Trump’s $47 Billion-Dollar Border Wall Plan, and Why a Tupac Murder Trial Is Starting After 30 Years
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Why did the Trump administration pause construction of the border wall in Big Bend National Park?
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From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, August 18th. Here's what we're covering.
Just uh landed in Texas, headed to Big Bend National Park. Last night I put a pause on all activity in that park as far as construction goes.
The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that the Trump administration is temporarily stopping work on a controversial border security project that cuts through a national park in Texas.
No one!
How are Canada and the U.S. negotiating to avoid a 50% tariff on Canadian goods?
No way!
For months, environmentalists, local officials, and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the administration's plans to cut through the pristine desert wilderness. Several local sheriffs have opposed it too, calling it unnecessary, since in recent months authorities have encountered fewer than six migrants a day in the whole area. Amid the backlash, the administration scaled back its plans for a 30-foot wall in the park. But this month, bulldozers and excavators started tearing up the landscape for a new patrol road and other security measures, setting off a fresh wave of anger. Now, the CBP says that work has been paused. The fight around Big Ben National Park comes as the Trump administration has been trying to fill in the gaps of the border wall.
In President Trump's first term, work on the wall mostly involved replacing existing barriers. But now efforts to extend it are accelerating, boosted by about forty-seven billion dollars in dedicated new funding. Construction is underway in all four border states, even as illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. На 2 other quick updates on the Trump administration.
Question for the Prime Minister: do you expect to speak with the US president before Wednesday's tariff deadline? And if so, what will your message be for president Trump? Short answer is yes.
Canada is scrambling to try and avoid new 50% tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods that the White House says will go into effect at midnight tonight.
What’s the significance of Trump casting a mail‑in ballot in Florida’s primary?
Canadian officials stayed in DC over the weekend to continue negotiations with the U.S., and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has told them to try and offer targeted concessions. He's hoping to both keep the new tariffs from kicking in. and ease existing levies on Canadian products that President Trump has already put in place. If no deal is reached and the new US surcharges kick in, that could push Canada to retaliate, further escalating economic tensions between the US and one of its largest trading partners. And President Trump has cast his vote ahead of Florida's Republican primary today using a method that he has long railed against.
Never allow mail in ballots because if you do, there'll be massive cheating in this
voting by mail.
Anytime you have mail-in ballots, you have cheating. People don't want mail-in ballots because you have crooked elections. It guarantees a crooked election.
Trump has criticized mail-in voting for years, using it to bolster his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. But this is at least the third time he's used mail-in voting himself, casting ballots in Palm Beach County, home to Mar-a-Lago. In response to questions, a White House spokeswoman downplayed Trump's choice, saying that quote, this is a non story.
Across the country, the cyclospora outbreak is now waning, after becoming the largest of its kind in US history, with almost 25,000 confirmed or suspected cases. Some food safety experts the Times spoke with said they feel comfortable eating salad again. But my colleagues have learned new details about how, in the early days of the outbreak, officials struggled to pinpoint the source of the contamination.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Why did the Trump administration pause construction of the border wall in Big Bend National Park?
0:01–1:09
2
How are Canada and the U.S. negotiating to avoid a 50% tariff on Canadian goods?
1:09–2:48
3
What’s the significance of Trump casting a mail‑in ballot in Florida’s primary?
2:48–4:41
4
How did the cyclospora outbreak spread and why did it take weeks to trace the source?
4:41–6:45
5
Why is a murder trial for Tupac Shakur opening 30 years after the shooting?
6:45–8:15
6
What evidence is being presented against Dwayne Keith Davis in the Tupac case?
8:15–10:01
7
Why are regional theaters reviving ‘Les Miz’ and how is it helping their finances?
10:01–10:36
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Headlines
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