Trump says Ukraine peace is nearer. And, how funding cuts have an effect on anti-poverty teams

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In the present day’s high tales

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say they’re nearer to attaining peace in Ukraine. The 2 met yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. In the meantime, Russia’s assaults on Ukraine continued over the weekend, and key points stay unresolved.

• 🎧 The truth that the 2 leaders met is an indication of momentum towards a peace deal, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First. However a peace did not look like imminent after the assembly, and each leaders mentioned that talks would proceed. One of many matters of dialogue is how one can deal with the Donbas area in japanese Ukraine. Russia seeks to manage the realm, and Zelenskyy believes it ought to be a demilitarized zone.

Trump is anticipated to satisfy with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu right now in Florida to deal with a few of the gadgets left to finish on the president’s 20-point plan to finish the struggle in Gaza. The 2 leaders might additionally focus on non-Gaza matters, reminiscent of Iran and its proxies.

• 🎧 Israeli officers say they see no indicators that Hamas is able to disarm, which can immediate Netanyahu to induce the U.S. to maintain the stress on Hamas to honor its finish of the cut price, in response to NPR’s Michele Kelemen. Israel additionally shares related sentiments about Lebanon — the place Hezbollah stays a risk — and Iran, the place Israelis say the nation is increase its ballistic missile stockpile. Kelemen says one factor to observe for within the assembly is whether or not Trump will announce a board of peace or take steps ahead in getting a global pressure on the bottom in Gaza.

This has been a difficult yr for teams that assist these in poverty. Many have needed to cut back amid federal cuts and funding chaos. To raised perceive the influence the Trump administration’s insurance policies have had on these organizations, NPR’s Jennifer Ludden visited a bunch known as HAPCAP in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, the place Govt Director Kelly Hatas defined what has been occurring since January.

• 🎧 Hatas says 80% of the group’s funding comes from federal grants, which is why their largest problem is the uncertainty over what may very well be focused subsequent for funding cuts or pauses. The state has helped by shifting funding to fill gaps, however the group nonetheless needed to pull again on issues like plans to construct a homeless shelter, Ludden says. Employees are leaving, pushed by issues about job safety. The group has additionally needed to lay off or cut back the hours of some employees members. Subsequent yr, potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP meals help might go away extra individuals in want.

Image Present

Polar bear. Dalian Forest Zoo. China.

Polar bears are the most important land carnivore on the planet, weighing as much as 800kg and rising as much as 3 metres in size.

The everyday zoo enclosure for a polar bear is one-millionth the dimensions of its vary within the wild, which may attain 31,000 sq. miles (80,290 km²).

Polar bears reside in Arctic areas in Canada, Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Norway, in temperatures as little as -46°C (-50.8°F)

Dalian Forest Zoo incorporates over 3,000 animals. Points of interest embody Safari Space, Rain Forest Reptile Pavilion, Flamingo Pavilion, Little Animal Village, Wild Animal Vary, Swan Lake, Fierce Beast Space, Comfortable Primate Backyard and Elephant Pavilion.

Zed Nelson/Institute

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Zed Nelson/Institute

Images is a major a part of Goats and Soda’s protection of the thrill and strife of each day life. Pictures maintain a particular energy within the group’s work. From a polar bear in a Chinese language zoo to a teen in Zambia dealing with an unsure future, take a look at Goats and Soda’s high photo-driven tales of 2025.

Behind the story

This essay was written by East Asia-based correspondent Anthony Kuhn and local weather options correspondent Julia Simon.

As East Asia-based correspondent and Local weather Options correspondent, we had the chance to collaborate this yr in a manner that journalists at few different media organizations can do.

We reported from totally different sides of the world on a significant development with large repercussions for the worldwide economic system and the planet: how the U.S. and China are diverging of their power insurance policies. China is dominating the worldwide renewables sector, and the U.S. is doubling down on fossil fuels.

Chris Mikkelsen, government director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District, stands on the positioning of a deliberate marine terminal in Eureka, Calif. that may assemble wind generators. The Trump administration lately canceled greater than $426 million in federal grants for the port.

Julia Simon/NPR

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Julia Simon/NPR

Anthony set off for the sting of the North China Plain, the place gargantuan wind turbine blades on vehicles took what felt like an eternity to move on the roads. He spoke to engineers who use good grids, batteries and transmission traces to show the generators’ energy right into a dependable provide of power to Chinese language households.

In the meantime — greater than 5,000 miles away — Julia went to far northern California, the place a deliberate offshore wind mission on Humboldt Bay has hit new roadblocks with the Trump administration. The marine terminal that may assemble the generators was presupposed to be shovel-ready as quickly as 2026. However employees advised Julia that is now not lifelike, partially as a result of the Trump administration lately canceled greater than $426 million in federal grants for the port.

Because the radio and digital variations of our story got here out in latest weeks, the Trump administration has continued to face in the way in which of the U.S. renewable power business. Simply this week the Trump administration paused 5 offshore wind tasks alongside the East Coast, calling them a nationwide safety threat. These tasks had already accepted federal leases, and so they have been already underneath building.

This divergence in power coverage has large implications for the Chinese language and the U.S. economies, and for the 2 powers’ rivalry and competitors by power tech exports.

As for the local weather? Johns Hopkins College China knowledgeable Jeremy Wallace advised us, “China’s efforts are the main story for fighting climate change.”

Yow will discover out extra in our NPR story — all with out a paywall — right here.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

The lacking portray, Gabriele Münter, Music (Musik), 1916, its whereabouts unknown to the general public since 1977. Oil on canvas. Non-public assortment. © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.

The Guggenheim, New York

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The Guggenheim, New York

1. Do you’ve gotten this lacking portray? A New York curator is attempting to find Music by Gabriele Münter. It is a vital work that has been out of public view for the reason that Seventies.
2. Brigitte Bardot, the worldwide intercourse goddess of cinema within the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties who later grew to become an animal rights activist, has died on the age of 91.
3. Most individuals mark the brand new yr on Jan. 1 due to the Gregorian calendar. Given the existence of various methods such because the Chinese language and Hebrew calendars, this is how this particular date grew to become the world commonplace for brand spanking new beginnings.

This article was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.