NPR News: 05-20-2026 2PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Justice Department has formally indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch made the announcement at Miami's Freedom Tower just a short time ago.
Today, we are announcing an indictment charging Raul Castro and several others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
What are the details of the indictment against Raul Castro?
NPR's Ada Peralta reports the charges stem from Castro's alleged involvement in the downing of two American planes in 1996.
The two planes belonged to a group called Brothers to the Rescue, which used to fly over the streets of Florida, alerting the Coast Guard of Cuban migrants in trouble. On several occasions, the planes flew into Cuban airspace, dropping anti-government leaflets. In February of 1996, the Cuban Air Force shot down two Cessnas. The U.S. claims then-Defense Minister Raul Castro ordered the shooting. Michael Bustamante studies Cuba at the University of Miami, and he says this is bigger than historical justice. The indictment is part of a broader U.S. move to pressure the Cuban government to change.
It also sets the table ostensibly for the thing that the administration lacked. If they ever did want to escalate to military action, which was a pretext to do so.
In January, the U.S. used the indictment of Nicolas Maduro to remove him from office in Venezuela. Eder Peralta, NPR News, Miami.
A former Trump administration official has filed the first known claim under the Justice Department's new $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund. Michael Caputo says he was targeted for political retaliation and is seeking $2.7 million in restitution and reimbursement. The fund was created to compensate individuals who claimed they were unfairly targeted by the federal government. The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda has likely sickened at least 600 people. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports more than 130 people have died from the virus.
This Ebola outbreak is already the third largest on record, despite only being declared last Friday. At a press conference on Wednesday, WHO officials said that given the scale, the outbreak likely started a couple months ago and was spreading undetected. Here's WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. WHO assists the risk of the epidemic as the high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level. The kind of Ebola that's spreading is rare and existing field tests often miss it. There are also no approved treatments or vaccines. WHO officials said that while there are a couple vaccine candidates that might be tested, they won't be ready for that testing for months. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.
On Wall Street, the Dow was up 538 points. This is NPR News. Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank has died at the age of 86. Frank was one of the first openly gay members of Congress and helped shape the landmark Dodd-Frank financial reform law after the 2008 financial crisis. Parts of the West Coast are in the midst of a record-breaking marine heat wave. NPR's Nate Rott reports the effects of the heat are washing up on California's coasts.
Beach surveys are conducted the first week of every month in Southern California. Volunteers and scientists like Tammy Russell walk sandy beaches looking for bodies.
There's another common myrrh.
Russell is an ornithologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. And she says for months they've been seeing a spike in dead seabirds.
This one is pretty new.
Hormorants, myrrhs, grebes, pelicans.
It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
Temperatures have been 3 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal along most of the California coast since winter, disrupting food webs. And with an El Nino likely in the months ahead, more heat may be on the horizon. Nate Rott, NPR News.
The NAACP is calling on black athletes and fans to boycott major college athletic programs in several southern states over voting rights concerns. A new campaign is targeting public universities and states redrawing congressional maps after a recent Supreme Court ruling weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.
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