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Today's top stories
President Trump signed last night a proclamation that bans travelers from 12 countries and partially restricts travelers from several others, effective June 9. The White House stated that this action is necessary to protect the United States from terrorist attacks and other national security threats. The complete ban applies to foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
- 🎧 This travel ban appears to be more expansive than the one the president enacted in his first term, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. During his first term in office, Trump called for the "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." The first ban faced legal challenges and was blocked by a court, but after repeated revisions, the Supreme Court approved its third iteration. Former President Biden rescinded that travel ban on his first day in office.
Senate Republicans have run into some early complications as they try to work on a multi-trillion-dollar bill to enact the heart of Trump's domestic agenda. On Tuesday, Elon Musk criticized the bill on his social media site X, calling it a "disgusting abomination." Musk, who left his role in the administration's Department of Government Efficiency last week, has provided new attention to the size of the bill and what it could mean for the nation's soaring deficit. The Republican party can only afford to lose three Senate votes in order to pass the package.
- 🎧 Musk wanted to slash government spending and says the GOP bill comes nowhere close to doing that. This has emboldened fiscal conservatives like Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, NPR's Claudia Grisales says. Johnson says Musk is recognized as a very smart person who did great work in exposing the Department of Justice's waste and now he is telling the truth about the bill. Republican leaders say these criticisms are wrong and that the GOP plan will boost the economy and cut spending. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the current version of the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
Trump has accused Iran of "slow walking" talks to reach a deal over its nuclear program. The U.S. and Iran have met repeatedly recently, but a key sticking point between the two nations is whether Iran should be allowed to enrich some uranium for civilian purposes. Yesterday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed any notion that his country would stop all enrichment, saying that it goes 100% against Iran's sovereignty. \
- 🎧 NPR's Jackie Northam says experts she has talked with say Iran may be stalling on a deal as it is in a very weak position, with its economy wrecked by years of sanctions. Yesterday, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran issue via a phone call. Putin agreed to participate in nuclear discussions with Iran to bring talks to "a rapid conclusion." Moscow has some sway with Tehran as they have arms deals and fight together in Syria. However, they are not tight allies. Northam says Moscow is unlikely to change Iran's paramount views on its right to enrich uranium.
Life advice
From house fires to mental health crises, dire situations can happen at any time. Knowing how to handle feelings of panic and stress can be a matter of life and death. Emergency response professionals share the tactics they use to stay cool and collected on the job. Life Kit breaks down the guidance with a comic:
- ➡️ Calm your body by shaking out your hands to release tension, unclenching and relaxing your jaw, and breathing slowly and steadily to lower your anxiety levels.
- ➡️ Take a moment to think before you act. Try to process what is happening to avoid costly mistakes.
- ➡️ Try planning and rehearsing for potential emergencies ahead of time.
- ➡️ Give yourself a pep talk to provide encouragement.
For more guidance on how to stay calm in the face of a crisis, listen to this episode of NPR's Life Kit. Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.
Picture show
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's current exhibition, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," offers a cultural and historical exploration of Black style over the past 300 years, focusing on dandyism. Monica L. Miller, a professor at Barnard College and guest curator for the exhibition, is the author of the 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which serves as the foundation for the show. "Not only is the dandy somebody who pushes boundaries and particularly in relationship to class, gender, sometimes sexuality," Miller told NPR, "but then, when you think about the dandy as racialized as Black, he's also pushing boundaries of what might seem acceptable." The exhibit, which uses garments, paintings, video and more from the 1700s to today, will run at the MET through October. Take a look inside the exhibit.
3 things to know before you go
- Astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who was the 90th woman in history to fly to space, is working on her latest mission: having a second child. She is sharing her journey with IVF on social media, letting others know they're not alone.
- Writer Edmund White has died at the age of 85. His work significantly impacted gay culture and shaped the understanding of LGBTQ experiences during the early AIDS crisis and beyond.
- In 2003, Amy Connor's twin sons were born premature. One of them needed a blood transfusion that met specific requirements. The family sent out emails to people they knew, and word spread through resharing. Eventually, several people showed up to help, and one was a match. Connor will never know who her unsung hero is due to privacy laws, but she wants to let them know they changed so many lives that day.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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