Importers respond U.S.-China tariff cuts. And, takeaways from day 1 of Diddy's trial

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Today's apical stories

A 90-day, impermanent commercialized woody betwixt the U.S. and China has resulted successful a scramble to bring merchandise crossed the Pacific Ocean. As portion of the deal, taxes connected Chinese imports to the U.S. dropped from 145% to 30%, portion the tariff China charges connected U.S. goods fell from 125% to 10%. With nary 1 knowing what volition hap aft the woody expires, galore importers are not taking immoderate chances.

Chinese made cars, including Volvo and different brands, are seen astatine the larboard successful Nanjing, successful China's eastbound Jiangsu state connected April 16, 2025, arsenic they hold to beryllium loaded onto ships for export. STR/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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STR/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

• 🎧 NPR's Scott Horsley tells Up First that the importers he's talked to astir the driblet successful tariffs showed determination and a feeling that it's clip to instrumentality to work. A immense fig of U.S. businesses trust connected Chinese factories for their merchandise. Bonnie Ross, a covering importer, says galore are expected to unreserved to bring successful their merchandise, but the capableness of the factories, the cargo ships and ports is limited. The crunch for clip could pb to precocious shipping costs connected apical of the 30% tariffs. The large driblet successful tariffs shows a motion of how unpredictable the tariff scenery is nether the Trump administration, Horsley says.

President Trump has landed successful Saudi Arabia, opening his four-day travel to the Middle East. This is his archetypal overseas authorities sojourn of his 2nd term, and it's a high-stakes travel with immense concern deals connected the table. The sojourn comes arsenic Gulf Arab states are hyper-focused connected transforming their economies.

• 🎧 Gulf leaders, knowing that Trump is simply a transactional president, admit that if they present connected large weapons purchases and different investments successful the U.S., Trump volition supply thing successful instrumentality for their security. Trump's idiosyncratic ties to the country are linked to his family's concern interests. The portion is seeing a launch of caller projects from the Trump Organization, including a Trump edifice operation successful Dubai and a play people successful Qatar. NPR's Aya Batrawy says this travel is simply a convergence of idiosyncratic ties and interests of each countries involved.

Opening statements successful Sean "Diddy" Combs' enactment trafficking proceedings took spot yesterday in New York City, aft the prosecution and defence narrowed the assemblage excavation down to 12 people, positive six alternates. Combs faces charges of enactment trafficking, transporting to prosecute successful prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. The proceedings is expected to past for 8 weeks.

• 🎧 NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, who was successful the courtroom, says the prosecution alleged Combs ran his businesses arsenic a transgression enterprise, allowing him to transportation retired and screen up crimes, including arson and bribery. They besides stated helium utilized his presumption and powerfulness to violently unit 2 ex-girlfriends into a fig of intersexual acts they didn't privation to do. The defence admitted Combs has a temper and tin beryllium physical. However, it argued that those ex-girlfriends were successful consensual relationships with him and unrelated to his businesses. Combs' ex-partner and singer, Cassie Ventura, is expected to beryllium a central portion of the case. Allegations that Combs supplied Ventura with drugs, bushed her and forced her to person enactment with antheral escorts were included successful the opening statements.

Deep dive

Anti-abortion activistic commune and protestation successful beforehand of the Greenville Women's Clinic successful Greenville, South Carolina, March 14, 2025. Jim Urquhart for NPR Jim Urquhart for NPR hide caption

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Jim Urquhart for NPR

Many Americans gully the enactment astatine the thought of charging women who get abortions with homicide. However, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, immoderate Republican lawmakers person go progressively unfastened to the idea. Jason Storms, the nationalist manager of the anti-abortion rights radical called Operation Save America, is moving to transportation much legislators astir its policy. Storms and aligned activists, who telephone themselves "abortion abolitionists," lobby legislators astatine statehouses to enactment hardline anti-abortion bills. At slightest 14 states saw bills filed during the existent oregon astir caller legislative sessions that would found fertilized eggs arsenic afloat ineligible persons and classify termination arsenic homicide. Storms says adjacent wrong some of the astir restrictive bills, immoderate states are inactive falling short.

• ➡️ Since Roe, estimates of termination successful the U.S. person increased. Storms believes the menace of harsh penalties for the mothers, and not conscionable the doc performing the abortion, could adjacent the "loophole."
• ➡️ It whitethorn beryllium challenging to triumph legislators implicit to this measure, due to the fact that it could undermine fashionable IVF services.
• ➡️ The abolitionist question believes the Bible instructs Christians to defy authorities oregon national laws that are "immoral." They are moving astatine a hyper-local level to promote officials to defy laws that support termination access.
• ➡️ Focusing connected section officials tin beryllium highly effectual due to the fact that it means accusation that women person astir termination resources tin beryllium constricted to gestation situation centers. Those centers are often Christian-run establishments deterring women from abortions.

Life advice

Some chefs person switched from integrative cutting boards to woody alternatives. One survey of integrative cutting boards recovered that they shed arsenic galore arsenic dozens of grams of microplastics per idiosyncratic per year. MyImages_Micha/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

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MyImages_Micha/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Scientists are increasing progressively disquieted astir microplastics uncovering their mode into our bodies done nutrient and room tools, perchance harming our health. Possible routes for the vulnerability travel from chopping connected integrative cutting boards, heating up integrative containers and tossing integrative detergent pods successful the dishwasher. Here's what you should cognize astir microplastics and immoderate ways you tin reduce your reliance connected plastic successful your kitchen:

• 🔪 The tiny particles person been recovered successful galore parts of the quality body, including the heart, lungs and placenta. There's not a batch known astir however it impacts humans, but immoderate studies person indicated that animals endure sick wellness effects owed to the beingness of microplastics.
• 🔪 Don't effort to regenerate each your integrative successful the room astatine once. Instead, effort replacing them 1 by 1 arsenic they request to beryllium replaced.
• 🔪 Instead of utilizing a integrative cutting board, usage a woody one. A caller survey stated that the integrative enactment is simply a "potentially important root of microplastics successful quality food."
• 🔪 Consider utilizing reusable cloth nutrient bags alternatively of integrative ones astatine the farmer's marketplace oregon market stores.

3 things to cognize earlier you go

The Angel Oak histrion connected Johns Island adjacent Charleston, S.C., pictured successful September 2013. Bruce Smith/AP hide caption

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Bruce Smith/AP

1. Olivia and Liam are the two astir fashionable names for newborns currently, but oak-based names similar Oakley are gaining traction.
2. Are you honoring a deceased subject work subordinate for Memorial Day? Tell america astir their life. Your communicative could beryllium featured successful this newsletter connected May 26.
3. NBC Sports announced yesterday that hoops fable Michael Jordan volition contribute to its programming astatine the commencement of the caller NBA play successful October.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.