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First FDA-cleared Alzheimer's blood test could make diagnoses faster, more accurate

The first Alzheimer

The first Alzheimer's blood test cleared by the Food And Drug Administration is poised to change the way doctors diagnose and treat the disease.

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'Which is it?' RFK Jr. waffles on cuts to lead poisoning prevention efforts

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, May 20 in Washington, DC.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions from senators about a lead poisoning crisis in public schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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U.S. Ambassador Huckabee is 'outraged' at European leaders for condemning Israel

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sits for an interview with NPR on Wednesday.

In an interview with NPR, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the U.K., Canada and France were "blaming the wrong perpetrator," and that Hamas is responsible for the suffering in Gaza.

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Why Baptists in North Carolina agreed to resettle Afrikaners as refugees

Afrikaner refugees from South Africa arrive, Monday, May 12, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va.

Despite controversy over Afrikaners' refugee status, a Baptist ministry says they have a religious duty to help settle them in the U.S.

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A salmonella outbreak sickens dozens, prompting a cucumber recall. Here's what to do

The FDA is warning people not to sell, serve or eat cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales between April 29 and May 19.

The FDA says 26 people, nine of whom were hospitalized, have gotten sick across 15 states. It is still figuring out where the cucumbers were distributed — and warning people to take extra precautions.

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What happens when artificial intelligence quietly reshapes our lives?

New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill explains how AI is being integrated into our lives, impacting education and daily decisions, and how this could define the future of privacy and human connection.

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Trump administration defends flight of migrants to third countries

A U.S. Air force flight carrying migrants deported by the US government arrives at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport in January 2025 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

A federal judge in Massachusetts had earlier ordered the Department of Homeland Security to keep custody of migrants sent to South Sudan, or any third country, until he can verify they received proper due process.

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The 'tush push' lives on. NFL teams vote to keep the controversial play

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores a touchdown on a tush push during Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs in February.

The effort to ban the play has faced pushback from teams that regularly employ it, perhaps none more successfully than the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Trump administration dismisses police investigations in several cities, including Minneapolis

A Minneapolis Police cruiser drives by as people demonstrate outside the Hennepin County Government Center on March 9, 2021 in Minneapolis.

The decision reverses course on the use of consent decrees to ensure accountability of law enforcement agencies. It comes days before the anniversary of George Floyd's murder by a police officer.

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Chicago Mayor calls DOJ probe the Trump administration's latest diversity attack

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson calls the DOJ probe into cityhall hiring the Trump administration

The Department of Justice has launched a probe into the city of Chicago's hiring practices in what Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson has quickly labeled the latest hostile attack on diversity by the Trump administration.

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Retailers feel pressure to eat the price increases from tariffs

Target on Wednesday became the latest retailer to lower its financial forecast for the year. It downplayed its plans for tariff-related price hikes.

From Target to Walmart, retailers are fighting two battles at once: a financial battle to keep costs low in the face of new tariffs, and a political one to avoid the president's wrath.

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Greetings from Afrin, Syria, where Kurds danced their hearts out to celebrate spring

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share moments from their lives and work around the world.

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A brain-dead woman's pregnancy raises questions about Georgia's abortion law

Adriana Smith remains on life-support at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

A Georgia woman declared brain dead is being kept on life support because she is pregnant. It raises complicated legal questions about restrictive abortion laws in Georgia and other states.

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South African president visits the U.S. And, GOP divided over Trump's tax bill

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (R), departs a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump joined conservative House lawmakers to help push through their budget bill after it advanced through the House Budget Committee on Sunday evening.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to meet President Trump today in an attempt to reset relations between the two countries. And, House Republicans are divided over Trump's massive bill.

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These students protested the Gaza war. Trump's deportation threat didn't silence them

F is an international student studying in New York City.

NPR spoke with two international students about their decision to continue speaking out despite the government's aggressive effort to deport pro-Palestinian activists.

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Real estate agent commissions too high? Flat-fee brokers offer an alternative

Jim Xiao paid an agent a flat $10,000 fee to help him buy a home in Evans, Ga., last year. Here, Xiao and his children play soccer at their new home.

Agents have typically taken a commission on the sale of a home that totals 5% to 6% of the price. But new rules have created an opening for brokers who charge much less.

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These 7 executive actions show how Trump wants to reshape American history

The Smithsonian Institution Building on the National Mall is seen on March 28 in Washington, D.C. The organization is the target of an order from President Donald Trump that seeks to restore "truth and sanity to American history."

President Trump wants to reframe how the country's stories are told. But historians are pushing back, saying the administration's actions amount to an attack on core institutions — and on history itself.

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Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn't warning the public like it was months ago

People participate in a candlelight vigil in front of the main offices of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta on March 28, days before thousands of CDC employees were laid off.

Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

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'Nihilism' is in the news. What's behind this 'nothing' philosophy?

The damaged front of the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic stands following a bomb blast on May 17 in Palm Springs, California. A suspected bomber is believed to have post a manifesto to social media before the explosion.

The weekend bombing of a Palm Springs, Calif., fertility clinic has cast a fresh spotlight on a 19th century philosophy linked to Russian revolutionaries. What does "nihilism" mean?

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The great battery race: China and the U.S. compete over the future of EVs

An employee holds a full-size prototype LMR battery cell at the General Motors Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center. GM has prototyped approximately 300 full-size LMR cells as it worked with LG Energy Solution to crack the code on the chemistry.

The car you drive years in the future might run off a battery being invented in a lab today. Companies in China and the United States are racing to perfect and scale up next-generation technologies.

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A man let snakes bite him for years. He could be the key to a universal antivenom

The Egyptian cobra (<!-- raw HTML omitted -->Naja haje<!-- raw HTML omitted -->) is a lethal venomous snake native to Africa. Its bite is one of multiple that could be treated with a new universal antivenom... developed from a human named Tim Friede.

What's it like to get bit by a venomous snake? "It's like a bee sting times a thousand," Tim Friede says. Tim would know. Over the past few decades, he's let himself be bitten over 200 times by all kinds of venomous snakes — black mambas, taipans, cobras, kraits and more. With time, he's gradually built immunity to multiple types of venom. Could scientists help him share that immunity with others?

Science reporter Ari Daniel joins Short Wave to explain how antivenom works, what scientists discovered and where the research may lead. Plus, what does Tim Friede have in common with Princess Bride?

Want to hear about more medical discoveries? Email us at shortwave@nprg.org to tell us what areas of science you'd be interested in.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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South Africa's president heads to the White House. Can he charm Trump?

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to journalists during the eighth EU-South Africa summit in Cape Town, South Africa, in March.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa heads to the White House today for conciliatory talks with one of his country's most persistent critics: President Trump.

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Japan's agriculture minister resigns after his remark about not buying rice

Japan

Japan's agriculture minister resigned Wednesday because of political fallout over recent comments that he "never had to buy rice" because he got it from supporters as gifts.

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The personal secretary and adviser to Mexico City's mayor are shot dead

Crime scene investigators work at the site where the personal secretary and an advisor to Mexico City

Mexico's president condemned the killings and said there would not be impunity. She said she was not aware of any threats against the mayor.

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U.K. suspends free trade talks with Israel and announces sanctions

Britain

Pressure from close allies is mounting on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza. Even the United States has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.

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12,000 chicks found abandoned in postal truck raise concerns about animal shipping

Chicks mill around a stall at the First State Animal Center and SPCA on Friday in Camden, Del. They are among 12,000 chicks that were left abandoned in a U.S. Postal Service truck for three days.

A Delaware animal shelter is working to find new homes for 8,000 surviving chicks that were left abandoned in a U.S. Postal Service truck for three days. Another 4,000 of the animals died.

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Blue Land of Enchantment Lures Unhappy Texans

A view of Santa Fe from the Cross of the Martyrs monument in Santa Fe, New Mexico. So many Texans have fled to New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment has quietly become a blue refuge in the MAGA red West for Americans who are fleeing extreme conservative strongholds.

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In Florida, Venezuelans worry about the potential loss of temporary protected status

The U.S. Supreme Court order ending temporary protected status — TPS — worries Florida

When the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday the Trump administration could strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans while litigation continues in the lower courts, the move sent shockwaves.

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'Heart Lamp' wins International Booker, with stories of India's Muslim women and girls

Author Banu Mushtaq (left) and translator Deepa Bhasthi won this year

The major writing prize awards the best fiction translated into English. Judges called Banu Mushtaq's short story collection"something genuinely new for English readers."

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Attorneys ask court to block alleged DHS move to deport migrants to South Sudan

A United States Air Force Boeing C-17 used for deportation flights is pictured at Biggs Army Airfield in Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas on February 13, 2025.

Immigration attorneys have asked a Massachusetts federal judge to block a Trump administration move to deport migrants — including nationals from Myanmar and Vietnam — to South Sudan or other third countries.

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