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Chapter 1: What are the key details of President Trump's upcoming trip to China?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump heads to China tomorrow, and he's taking a sizable business delegation with him, including some of the biggest names in corporate America. NPR's John Ruich reports this comes during a period of relative calm in the U.S.-China trade relationship.
According to the White House, more than a dozen top U.S. executives will be on the trip this week, including Apple's Tim Cook, Boeing CEO Kelly Orteg, and Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame. Musk also co-led Trump's Department of Government Efficiency early in his second term. There are financiers in the group, too, from BlackRock, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs.
This trip will be the first to China by a U.S. president since Trump visited during his first term nearly nine years ago. And while geopolitics loom large, especially the war in Iran, the parade of executives signals an interest in promoting business and potentially striking deals despite a festering trade war.
Chapter 2: How is the U.S. addressing the surging gas prices amid the Iran conflict?
John Rewich, NPR News, Washington.
The president says a U.S. ceasefire with Iran is, quote, on massive life support. He is rejecting Iran's counterproposal for ending the hostilities. More than 10 weeks into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, the president tells CBS News that he wants to temporarily suspend the gas tax. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on the Republican leader's latest response to surging gasoline prices.
Suspending the gas tax would require an act of Congress. Currently, the tax is 18.3 cents per gallon of gas and 24.3 cents on diesel. The potential suspension is an acknowledgment from the White House of the toll that high gas prices have taken on American consumers.
The latest NPR-PBS News Marist poll found that 8 in 10 Americans say gas prices are straining their budgets and that 63 percent say those price increases are Trump's fault.
Chapter 3: What is the current status of the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine?
Regular gasoline cost just under $3 per gallon before the U.S. bombed Iran. Now it costs 50 percent more at $4.52, according to AAA. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.
Russia and Ukraine's three-day ceasefire technically ends in a few hours. President Trump helped negotiate the pause in fighting. NPR's Charles Means reports from Moscow, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other, though, of violating the truce.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia had refrained from large-scale missile strikes but continued attacks along the front lines, prompting Ukraine to return fire. Similarly, Russia's defense ministry accused Ukraine of launching thousands of drones into Russian airspace, to which it said Russia responded in kind.
Yet there were no disruptions during Russia's military parade on Red Square Saturday, an event scaled back amid fears of Ukrainian drone strikes.
Chapter 4: What charges did a California man face related to an alleged attack on President Trump?
During that ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted his forces would prove victorious against an aggressive Ukraine backed by NATO, only to later suggest he remained open to diplomatic efforts to bring the war to a close. Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow.
This is NPR News. A California man pleaded not guilty to charges connected to the alleged attack on President Trump last month, including the attempt of trying to assassinate the president. Today, Cole Allen appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit and shackled. The Washington Wizards have won the top overall pick in this summer's NBA draft.
NPR's Becky Sullivan has more on the highly anticipated draft lottery.
BYU forward A.J. DeBonsa, who led Division I in scoring last season, and Darren Peterson, the electric guard at Kansas, are just two of the coveted players. The top ten picks could all be players who just wrapped up their freshman year.
Chapter 5: What are the implications of the NBA draft lottery results for the Washington Wizards?
That talent helped lead to widespread tanking, a.k.a. purposely losing for a better draft pick in the NBA this season. The Washington Wizards won the race to the bottom. They'll pick first, followed by the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies. The unlucky team was the Indiana Pacers, who had a 52% chance at a top-four pick.
But back in February, they rolled the dice in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, saying that L.A. could receive Indiana's first-round pick if it fell outside the top four. That's exactly what happened. So the Clippers will pick fifth, while the Pacers have no draft pick at all. Becky Sullivan in PR News.
Chapter 6: How does Myanmar's gemstone industry relate to the country's economic situation?
A ruby unearthed in Myanmar last month is one of the largest symbols yet of how much the war-ravaged country depends in part on its gemstone industry for revenue. It is reported to be 11,000 carats, 4.8 pounds. Its superior color and quality make the ruby from the town of Mogok rare and highly valuable for a country that produces as much as 90% of the world's rubies. It's NPR.
If the brain is like a computer, then Kyla Madonna Kenny's was crashing. The room was spinning and I was shaking, but only on one side.
Doctors couldn't see anything physically wrong with Kyla's brain, with the hardware, so to speak. The problem was with the software. And the condition she was eventually diagnosed with is called functional neurological disorder. To learn about this invisible illness, listen to Shortwave on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.