The Evening: New pollution rules for trucks

Also, a U.S. reporter has spent a year in a Russian prison.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 29, 2024 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday. New U.S. truck rules Germany's shift on Israel Plus, how the bunny became cute The regulation would apply to more than 100 types of vehicles including tractor-trailers, ambulances and R.V.s. Mark Abramson for The New York Times The U.S. aims to boost electric truck sales The Biden administration today announced a new environmental regulation that forces manufacturers of heavy trucks to quickly transition their new vehicles to electric power or other low-pollution technologies. Together with a similar regulation on passenger cars issued last week, the new rules represent the administration's most significant effort to transform the transportation industry, which is the nation's largest source of fossil fuel emissions. The new rule does not mandate the use of electric motors, but rather sets increasingly strict emissions limits across manufacturers' production lines. Officials project that it will increase the percentage of new nonpolluting long-haul trucks sold in the U.S. from 2 percent to as much as 25 percent by 2032. But that won't be cheap or easy. The shift to electric trucks lags far behind the adoption of electric personal vehicles, in part because electric eighteen-wheelers can cost two or three times as much as a diesel truck and require large, heavy batteries that reduce the truck's capacity. Also, there are currently only 5,000 charging stations in the U.S. capable of serving heavy trucks, far fewer than what truckers say would be required to make the transition. Relatives of Israeli hostages held pictures of Germany's chancellor during his visit to Tel Aviv in October. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Germany, a loyal Israel ally, shifts its tone For German leaders, support for Israel has long been considered a "Staatsräson," or national reason for existence, as a way of atoning for the Holocaust. But some officials there have begun to question whether their backing of Israel's campaign in Gaza has gone too far. The change in tone is partly a response to fears that Israel will go ahead with its planned invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah — a concern that U.S. officials share. An electronic billboard in New York on Friday. Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A U.S. reporter has spent a year in a Russian prison One year ago today, Russian authorities detained Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and accused him of spying for the U.S. government. He is the first American reporter to be held on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War. The U.S. and The Journal vehemently deny the accusations, but this week his detention was extended for another three months. Vladimir Putin recently said that he would consider trading Gershkovich in a prisoner swap, but my colleague Valerie Hopkins, who covers Russia and knows Gershkovich, said his future is still uncertain. "It's incredibly difficult to make any kind of agreement at this time," she told us. "Not a day has gone by when I'm not thinking about what he might be doing." For more: We talked to Gershkovich's parents about their experience. The New York Times School absences have spiked since the pandemic Across the country, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent during the last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic. That spike, educators said, suggests that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture surrounding school. "Our relationship with school became optional," one expert said. Absenteeism has increased in districts big and small, and across income levels and races. But poor communities are facing an even bigger crisis: Around 32 percent of students in the poorest districts of the U.S. were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. More top news Syria: Airstrikes near Aleppo killed a number of soldiers, state news media reported, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Israeli attacks in the country in years. Baltimore: President Biden said he would travel to the city next week after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Markets: The S&P 500 has risen more than 10 percent over the first three months of 2024, with 22 record highs since January. Health: The F.D.A. warned that a heart pump used as a temporary implant had been linked to 49 deaths, but allowed the device to remain in use. Housing: Arizona is facing a dire shortage of affordable housing, and it's sowing economic anxiety among voters. Education: Applications to Harvard were down this year, even as applications to many other highly selective schools hit record highs. Wildlife: In a move to protect whales, Polynesian Indigenous groups signed a treaty that recognizes them as legal persons. Arts: Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win the Oscar for best supporting actor, for his portrayal of a drill instructor in "An Officer and a Gentleman," died at 87. TIME TO UNWIND Beyoncé during New York Fashion Week in February. James Devaney/GC Images, via Getty Images Beyoncé stretches the meaning of genre Beyoncé's new album, "Cowboy Carter," which was released this morning, is as country as expected: The star's twang shines through, and Dolly Parton makes an appearance. But Beyoncé doesn't stop with one, or even two, genres. She covers the Beatles' song "Blackbird," draws inspiration from the Beach Boys and even flexes some opera skills. The album includes a slew of famous collaborators, including Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone. We took a look at some of the significant figures and musicians behind the scenes. Erik Carter Literary allusions are everywhere You might not always recognize it, but the literary allusion is ubiquitous. Consider the recent major novels "Birnam Wood" and "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow." Both borrowed their titles from "Macbeth." While it's common now, this kind of appropriation seems to be a relatively modern phenomenon, our critic A.O. Scott writes. You may even be surprised by how often allusions appear. Take our quiz to see how many literary references you can recognize. The cast of the 2024 season of "Gladiators." BBC/Hungry Bear, via Gary Moyes Dinner table topics Is appointment television back? A reboot of "Gladiators," the musclebound 1990s staple, has attracted millions of viewers in Britain. Extra large: Where do NCAA basketball's tallest players find clothes that fit? It's not so simple. Saving San Francisco: Is the tech investor Garry Tan the city's "Twitter menace" or true believer? He might be both. Quadruple axel: Champion figure skaters accomplish their extraordinary jumps and spins by rewiring their brains. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT WHAT TO DO THIS WEEKEND Ryan Liebe for The New York Times Cook: Add baked eggs with kale, bacon and cornbread crumbs to your Easter table. Watch: Are you a pop culture-obsessed weirdo? Try this alternative to Netflix and Hulu. Read: Our critics and editors recommend these eight new books. Plan: What to do with 36 hours in Mumbai. Protect: We answered your burning questions about sunscreen. List: Feeling overwhelmed? Try tallying your tiny wins. Drink: Here are 10 Austrian red wines to try. Compete: Take this week's news quiz. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ONE LAST THING Tony Evans/Getty Images How the bunny became cute If you look around this weekend, you'll notice that cute bunnies are everywhere: in chocolate, in children's toys and even at the White House. But it wasn't always this way. Early versions of the Easter Bunny were enigmatic and omniscient figures, as likely to punish a naughty child as reward a good one. It wasn't until the late 1930s, following a series of hit children's books, that the bunny became the cuddly character we know today. Have a darling Easter weekend. Thanks for reading. Daniel E. Slotnik contributed to today's newsletter. I'll be back on Monday. — Matthew We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Writer: Matthew Cullen Editorial Director: Adam Pasick Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Photo Editor: Brent Lewis Need help? 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Fareed: Don’t Use Illiberal Tactics to Save Liberalism

The Ronna McDaniel–NBC saga highlights a conundrum for 2024, plus: EVs are a challenge for Germany's auto industry; Gaza after the war; and has the tide turned against Myanmar's junta? …

View this email in your browser  Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Chris Good   Seeing this newsletter as a forward? Sign up here.   March 29, 2024 Fareed: Don't Use Illiberal Tactics to Save Liberalism "The hiring and firing of Ronna McDaniel as an NBC News political analyst might seem like a small media tempest," Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column, "but it does force a reckoning with a much larger issue that will come up again and again in this campaign: how to deal with [former President] Donald Trump and his supporters."   McDaniel's hiring drew sharp criticism, including from NBC's own Chuck Todd, given McDaniel's questioning of the 2020 election's fairness and, more broadly, what Todd described as "gaslighting" and "character assassination" that Republican operatives have deployed in response to journalists' challenging questions during the Trump era.   But shutting out voices like McDaniel's entirely is not the right answer, Fareed argues. That's especially true, Fareed writes, for those who adhere to liberalism—not political leftism but the broad liberal principles of openness, free speech, and the rule of law. Trump's "brand of right-wing populism is illiberal, xenophobic, and takes America into dark dead-ends," Fareed argues. "But the way to defeat it in a liberal democracy is not by using legal mechanisms that take him off the political playing field and canceling those who support him. Rather it is to debate his allies, to put forward powerful and persuasive positions that show Americans that you can address their concerns, and to confront Trump on the political battlefield—and beat him." EVs: A Problem for the German Auto Industry While Tesla has become the US electric-car champion, Chinese producers loom large. BYD—which overtook Tesla in EV sales by volume in the final quarter of last year—has grown so big it has expanded into the shipping business, chartering its own cargo vessel to send cars overseas.   Chinese EVs present a new challenge for the West, Edward Shite and Peter Campbell wrote in a Financial Times feature in January. Global auto markets are about to be flooded with Chinese EVs, which will boost protectionist impulses and disrupt politics, Howard W. French suggested in a Foreign Policy column earlier this month.   At Der Spiegel, six coauthors write that German automakers are struggling to go electric in a marketable, profitable way: "No German manufacturer currently has an electric car on the market that costs less than 25,000 euros, and most prices are well over 30,000 euros. The e-up!, a compact bestseller for years, was taken off the market by Volkswagen in 2023—allegedly because it was no longer profitable. VW has no plans to bring cheaper electric vehicles back onto the market until 2026. Meanwhile, Mercedes and its Chinese partner Geely keep adding extras to the E-Smart, making it more expensive. In most cases, it costs several thousand euros more to buy an electric car than a comparable combustion engine. Added to this is an economic environment that makes the change seem unattractive: recession, inflation and highly volatile electricity prices, which were among the highest in Europe in 2023. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) expects sales to fall by 14 percent this year." Gaza After the War What will happen to Gaza after the Israel–Hamas war ends? On Sunday's GPS, Fareed heard an optimistic take from New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who suggested Gulf Arab funding could transform Gaza into something more akin to Dubai, and an only somewhat less-optimistic one from former US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer. Has the Tide Turned Against Myanmar's Junta? Myanmar's ruling junta has been on the back foot since late October, when the so-called 1027 offensive—launched Oct. 27  by a coalition of ethnic militias—succeeded in taking swaths of territory. Since then, commentators have wondered if army chief Min Aung Hlaing's military rule will hold.   "The escalation in fighting has underlined Myanmar's strained relations with Beijing, one of its few remaining allies," Aung Naing Soe and Rebecca Ratcliffe noted in The Guardian in November. Earlier this month a Nikkei Asia editorial posited, of plans to introduce a new military draft in April: "What triggered this move is the breakdown of military rule." The Economist writes: "Operation 1027 inspired others," noting that anti-junta militias outside the alliance behind the 1027 offensive have achieved gains of their own. "The junta's response, as ever, is indiscriminate violence."   The Diplomat's March cover story, by Thomas Kean, offers a comprehensive picture of military and political difficulties the junta faces. Some within the pro-junta community seem dissatisfied with Min Aung Hlaing, who has mismanaged both the military situation and Myanmar's economy, Kean writes, noting a rare protest in a military stronghold in January. China is a key but ambiguous player.   Of China and the 1027 offensive, Kean writes: "Chinese authorities allowed the offensive to proceed because they were incensed at the military regime's failure to rein in cyberscam operators in the Kokang region, where tens of thousands of people had been put to work fleecing people around the world out of billions of dollars, in what are known as 'pig butchering' scams. Many were human trafficking victims, effectively forced to work as slaves; the United Nations estimated last year that in Myanmar at least 120,000 people were likely being 'held in situations where they are forced to carry out online scams,' along with another 100,000 in Cambodia." Some of the scams target Chinese citizens, Kean writes. The military situation is complex, as Kean depicts it, with myriad ethnic militias aligned against and for the ruling junta. Fighting against the army is much easier in the country's fringes, where ethnic militias have made their gains, Kean writes; the Burmese-dominated lowlands are much easier to defend, constituting a core territory the regime "cannot afford to lose." What did you think of today's newsletter? Send ideas, questions and feedback to globalbriefing@cnn.com   You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for Fareed's Global Briefing. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or sign up to manage your CNN account   Learn more about the CNN app |  Get CNN web alerts  |  Sign up for a free CNN account   ® © 2024 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. 1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318