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Today's top stories
President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are set to meet at the White House today. This meeting comes at a time when the relationship between their two countries has become strained due to Trump's tariffs and his suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state of the U.S.
- 🎧 Carney won his election running with an anti-Trump message, and the Canadian election was seen as a vote against Trump, NPR's Deepa Shivaram tells Up First. It is typical for new Canadian prime ministers to make the U.S. their first foreign trip. However, Carney decided to go to Europe. Asa McKercher, a professor of public policy at St. Francis Xavier University, says Carney has to balance standing up for Canada and not irking Trump. Carney told Canadian media a few days ago not to expect "white smoke" out of the meeting with Trump on a new trade deal.
The Justice Department asked a federal court yesterday to dismiss a case that could seriously restrict access to abortion across the U.S. The case is challenging the Food and Drug Administration's rules about mifepristone, one of the pills used for medication abortion. The Supreme Court last year rejected a challenge from a group of Christian doctors. Now, three states — Missouri, Idaho and Kansas — say they cannot ban abortion if residents can get mifepristone by mail.
- 🎧 The move to toss out the case is a bit surprising, NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin says, because it's the same stance the Biden administration's Justice Department took. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who tends to be receptive to anti-abortion arguments, is presiding over the case and might continue regardless of the Justice Department request. The Trump administration's FDA could still be aggressive on medication abortion by adding restrictions on who can get it and how, without being required by the court.
Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to impose a 100% tariff on movies produced outside of the U.S., leaving the film and TV industry perplexed. He posted on Truth Social that the American film industry is "dying a very fast death." The president said other countries' incentives to filmmakers and studios draw them away from the U.S., impacting the film industry.
- 🎧 The announcement raised questions about who would pay for the tariffs and if ticket prices would increase, among other concerns. "Studios and unions around the world are worried this could spell the end of their own production industries," Mandelit del Barco says. She explains that actor Jon Voight could be why this topic came up for the president. Trump calls Voight a special ambassador. He and two of his business associates met with the president about the entertainment industry this weekend. Voight says he presented Trump with a plan to rescue the American film industry with federal tax incentives, coproduction treaties with other countries and subsidies for theater owners and production companies.
Today's listen
The 20th annual Poetry Out Loud finals take place this week in Washington, D.C. The semifinals will consist of 55 high school students: one champion from every state and American Samoa, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The competitors master poems from across eras and styles, working on their physical presence, voice, articulation, accuracy, and interpretation. The national winner will be announced tomorrow evening. Ahead of the big competition, NPR's Elizabeth Blair spoke with four state champions. Listen to snippets of them reciting poems, and hear about why they like poetry and how they're preparing for the competition.
Picture show
The Met Gala, famously known as fashion's greatest night, brings out celebrities in creative ensembles. The event's purpose is to raise money for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Last night's attendees were expected to follow the dress code "Tailored for You." Once up the blue, floral stairs and inside the museum, they visited the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" exhibition, which highlights how clothing and style are connected to Black identities. From Diana Ross to Jeff Goldblum, here are some of the looks NPR loved.
3 things to know before you go
- Percival Everett won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for fiction with his novel James, a reimagination of Huckleberry Finn told from the perspective of Jim, Huck's enslaved companion on the raft ride.
- John Thomas, a fitness coach who goes by "thebodybuildingvegan" on Instagram, aims to demonstrate how a plant-based diet can enhance athletic performance while benefiting the planet. (via WUFT)
- After Vivian Curren's 3-year-old son threw sand on another child at a park, she assumed she was about to be judged for poor parenting. Instead, a stranger told her she handled the situation masterfully. The unsung hero's words were a turning point for Curren and made her feel like a good parent.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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