South African president visits the U.S. And, GOP divided over Trump’s tax invoice

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As we speak’s prime tales

President Trump met with Home Republicans on the Capitol yesterday, urging them to get behind his large tax and immigration invoice or threat a tax improve. The invoice has roughly $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, with a big portion of these coming from modifications to Medicaid.

• 🎧 In a single day, a key committee met to set the parameters for debating the invoice on the ground and remains to be assembly, NPR’s Deidre Walsh tells Up First. At round 1 a.m., the speaker for the committee indicated that they have been nearing a deal. Leaders are anticipated to lift the cap on state and native tax deductions to be able to deal with the issues of some average lawmakers. Referring to Medicaid, Trump stated throughout his Capitol go to, there would not be any cuts and that the plan targets waste, fraud, and abuse. However as Walsh experiences, the Congressional Finances Workplace estimates 8.6 million individuals might lose well being protection. A brand new CBO evaluation additionally finds the poorest 10% of Individuals would lose assets, whereas the highest 10% would see a bump of their revenue.

As we speak, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is ready to satisfy Trump on the White Home in an try to reset relations between the 2 nations. Earlier this 12 months, the Trump administration reduce assist to South Africa and expelled its ambassador. Additionally, the U.S. administration has repeatedly slammed Pretoria for what it falsely claims is the systematic persecution of white Afrikaner farmers — and the South African facet has repeatedly tried to appropriate Washington.

• 🎧 Reporter Kate Bartlett says Ramaphosa, a talented negotiator who labored alongside Nelson Mandela to finish apartheid, could attraction to Trump’s transactional facet and U.S. efforts to counter China in Africa. South Africans are watching intently to see whether or not Ramaphosa is handled with the identical dismissiveness Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confronted throughout his Oval Workplace go to earlier this 12 months, Bartlett says.

A brand new NPR evaluation has discovered that the Division of Authorities Effectivity has tried to chop a minimum of 40 businesses and teams in current weeks. The evaluation discovered that DOGE has focused contracts and spending primarily based on coverage disagreements, slightly than solely on waste, fraud, or abuse.

• 🎧 DOGE has tried to succeed in out to locations that aren’t authorities businesses, just like the non-public nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice and the unbiased Company for Public Broadcasting, NPR’s Stephen Fowler says. These businesses have stated no to DOGE’s requests. There have been over a dozen lawsuits filed associated to DOGE efforts at these small organizations that say it isn’t authorized. Lots of the businesses have been created by Congress, with almost all of them having funding and capabilities spelled out by regulation, in some circumstances explicitly limiting the president’s energy.

Deep dive

An worker holds a full-size prototype LMR battery cell on the Common Motors Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Middle. GM has prototyped roughly 300 full-size LMR cells because it labored with LG Vitality Answer to crack the code on the chemistry.

Steve Fecht for Common Motors/Handout from GM

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Steve Fecht for Common Motors/Handout from GM

Lithium-ion batteries have been invented within the U.S., however years in the past, China started main the way in which of their mass manufacturing as a part of its push for electrical autos. Now, a contest is rising to find out which nation will dominate the way forward for EV batteries. Here is why this competitors is changing into extra difficult:

• 🔋 Chinese language automakers are asserting newer, higher batteries, together with in autos promising 5-minute “flash charge” occasions. U.S. firms haven’t introduced something like this, focusing as an alternative on chopping prices.
• 🔋 China is planning to put in 4,000 quick charging stations, none of which shall be within the U.S., the place Chinese language EVs face the dangers of heavy tariffs and tech restrictions.
• 🔋 Corporations worldwide are trying to construct batteries primarily based on sodium or “solid-state” batteries. These applied sciences may very well be safer, cheaper, and supply greater power storage.
• 🔋 The Trump administration has began the method of rolling again incentives, infrastructure and necessities encouraging EVs.

Take a look at different elements happening within the nice battery race between the 2 nations right here.

Life recommendation

Small clock alarm on a black plate with pink cutlery on yellow background.

Iuliia Bondar/Getty Pictures

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Iuliia Bondar/Getty Pictures

What you eat earlier than mattress can have an effect on how effectively you sleep at night time. Sleep researchers share with Life Equipment the impression of food plan, caffeine and alcohol on sleep well being. Listed here are their science-backed dos and don’ts:

• 😴 Hunt down meals like almonds, salmon, and brown rice which might be wealthy in tryptophan, an amino acid that’s transformed to serotonin and melatonin within the mind.
• 😴 Swap out processed meals for extra vegetables and fruit. They’re wealthy in fiber and vitamins like serotonin and melatonin, which can assist you sleep extra deeply.
• 😴 Keep away from caffeine late within the day. It blocks adenosine, a chemical that makes you’re feeling sleepy at night time.

For extra steerage on consuming habits that may allow you to sleep higher at night time, hearken to this episode of NPR’s Life Equipment. Subscribe to the Life Equipment publication for professional recommendation on love, cash, relationships and extra.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

Outdoors of e book blurbs, social media is the primary manner clients resolve what e book to learn.

Islenia Mil for NPR

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Islenia Mil for NPR

1. The way forward for selling books is shifting as writers lean into social media as some authors promote taking a break from writing e book blurbs, generally seen on the backs of e book jackets. A number of authors talk about the change within the literary neighborhood.
2. As we speak, a Chicago public sale home shall be promoting gadgets that have been on Abraham Lincoln’s physique the night time he was assassinated, his earliest identified handwriting and different relics from his life. (through WBEZ)
3. Actor George Wendt, 76, who performed Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom Cheers, died peacefully in his sleep at house yesterday.

This article was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.