NPR News Now - NPR News: 05-18-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: May 18, 2025

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A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes. Because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up first podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Duah Lisa Icautel. The FBI has named a primary

suspect connected to a car bombing outside a fertility clinic in Palm Spring, California. Akil Davis is with the Los Angeles FBI field office. Efforts to positively identify the deceased individual here has been found. We are fairly confident that that subject is Guy Edward Bartkis, 25-year-old, from again, Palm Springs, I'm sorry, from again, 29 Palms. Davis said the man had nihilistic ideations attempting to live stream his actions and targeted the IVF facility.

The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring again for temporary workers to carry out government surveys after a months-long pause. The Bureau was granted an exemption from President Trump's hiring freeze on federal civilian workers and Piers Hansi Le Wong reports. Most parts of the federal government are banned from hiring workers through mid-July, but the Census Bureau has new job postings for temporary field representatives to conduct interviews for government surveys. Recruiting and retaining enough interviewers has been a major challenge for the Bureau. A recent report by the Commerce Department Inspector

General's office found that could hurt the reliability of the statistics the government produces, including the monthly jobs report. Still, like other federal agencies, the bureau has been under pressure from the Trump administration to shrink its workforce. That's raised concerns about the bureau's ability to produce accurate 2030 census results. They're said to be used to redraw voting maps and determine how U.S. presidents and members of Congress are elected in the next decade. Anzela Wong in Pure News, Washington. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, celebrated his inaugural mass in front of tens of thousands

of people and foreign delegations from around the world, including Vice President J.D. Vance. Pope Leo promised to address the challenges of the modern age. From Vatican City, N. P. Ruth Sherlock reports. Soaring choir music rang across St. Peter's Square as Pope Leo XIV processed up the Isle of the Basilica. He was given the gold fisherman's signet ring and the white woolen pallium liturgical dress. In his homily, Pope Leo said he desires a united church. He criticized the global economic system that he said exploits the earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest. And he called for a changed, better, peaceful world. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Vatican City. Ukraine's air force says Russia launched the largest drone attack since the start

of its full-scale war in 2022. Military officials say more than 270 drones were reported and that air defenses shot down about 90 drones. You're listening to NPR News from New York. You're listening to NPR News from New York. Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas continue today, with the U.S. heavily involved. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli strikes have killed several dozen more people and forced a main hospital in the Palestinian territory to close because of director tax. This is according to local media staff. The BBC is also reporting that Israel issued evacuation orders for areas being targeted

for extensive ground operations that begin tonight. Israel claims that military actions are aimed at freeing hostages held in Gaza and defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, civilians in Gaza are facing critical food shortages. Bangladesh is having the worst air pollution in the world and brick making business is partly to blame, but as NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, new research shows simple changes around the fire could make a big difference. Bangladesh produces nearly 30 billion bricks a year. Most of these are made in coal-fired brick kilns, which spew thick clouds of black smoke,

says energy systems engineer, Samir Matil. It is essentially a lot of black smoke impacting the workers and the nearby villages, and also impacting overall air quality of the region. But a new study in the journal Science shows that tweaking this process can make the kilns much more efficient. A few changes, like leaving more space between bricks, cut pollution from the kilns by about 20 percent.

Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. And I'm Dwali Saikoutal in New York. Know that fizzy feeling you get when you read something really good, watch the movie everyone's NPR News.