Joe Biden cancer diagnosis and California fertility center bombing suspect: Morning Rundown

NBC News

19-05-2025

Biden is diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The House Budget Committee advance its bill for Trump's agenda. And New Yorkers react to a Mexican navy ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge.
Here's what to know today.
Biden considering his treatment options after prostate cancer diagnosis
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, his personal office announced. Biden was screened after 'experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,' according to a statement from his personal office, and was diagnosed on Friday.
The cancer was 'characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,' meaning that the cancer is likelier than others to grow and spread. The statement goes on to say that the cancer appears to be 'hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.'
Biden and his family are meeting with doctors and considering 'multiple treatment options,' including hormone treatment, a source said.
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President Donald Trump and said he and first lady Melania Trump were 'saddened to hear about' Biden's diagnosis. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama also wished him a quick recovery.
At 82, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. His run in the 2024 election for a second term as president has stoked deep divisions in the Democratic Party over whether a campaign at his age helped contribute to Trump's win. Last week, audio released of a special counsel's interview with Biden confirmed memory lapses that White House officials denied at the time.
Prostate cancer is common in older men, and it is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, according to the American Cancer Society. However, most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die of it. Dr. Chris George, a prostate cancer specialist at Northwestern Medicine who is not involved with Biden's case, said that if Biden responds to treatment, he could live for several more years.
House committee advances Trump agenda bill
Speaker Mike Johnson's self-imposed goal of passing a bill for President Donald Trump's agenda through the House by Memorial Day might be back on track after the House Budget Committee voted last night to advance the multitrillion-dollar package. The 17-16 vote along party lines comes two days after a group of conservatives voted to reject the bill.
The package includes a major spending increase for immigration enforcement and the military, extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts and includes a series of cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and clean energy funding.
But before the package passes the House, it still needs changes. Even then, the Senate has indicated they won't pass the bill as it is without major changes. Read the full story here.
More politics news:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer are among the few who Trump has given multiple jobs — as many as four at the same time. Congressional Democrats have a guess as to why this is happening.
Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized Trump's approach to tariffs and several foreign policy initiatives in a 'Meet the Press' interview with moderator Kristen Welker.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on 'Meet the Press' that Moody's U.S. credit downgrade was a 'lagging indicator' related to the Biden administration's spending policies.
Bombing suspect's social media posts hint at his ideologies
The suspect in a car bombing on Saturday outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, was identified as a 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus, who died in the blast, authorities said. The blast at American Reproductive Centers, which the FBI deemed an act of terrorism, caused damage to multiple buildings and businesses within a 250-yard radius. Four other people were injured.
Investigators believe the suspect was driven by an anti-natalist ideology, defined as the belief that no one should have children. , Investigators said social media posts made by the suspect, including a 30-minute audio recording, reflected such views. Authorities said at a press conference yesterday that they believe the suspect was attempting to livestream the attack, and they're looking into what they call a 'manifesto.' Here's what else we know.
New Jersey Transit strike comes to an end
New Jersey Transit trains will resume their regular schedules tomorrow, closing out a short-lived transit strike that brought the nation's third-largest transit system to a halt. The tentative deal between NJ Transit managers and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen was announced yesterday afternoon. Gov. Phil Murphy lauded the agreement, which he called 'both fair to NJ Transit's employees while also being affordable for our state's commuters and taxpayers.'
NJ President and CEO Kris Kolluri urged commuters to work from home today until full service picks up again, explaining the company has a lot to do to make sure the railway is safe to use. Read the full story here.
Read All About It
At least 28 people have died in severe weather that swept through parts of the Midwest and the South, with Missouri and Kentucky suffering the worst of it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country's military was 'moving toward full control' of Gaza as its intensifying air strikes and ground operation there killed dozens more people overnight.
The WNBA said it is investigating 'hateful fan comments' made during the Indiana Fever's win against the Chicago Sky as rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese faced off on the court.
Louisiana authorities expressed confidence they would capture the seven of 10 New Orleans inmates who remain at large after their escape from jail last week.
The FDA has been tasked with conducting a safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone, but the 'alarming' report cited by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amounts to junk science, researchers who study reproductive health said.
Staff Pick: How New Yorkers reacted to the collision at the Brooklyn Bridge
The videos and images of a Mexican navy ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, an incident in which two people died and more than a dozen others were injured, were nothing short of surprising. And even the most hardened New Yorkers were stunned. 'I thought it was a movie,' said a nearby resident whose son called for him to look out the window on the night of the crash. A woman who went to see the ship the next day said she thought videos she saw of the crash were an AI-generated fabrication. — Elizabeth Robinson,
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