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Today's top stories
The GOP-led Senate returns from recess today with hopes to pass legislation to enact a multi-trillion-dollar budget plan in a few weeks. The proposed plan carries the bulk of President Trump's domestic policy agenda, which includes tax cuts and sweeping changes to defense, energy and immigration policy. Congressional Republicans want the bill on the president's desk by July 4. To accomplish this, they'll need to navigate a long list of competing demands.
- 🎧 Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes to get the plan across the finish line, and some senators are already raising issues with it, NPR's Claudia Grisales tells Up First. Tough negotiations are expected in part because of the bill's provisions to lift the federal debt limit, which must be completed by this summer to avoid a financial default. Grisales has been informed that 60% or more of the bill will stay intact. Medicaid, which is facing deep cuts, is likely the biggest fight Senate Republicans will face.
A man is in custody after numerous people participating in a walk and vigil for Israeli hostages being held by Hamas were attacked and burned at an event in Boulder, Colo., yesterday. Authorities say the man, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled "free Palestine" before using a makeshift flame-thrower. Multiple people were hospitalized, and Soliman is expected to face charges.
- 🎧 The attack has shaken and horrified the Jewish community in Boulder, Megan Verlee of member station Colorado Public Radio says. The group that was attacked was known as Run for Their Lives. Eight people were injured, one of whom was a Holocaust survivor. Authorities say Soliman is believed to have acted on his own. Colorado's governor and attorney general have condemned this act as a hate crime. Stefanie Clarke, a leader of Stop Antisemitism Colorado, says, "The reason things like this are happening is that we have allowed this climate of hate to fester."
A new round of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks is expected today in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting comes a day after Ukraine hit Russia with a series of remote drone strikes on military air bases deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine was able to smuggle drones deep into Russia by hiding them in the tops of flatbed trucks, which parked near military bases before the drones lifted off to attack planes on the runway. Russia also launched over 470 drones and missiles over the weekend at targets across Ukraine.
- 🎧 NPR's Charles Maynes says Russia typically presents itself as the one dictating the terms in the peace talks. Russia takes on this role due to its stronger military position. Trump essentially agrees with Russia's position, saying Ukraine needs to make major concessions. However, Sunday's attack shows that Ukraine has some cards to play militarily, Maynes says.
- ➡️ Trump has promised peace in Ukraine. Here's how his efforts have fared.
Deep dive
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed the COVID vaccine from the list of vaccines recommended for healthy pregnant women. However, existing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other researchers still categorize pregnant women as a high-risk group that should receive booster shots. The science backs up the researchers.
- 🤰 Pregnant women who contracted COVID were more likely to experience severe illness and hospitalization compared to women of the same age and demographic who were not pregnant.
- 🤰 Being pregnant makes women five times more likely to have blood clots, and that risk is increased if they contract COVID. Inflammation and blood clots in the placenta could be connected to an increased risk of stillbirth.
- 🤰 Getting the vaccine while pregnant helps protect newborns after birth. According to the CDC, nearly 90% of babies who were hospitalized with COVID-19 had mothers who didn't get the vaccine while pregnant.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
After she was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, an autonomic nervous system disorder, Jessica Slice embraced a new identity: a person with a disability. Becoming disabled radically altered her life in ways that are both challenging and empowering. Then she became a mom. Slice's book, Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges An Inaccessible World, discusses her experience as a parent with a disability and embracing interdependence. NPR spoke with Slice about her perspective, which can benefit all parents.
- ❤️ Slice says she doesn't pressure herself or her children to get everything right. She's OK with life not being perfect.
- ❤️ She doesn't track developmental milestones for her children. Releasing control or a sense that we should align with certain timelines as much as possible has provided her a sense of freedom.
- ❤️ People with disabilities have often been excluded from or don't have access to inclusive sexual education, and some are often counseled not to reproduce. Slice says people shouldn't assume she doesn't enjoy her life because of her disability, so they should also not assume that a child wouldn't enjoy their life either if born with a disability.
3 things to know before you go
- Stephanie Case went viral after sitting down three times during a 100-kilometer race in Wales to breastfeed her six-month-old daughter. The new mom not only finished the race but also placed first among the women.
- A memorial and jazz funeral in Louisiana on Saturday honored 19 Black Americans whose remains were recently repatriated from Germany, where they had been used for racial research in the late 1800s.
- Survivor and its passionate fan base celebrated 25 years over the weekend. Among them is NPR producer Mia Venkat and her friend group, who recreate their own version of the reality TV show every year, complete with cutthroat competition and brutal blindsides.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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