Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.
Trump’s intelligence chief resignsTulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced today that she would leave her role at the end of June. She sent President Trump a resignation letter, explaining that she was stepping away to support her husband after he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Read her letter here. Gabbard’s tenure overseeing the country’s 18 intelligence agencies, including the C.I.A. and N.S.A., was rocky. She was largely sidelined by the White House on significant national security issues, including Iran and Venezuela, and she was not viewed by members of the administration as a key member of the president’s national-security team. Gabbard is Trump’s fourth cabinet secretary to leave in three months. (All of the departing members have been women.) Trump thanked her today for doing “an incredible job,” adding, “We will miss her.” Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, is set to replace her as acting director. In other Trump administration news: The president has faced rare criticism from within his own party about his $1.8 billion fund. We fact-checked his claims about it.
Mediators rush to save U.S.-Iran cease-fireEnvoys from Pakistan and Qatar traveled to Iran’s capital, Tehran, in an effort to prevent a monthlong cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran from collapsing. Negotiations between the two sides have been deadlocked for weeks over Iran’s nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, gas prices are likely to remain elevated for awhile, as millions of Americans hit the road this holiday weekend. In total, Americans have spent an extra $44.8 billion on gasoline and diesel since the war began. See the breakdown here. An increasing number of us are considering renting electric vehicles as a way to save on gas, but it’s not always a cheaper option.
Ebola is spreading in a vulnerable area of AfricaThe Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo has already recorded one of the highest death tolls of its kind in the country’s history. And, as our health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli explains in this video, cuts to the C.D.C. and U.S.A.I.D. could make it even worse. These maps show how the deadly virus has spread across the center of the continent. One of my colleagues also spent time reporting in Akobo, South Sudan, where issues like hunger and conflict, rather than Ebola, are on everyone’s minds. The situation there shows why South Sudan, which borders Congo, is vulnerable to the virus. For more: An American doctor with Ebola says he is “optimistic” for his recovery.
Democrats disagree over redistrictingVirginia’s Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, clashed this week with her party’s leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries. He has pushed to aggressively draw new maps in blue states to benefit Democrats ahead of the 2028 elections. Spanberger, whose approval rating dropped as she campaigned for her state’s redistricting referendum, said the party should focus its efforts on winning back control of Congress this November. In other politics news:
More top newsImmigration
Other Big Stories
‘Star Wars’ is back in theatersPedro Pascal stars as an interplanetary bounty hunter with an adorable sidekick in this weekend’s biggest film, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The movie’s story line, which began as a TV show, begins roughly five years after the events of “Return of the Jedi.” Read our review, and get a refresher of events before heading to the theater. The director, Jon Favreau, walked us through a sequence featuring a character who works at a food truck and is voiced by Martin Scorsese. Watch it here.
Take on our summer reading bucket listLike you, our Book Review staff is excited for the summer, when we can relax in hammocks and sand-crusted beach chairs and devour something from our to-read piles. They’ve come up with a summer reading bucket list to help you make the most of it. See how many boxes you can check off, and allow the advice from my colleagues to push you outside your reading comfort zone. (At the end of the summer, some lucky readers will win a prize.)
Dinner table topics
Cook: These lemon possets are sweet, creamy and zesty. Watch these movies and shows before they leave Netflix next month. Read David Sedaris’s funny new collection of essays |
