Ukraine-Russia peace; Gaza ceasefire; poverty help : NPR

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At the moment’s high tales

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say they’re nearer to reaching peace in Ukraine. The 2 met yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. In the meantime, Russia’s assaults on Ukraine continued over the weekend, and key points stay unresolved.

• 🎧 The truth that the 2 leaders met is an indication of momentum towards a peace deal, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First. However a peace did not seem like imminent after the assembly, and each leaders stated that talks would proceed. One of many matters of dialogue is tips on how to deal with the Donbas area in japanese Ukraine. Russia seeks to manage the world, and Zelenskyy believes it needs to be a demilitarized zone.

Trump is anticipated to fulfill with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately in Florida to give attention to among the gadgets left to finish on the president’s 20-point plan to finish the conflict in Gaza. The 2 leaders might additionally talk about non-Gaza matters, similar to Iran and its proxies.

• 🎧 Israeli officers say they see no indicators that Hamas is able to disarm, which can immediate Netanyahu to induce the U.S. to maintain the stress on Hamas to honor its finish of the cut price, in accordance with NPR’s Michele Kelemen. Israel additionally shares related sentiments about Lebanon — the place Hezbollah stays a risk — and Iran, the place Israelis say the nation is build up its ballistic missile stockpile. Kelemen says one factor to look at for within the assembly is whether or not Trump will announce a board of peace or take steps ahead in getting a world drive on the bottom in Gaza.

This has been a difficult 12 months for teams that assist these in poverty. Many have needed to cut back amid federal cuts and funding chaos. To raised perceive the affect the Trump administration’s insurance policies have had on these organizations, NPR’s Jennifer Ludden visited a bunch known as HAPCAP in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, the place Government Director Kelly Hatas defined what has been occurring since January.

• 🎧 Hatas says 80% of the group’s funding comes from federal grants, which is why their greatest problem is the uncertainty over what could possibly be focused subsequent for funding cuts or pauses. The state has helped by shifting funding to fill gaps, however the group nonetheless needed to pull again on issues like plans to construct a homeless shelter, Ludden says. Employees are leaving, pushed by issues about job safety. The group has additionally needed to lay off or cut back the hours of some workers members. Subsequent 12 months, potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP meals help might go away extra individuals in want.

Image Present

Polar bear. Dalian Forest Zoo. China.

Polar bears are the most important land carnivore on the earth, weighing as much as 800kg and rising as much as 3 metres in size.

The standard zoo enclosure for a polar bear is one-millionth the dimensions of its vary within the wild, which may attain 31,000 sq. miles (80,290 km²).

Polar bears dwell in Arctic areas in Canada, Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Norway, in temperatures as little as -46°C (-50.8°F)

Dalian Forest Zoo incorporates over 3,000 animals. Points of interest embody Safari Space, Rain Forest Reptile Pavilion, Flamingo Pavilion, Little Animal Village, Wild Animal Vary, Swan Lake, Fierce Beast Space, Pleased Primate Backyard and Elephant Pavilion.

Zed Nelson/Institute

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Zed Nelson/Institute

Images is a major a part of Goats and Soda’s protection of the fun and strife of each day life. Images maintain a particular energy within the staff’s work. From a polar bear in a Chinese language zoo to a teen in Zambia going through an unsure future, take a look at Goats and Soda’s high photo-driven tales of 2025.

Behind the story

This essay was written by East Asia-based correspondent Anthony Kuhn and local weather options correspondent Julia Simon.

As East Asia-based correspondent and Local weather Options correspondent, we had the chance to collaborate this 12 months in a means that journalists at few different media organizations can do.

We reported from completely different sides of the world on a significant pattern with big repercussions for the worldwide economic system and the planet: how the U.S. and China are diverging of their vitality insurance policies. China is dominating the worldwide renewables sector, and the U.S. is doubling down on fossil fuels.

Chris Mikkelsen, government director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District, stands on the location of a deliberate marine terminal in Eureka, Calif. that can assemble wind generators. The Trump administration not too long ago canceled greater than $426 million in federal grants for the port.

Julia Simon/NPR

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Julia Simon/NPR

Anthony set off for the sting of the North China Plain, the place gargantuan wind turbine blades on vehicles took what felt like an eternity to go on the roads. He spoke to engineers who use sensible grids, batteries and transmission traces to show the generators’ energy right into a dependable provide of vitality to Chinese language households.

In the meantime — greater than 5,000 miles away — Julia went to far northern California, the place a deliberate offshore wind undertaking on Humboldt Bay has hit new roadblocks with the Trump administration. The marine terminal that can assemble the generators was speculated to be shovel-ready as quickly as 2026. However workers informed Julia that is not practical, partially as a result of the Trump administration not too long ago canceled greater than $426 million in federal grants for the port.

Because the radio and digital variations of our story got here out in latest weeks, the Trump administration has continued to face in the best way of the U.S. renewable vitality trade. Simply this week the Trump administration paused 5 offshore wind tasks alongside the East Coast, calling them a nationwide safety threat. These tasks had already authorized federal leases, they usually had been already beneath building.

This divergence in vitality coverage has big implications for the Chinese language and the U.S. economies, and for the 2 powers’ rivalry and competitors by vitality tech exports.

As for the local weather? Johns Hopkins College China knowledgeable Jeremy Wallace informed us, “China’s efforts are the primary story for combating local weather change.”

You’ll find out extra in our NPR story — all with no paywall — right here.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

The lacking portray, Gabriele Münter, Music (Musik), 1916, its whereabouts unknown to the general public since 1977. Oil on canvas. Non-public assortment. © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.

The Guggenheim, New York

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The Guggenheim, New York

1. Do you’ve this lacking portray? A New York curator is attempting to find Music by Gabriele Münter. It is a vital work that has been out of public view for the reason that Seventies.
2. Brigitte Bardot, the worldwide intercourse goddess of cinema within the Nineteen Fifties and Sixties who later turned an animal rights activist, has died on the age of 91.
3. Most individuals mark the brand new 12 months on Jan. 1 due to the Gregorian calendar. Given the existence of various methods such because the Chinese language and Hebrew calendars, this is how this particular date turned the international customary for brand spanking new beginnings.

This article was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.