Putin and Zelenskyy may meet. And, Trump desires to cease voting by mail

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In the present day’s high tales

President Trump introduced on social media yesterday that he would facilitate a direct assembly between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He says he’ll maintain trilateral talks with the 2 leaders afterward, however didn’t present particulars on when these would happen. This improvement comes after Trump met Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders on the White Home in an effort to finish the struggle Russia launched in Ukraine.

• 🎧 The White Home is making an attempt to create a way of momentum after talks with Putin, Zelenskyy and the European leaders, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First. Yesterday, leaders mentioned safety ensures to maintain peace in Ukraine if there’s a deal. Trump mentioned a assure would require “coordination” from the U.S., and that Putin can be open to at least one. The European leaders additionally mentioned the return of Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia, together with youngsters, which Trump thinks Putin can be open to. Ukraine desires a ceasefire earlier than any extra talks as a result of it is involved that Russia may drag out the struggle with out one. Trump says he would not oppose a ceasefire however that it isn’t obligatory.
• 🎧 Late final evening, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed that Trump and the Russian chief mentioned the opportunity of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump is transferring quick and working in broad agreements, whereas Putin focuses on the main points, which might decelerate the method, NPR’s Charles Maynes says. Maynes says he heard a number of Russian pink traces throughout the talks in Washington, D.C., yesterday. This contains European troops on the bottom in Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s name for arms gross sales, which might contradict Putin’s calls for for Ukraine to demilitarize.

Lawmakers in Texas and California are again to work of their state capitols because the battle to redistrict intensifies throughout the nation. Texas Democrats returned to the state after fleeing for 2 weeks to stall a newly drawn congressional map favoring the GOP. They said they’d finish their standoff if California Democrats put collectively their very own redistricting map to counter the one in Texas. California Democrats launched a map that might lead to 5 extra Democratic seats within the U.S. Home to offset the anticipated 5 new Republican seats from Texas.

• 🎧 Democrats in California say they plan to vote on the map this week and get it in entrance of voters in November. With a view to do this, lawmakers need to move the invoice by a two-thirds vote. The passage is probably going as a result of Democrats maintain a supermajority within the state, says Laura Fitzgerald with CapRadio in Sacramento. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic lawmakers and different leaders have launched a marketing campaign urging voters to assist the measure. Republicans are threatening to file lawsuits difficult the poll measure, as they are saying Democrats are sidelining California’s unbiased redistricting fee, which is within the state’s structure, by going to voters.
• ➡️ Here is how redistricting in Texas and California can change whose votes actually matter within the 2026 congressional elections.

Trump introduced yesterday that he goals to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines earlier than subsequent yr’s midterm elections. A part of his plan includes signing an government order barring states from probably utilizing both possibility. He mentioned, with out proof, that the machines are inaccurate, costly and fewer dependable than counting paper ballots.

In the present day’s pay attention

Beyoncé performs throughout the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Pageant in 2018.

Larry Busacca/Getty Pictures for Coachella

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Larry Busacca/Getty Pictures for Coachella

Pop Tradition Blissful Hour turns 15 this summer time. When the present started, its hosts had many pent-up scorching takes. To have a good time their anniversary, they’re breaking open a time capsule to see in the event that they held up. Is Netflix higher than cable? Will Beyoncé’s profession have longevity? Are selfmade costumes cool? Revisit a number of the present’s earliest moments and resolve for your self how effectively the hosts’ opinions have aged.

Image present

Dangerous Bunny performs on the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, often called ‘El Choli’, for his residency live performance on Sunday, July 27, 2025, in San Juan, P.R.

World famend Puerto Rican artist Benito A. Martinez Ocasio, often called Dangerous Bunny, is at present performing a 30-show residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Titled “I Don’t Want to Leave Here” (“No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí”, in Spanish) the sequence of weekend live shows will entice over 500,000 individuals because it celebrates Puerto Rican tradition, mirroring the themes of his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”, in English). (Erika P. Rodríguez for NPR)

‎/Erika P. Rodríguez for NPR

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‎/Erika P. Rodríguez for NPR

Dangerous Bunny’s 30-concert residency in San Juan has instilled satisfaction in Puerto Rican tradition and helped ease the sorrow many really feel about leaving their island. A decades-long debt disaster, worsening infrastructure, rising costs from gentrification, and declining providers have compelled many Puerto Ricans to seek for new alternatives elsewhere. The Puerto Rican rapper’s live shows have introduced 1000’s again to the island. His residency is titled “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí,” which implies “I Don’t Want To Leave Here,” hinting at these wounds. On stage, the artist addresses the ache immediately, reminding his followers that it would not matter the place they reside, they’re no much less Puerto Rican. See how Dangerous Bunny and his followers are celebrating the island’s tradition.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

Lucille and Leo Frank, performed by Talia Suskauer and Max Chernin, within the nationwide tour of Parade, a couple of Jewish man falsely accused of homicide in 1913. Parade ends its run on the Kennedy Heart in Washington D.C..

Joan Marcus

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Joan Marcus

1. Parade, a Tony Award-winning musical in regards to the real-life lynching of a Jewish man in 1915, arrives on the Kennedy Heart this week amid antisemitic backlash towards the present’s topic.
2. For 2 days every August, a tractor pull, a grassroots motorsport like no different, attracts large crowds to a hamlet in Western New York.
3. Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit towards the information group for broadcasting false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

This article was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.