Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday.
The U.S. aims to boost electric truck salesThe 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.
Germany, a loyal Israel ally, shifts its toneFor 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.
A U.S. reporter has spent a year in a Russian prisonOne 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.
School absences have spiked since the pandemicAcross 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
Beyoncé stretches the meaning of genreBeyoncé'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.
Literary allusions are everywhereYou 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.
Dinner table topics
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.
How the bunny became cuteIf 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.
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