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Today’s top stories
Two staff members of Israel’s embassy in Washington, D.C., were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum last night, according to police. Police say the suspect chanted “free, free Palestine” after being detained. The victims were named by the embassy as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
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. WJLA/AP hide caption
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WJLA/AP
- 🎧 NPR’s Becky Sullivan tells Up First that American and Israeli politicians have condemned the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the shooting on rising antisemitism and incitement against Israel. Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, said the couple was about to be engaged and the man bought the ring this week with plans to propose next week in Jerusalem. Police have tentatively identified the shooter as Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old from Chicago. The FBI says they are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime and act of terrorism.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, a trickle of aid has entered the enclave after Israel’s nearly three-month-long total blockade of everything from food to medicine. The UN says it hasn’t reached those in need.
- 🎧 In his first press conference with Israeli journalists in five months, Netanyahu defended expanding the war, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi reports. He stated that his plan is to push all of northern Gaza into an area to the south. The south is almost entirely destroyed and has very few resources. Netanyahu said he would be willing to end the war under the conditions that the hostages come home, Hamas lays down its arms, and President Trump’s plan is implemented. Trump’s proposal is to fully displace Palestinians from Gaza. In a statement, Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s pledge to Trump’s plan, saying it undermined Washington’s role as a “mediator.”
House Republicans passed a massive bill, which was updated yesterday in the hopes of advancing much of Trump’s domestic agenda by the end of the week. The bill, if passed by the Senate, would extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts before they expire at the end of the year and looks to make good on some of his big campaign promises, like no taxes on tips or overtime. The sweeping legislation is over 1,000 pages long. Here’s a brief look at the latest version.
- 🎧 Tweaks were made to the bill to win over holdouts, including moving up new work requirements for Medicaid to next year, NPR’s Claudia Grisales says. The holdouts stalled the momentum of the plan due to concerns it could add trillions to the U.S. deficit. The plan still has a long way to go as Senate Republicans have raised concerns about it. Grisales says they have made it clear they plan to make a lot of changes to the House bill.
The Justice Department is stepping back from its cases against police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky., reversing its previous stance on utilizing consent decrees to promote accountability within law enforcement agencies. This decision comes just days before the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota nearly five years ago at the hands of Derek Chauvin, a white police officer.
Picture show
Illustrations © 2025 by Daniel Salmieri and Sophia Haas / Rocky Pond Books Illustrations © 2025 by Daniel Salmieri and Sophia Haas / Rocky Pond Books/SOURCE TK hide caption
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Illustrations © 2025 by Daniel Salmieri and Sophia Haas / Rocky Pond Books/SOURCE TK
Next to Me is a children’s book about the simple pleasure of a child and a mom’s walk home from school and the things that are noticed along the way. When Dragons Love Tacos illustrator Daniel Salmieri and artist Sophia Haas became parents, they noticed that they were noticing more. The concept inspired their first kids’ book together. The book is bright, happy-looking and has a lot of texture included. Salmieri painted some of the paper to look like concrete for the city scenes, and Haas pulled from her work with marbling and natural dyes. Take a look at some of the images from the book here.
Deep dive
People participate in a candlelight vigil in front of the main offices of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta on March 28. On Thursday HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs across the agency. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption
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Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
An NPR analysis found that since Trump assumed power in January, many of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent. Health alerts regarding disease outbreaks have not been sent out since March. Additionally, the CDC’s primary social media channels are now under the control of the Department of Health and Human Services, and most of these channels have gone over a month without sharing new content. Here’s what else the analysis found:
- ➡️ Since HHS approval was instituted as a requirement for posting, almost no newsletters have been sent to tens of thousands of people who subscribe to them. The last update was sent out on March 18, despite outbreaks of salmonella and listeria being acknowledged this month on the CDC’s website.
- ➡️ Two CDC employees informed NPR that less than half of the public health posts they’ve sent to HHS for approval have been cleared for publication on social media. This includes posts that include basic information on recent disease outbreaks.
- ➡️ When CDC publications have gone out, some have been delayed or have had missing information. A recent release regarding the prevalence of HIV in the U.S. included a caution that it “does not include data on PrEP coverage.”
3 things to know before you go
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. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America hide caption
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America
- Starting May 28, Southwest Airlines will require passengers to keep battery packs and portable charging devices visible while using them during the flight.
- Jon Hegwood was a teen parent when he told his high school principal, Billy Barnett, that he planned to apply for a GED and drop out of school. However, Barnett, his unsung hero, convinced Hegwood to earn his diploma by offering him a deal that set him off on a path he is really grateful for.
- The “tush push” lives on. The controversial football play did not receive enough votes yesterday from NFL teams to ban it.
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
