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2 Israeli Embassy staff are killed in a shooting in Washington, D.C., officials say

In this image taken from video provided by WJLA, a spectator watches as law enforcement works the scene after two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

As attendees departed an event held by a Jewish advocacy organization in D.C. on Wednesday night, a shooter opened fire, killing two. Later, he chanted "free Palestine," D.C. police officials said.

(Image credit: WJLA)

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Trump tried to shutter Radio Free Europe. The EU threw it a lifeline

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas attends the EU-Ukraine Association Council at the European Council building in Brussels  April 9, 2025.

EU officials say the broadcaster for years has played an important role providing news to areas where the press can't operate freely

(Image credit: Omar Havana)

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Here's what's in the GOP megabill that's headed for a vote in the House

President Trump speaks alongside Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Trump was on hand to meet with House Republicans and rally support for his legislative agenda.

At the center of the sweeping bill is trillions in tax cuts, which Republicans aim to partially offset through changes to safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

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An Interview with President Trump's Ambassador to Israel

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

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says he's "outraged" at at the leaders of the UK, France, and Canada for condemning Israel's new military offensive in Gaza. He sat down with NPR to express the U.S. view of the conflict as pressure on Israel from around the world is mounting, not just for the new offensive in Gaza but also for restricting food aid to the territory.

For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates

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Southwest Airlines will require passengers to keep chargers visible due to fire risk

Southwest Airlines planes are seen at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in 2021. The airline is requiring passengers using portable chargers in-flight to make them visible to the crew.

This year, there have been at least 22 incidents involving lithium batteries in air travel, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

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Trump administration officially accepts jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One

A Qatari Boeing 747 sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International airport after President Trump toured the aircraft on Feb. 15. The U.S. has since accepted the luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family.

The plane is a gift that Trump said he would be "stupid" to turn down. Experts say the plane would take years to rework to meet the current standards for Air Force One.

(Image credit: Roberto Schmidt)

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A Jan. 6 rioter convicted of assaulting police scored a visit to the White House

Shane Jenkins, seen here in police bodycam footage from Jan. 6, 2021, was convicted of multiple charges in connection with the Capitol riot, including assaulting police. Months after receiving a pardon from President Trump, Jenkins visited the White House along with another former Jan. 6 defendant.

Two pardoned Jan. 6 rioters posted photos and videos of themselves visiting the White House. One of them was convicted of assaulting police and texted after the riot, "I have murder in my heart."

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The pros and cons of PSA tests for prostate cancer for midlife and older men

A blood test called a PSA can help screen men for prostate cancer but it can also lead to unnecessary treatment.

With Biden's prostate cancer in the news, men may be wondering whether and at what age to be screened. Advice about the value PSA tests has fluctuated. Here's what to know.

(Image credit: miodrag ignjatovic/E+)

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Former Kennedy Center president refutes Trump's critique of 'bad management'

President Donald Trump talks to the media in the Hall of Nations during a tour at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after leading a board meeting on March 17, 2025.

"I am deeply troubled by the false allegations regarding the management of the Kennedy Center," Deborah Rutter wrote in a statement.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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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.

(Image credit: Westend61)

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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.

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis)

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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.

(Image credit: Benny Doutsh for NPR)

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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.

(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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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.

(Image credit: Richard Hamilton Smith)

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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.

(Image credit: Jorge Salvador Cabrera)

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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.

(Image credit: Andy Lewis)

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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.

(Image credit: Stephen Maturen)

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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.

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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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.

(Image credit: Ted Shaffrey)

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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.

(Image credit: Brynn Anderson/AP)

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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.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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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.

(Image credit: Keren Carrión/NPR)

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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.

(Image credit: Jim Xiao)

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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.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

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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.

(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage)

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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?

(Image credit: David McNew)

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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.

(Image credit: Steve Fecht for General Motors)

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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.

(Image credit: Michele D'Amico)

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