the US does not guarantee automatic citizenship if your parents do not have legal status or are here on a temporary basis. Most of the Supreme Court arguments focused on whether judges should be allowed to issue universal injunctions and broadly stop a president's policies. But the bigger stakes of Trump's immigration plans are not lost on the court. During oral arguments, conservative Brett Kavanaugh really questioned DOJ attorneys over exactly how the government was supposed to manage and oversee babies born without citizenship in the U.S. and government lawyers said they didn't know.

[Scott Simon]

Elsewhere, Ximena the White House is putting off complying with the orders of two federal judges on big immigration cases. One of those judges again took the administration to task yesterday. Please tell us.

[Ximena Bastillo]

Well, Maryland federal judge Polazzini's increasingly is growing exasperated by the government's efforts to not provide information on whether it is facilitating the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia is a man who lived in Maryland and was deported to El Salvador by error. And the administration has said that this was an administrative error. Zinis has asked the government to explain exactly what steps it has taken, but she says that the government continues to stonewall in, quote, bad faith. And it's been more than a month since even the Supreme Court agreed with Zinis that the government needs to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return in a hearing. Also on Friday, a Justice Department lawyer tried invoking a state secrets privilege to withhold information on these steps. But Judge Zinis is skeptical of that argument, saying she simply just hasn't been given enough information to determine whether the government's efforts to free Abrego Garcia from El Salvador should be covered by national security concerns.

[Scott Simon]

And here's Jimena Bastillo. Thanks so much.

[Ximena Bastillo]

Thanks, Scott.

[Scott Simon]

Poland and Romania hold presidential elections tomorrow.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Both votes feature far right politicians standing against more pro Western candidates. It comes amid a surge in support for populist parties across the continent.

[Scott Simon]

NPR Central Europe correspondent Rob Schmitz joins us now from Berlin. Rob, thanks for being with us.

[Rob Schmitz]

Thanks for having me, Scott.

[Scott Simon]

Let's begin in Poland, please. The far right Law and Justice Party, which had chipped away at the country's democratic institutions for years, lost control of parliament a couple of years ago. So how does this presidential race figure into all this?

[Rob Schmitz]

Yeah. So in autumn of 2023, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition had a surprise victory over the Law and Justice Party. But since then, Tusk's coalition has had a very difficult time undoing some of the damage that Law and Justice had done, especially on the country's judiciary. And that's because each time they've tried to pass new laws that aim to restore the courts, outgoing President Andrzej Duda, an ally of Law and Justice, has vetoed them, effectively becoming a barrier to Tusk's agenda. But now Duda is termed out as president, and the Civic Coalition has a chance here to win the presidency because their candidate, Rafa Czkovsky, the mayor of Warsaw, has a commanding lead in the polls. Law and Justice's candidate, Carl Novrotsky is trailing by around 5%. But because there are several other candidates in this election, we likely won't see any single candidate get a majority tomorrow. So it'll likely head to a runoff between two of the leading candidates in early June.

[Scott Simon]

And why are political analysts calling this one of the most important presidential elections in a generation?

[Rob Schmitz]

Well, one reason is that we're seeing another resurgence, Scott, in this part of Europe of the far right. And even in Poland, the Law and Justice Party is gaining ground again, which makes analysts think that they could win the next parliamentary election in 2027 and that if there isn't a president to check their power. These observers say Poland's democracy could be in trouble. Here's political analyst Andrzej Bobinski then the president is super important as somebody who.

[Karen Zar]

Will be basically checking the next government.

[Rob Schmitz]

And will be an important safeguard of the constitutional order.

[Scott Simon]

Rob, let's move on to Romania. Voters there cast ballots tomorrow in the second round of their presidential election. What should we know?

[Rob Schmitz]

Well, since we're talking about the resurgence of the far right in Europe, Romania is a good example of that. Last November, a relative unknown far right pro Kremlin candidate Talim Gorgescu, surprised, surprisingly won. But a judge later annulled the election after state intelligence revealed that Russia had been involved in setting up almost 800 TikTok accounts supporting him having undue influence over the electorate. Russia has denied these accusations. So now Romanian voters will decide between two candidates, a hard right nationalist who's a fan of President Trump and Vladimir Putin. His name is George Simeon and a pro Western reformer, Nikoshor Dan, who's also the mayor of Bucharest, Romania's capital. Political analysts are framing this election as one of east versus West.

[Scott Simon]

And is there a clear frontrunner?

[Rob Schmitz]

Well, unlike the Polish election, there is not a clear front runner in the Romanian election. The polls are all over the place, and given what happened last November, the outcome of this election could be unpredictable and full of controversy. Many Europeans are nervously watching this one.

[Scott Simon]

NPR Central Europe correspondent Rob Schmitz. Thanks so much for being with us.

[Rob Schmitz]

Thanks for having me.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

And that's up first for Saturday, May 17, 2025. I'm Ayesha Rascoe.

[Scott Simon]

And I'm Scott Simon.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Alaina Torrek produced today's episode with help from Danny Hensell.

[Scott Simon]

Our editor is Martin Patience, and he had help from Jacob Fenston, Nick Spicer and Ed McNulty.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Michael Radcliffe is our director, with support from technical director Andy Huether and engineers David Greenberg and Arthur Holiday Laurent.

[Scott Simon]

Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes. E.B. stone is our executive producer and Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Tomorrow on the Sunday story is the US on the path to authoritarianism. Hundreds of scholars believe that the country's liberal democracy is under assault. Tune in to hear the voices of those who fled repressive regimes and found sanctuary in the US Only for the Trump administration's tactics to remind them of home.

[Scott Simon]

And for more news, interviews, sports and music, you can tune in to WEEKEND EDITION on your radio Saturday and Sunday. Go to stations.NPR.org to find your local NPR station.

[Alaina Torrek]

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