NPR News Now - NPR News: 06-01-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: June 1, 2025

NPR News: 06-01-2025 1PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life, powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nour Ram. There's continued chaos around efforts to deliver food in Gaza amid severe hunger. Gaza health officials say Israeli fire killed at least 32 Palestinians and wounded more than 200 others as they were on their way to food distribution sites supported by the

U.S. and Israel. The Israeli military denies the report and says troops fired warning shots toward suspects who were advancing toward soldiers, about 1,000 yards from a food distribution site. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports. NPR producer Ahmad Abu Hamda spoke with a man in Gaza who said he was among crowds that came under fire. The man, Barakat, withheld his last name, fearing repercussions from Israel. He said he set out around 3.30 a.m. to secure a good spot at a distribution site before

food ran out. He said Israeli Navy boats opened fire on people on their way to the distribution site. He said he crawled to avoid getting shot and saw a woman raise her head when she was fatally shot. This is inhumane, unsafe and unfair, he says. He came back empty-handed. Supplies ran out. The private US-backed group running the program says there was no shooting in or near its

facilities. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The Trump administration has published a new plan, it says, will make the federal hiring process more efficient and merit-based. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports. The plan emphasizes recruiting candidates the administration sees as patriotic.

It includes a questionnaire for most job applicants that asks about their commitment to the Constitution, how they would improve government efficiency, and how they'd help advance President Trump's executive orders. The plan also takes aim at efforts by previous administrations to diversify the workforce. It calls on agencies to stop using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, or the concept of underrepresentation in any personnel decisions, and to stop disseminating such data.

The government says it will focus recruiting efforts at state universities, religious colleges, community colleges, and homeschooling groups, among other places. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst is facing strong criticism for saying at a town hall last week that we're all going to die. She was responding to constituent concerns over Medicaid cuts in President Trump's tax and spending measure.

The next day, she posted a video to social media addressing the controversy from the grounds of what appears to be a cemetery. So I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well. During the town hall, Ernst said any measure that emerges from the Senate will look different from the House version that passed last month. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. Russian authorities say two bridges collapsed in different regions bordering Ukraine, one

last night and the other early this morning. They say at least seven people were killed and dozens were injured. In both cases, the bridges collapsed on railroad tracks. Russian investigators say they're treating both as potential acts of terrorism. Voters in Poland are choosing a new president today in a runoff election that's too close to call. Terry Schultz reports President Trump supports one of the candidates. The outcome of this runoff election for Poland's president could have a significant impact

on the country's relationship with the European Union. Trump hosted nationalist conservative candidate Karl Nowarski at the White House and suggested closer US-Poland military ties could be in store if he's elected over liberal Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. Trzaskowski is a close ally of pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose policy aims are often at odds with outgoing president Andrzej Duda, a member of the Nationalist Law and Justice Party supporting candidate Nowarski and a fellow EU skeptic.

The president has the right to block legislation and Duda has used that power frequently against Tusk's efforts to liberalize Poland after government rule by the right-wing Law and Justice Party from 2015 to 2023. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. President Trump says he's withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator and will announce a new nominee soon. Trump posted on social media last night that he made the decision after a thorough review

of prior associations he didn't elaborate. Isaacman is a close ally of Elon Musk. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington. Before talking to computational social scientist Sandra Matz, I asked her to spy on me. NPR News in Washington.