News
House Republicans propose plan to avoid shutdown. And, Canada's next prime minister
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Today’s top stories
House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a 99-page stopgap bill over the weekend to keep the federal government running through September. Congress must approve a bill by Friday or face another government shutdown.
The U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 10, 2025.
Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR
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Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR
- 🎧 Passing all 12 annual spending bills would require an incredible amount of party unity and likely bipartisan negotiations with Democrats, something Republicans were not interested in, NPR’s Susan Davis tells Up First. Republicans didn’t want to burn their political capital, and they’re more focused on passing a separate, massive budget bill to extend President Trump’s tax cuts. Top House Democratic leaders quickly came out over the weekend to say they would oppose this plan. Davis says that if House Democrats are unified in this decision, Johnson will essentially need unanimous support from his party.
Former Canadian central banker Mark Carney won yesterday’s leadership contest for Canada’s Liberal Party by a landslide. He will replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is leaving office as Canada faces a confrontation with the U.S. He is expected to be sworn in early this week.
- 🎧 Carney was not a political figure and only threw his hat in the ring for the party’s leadership role after Trudeau announced he would step down. He has an international reputation, spending time on Wall Street and helping to navigate post-Brexit turbulence as the head of the Bank of England, NPR’s Jackie Northam says. That expertise could be critical for his role as prime minister to tackle the country’s current economic challenges and navigate Trump’s trade policies. It is possible that Carney may not be in office long, as Canada needs to hold its general election by the end of October.
U.S. immigration agents have arrested Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who helped lead pro-Palestinian student protests at Columbia University. His lawyer tells NPR that ICE officers picked him up at his university apartment and told him his green card, which made him a legal permanent resident in the U.S., had been revoked. Trump has promised to deport students who protested against Israel during the war in Gaza.
- 🎧 ICE spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin says Khalil was arrested in support of Trump’s recently signed executive order on antisemitism and that he had “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” NPR’s Adrian Florido says conservative lawmakers have tried to label pro-Palestinian protesters as pro-Hamas, pro-terrorist and antisemitic. Students have consistently rejected these claims and have said the protests were for peace in Gaza. Student activists are denouncing Khalil’s arrest as an attempt to use deportation to stifle free speech.
Picture show
Rev. Ralph Abernathy, James Forman, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Jesse Douglas lead the voting rights march to the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Spider Martin/Briscoe Center for American History
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Spider Martin/Briscoe Center for American History
James “Spider” Martin was assigned by the Birmingham News to photograph the weekslong protests in Alabama after state troopers killed civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson. The demonstrations culminated on March 7, 1965, a day that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” On that day, activists attempted to peacefully march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on their way to Montgomery, Ala. Law enforcement attacked 600 of the protesters with billy clubs and tear gas. Much of Martin’s photographic archive from the protests has recently been restored. Here’s a look at the photos.
Life advice
The “20 Statements Test” can help you reimagine the way you see yourself, says Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the book Smart Change.
Beck Harlan/NPR
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Beck Harlan/NPR
Whether you’re considering a new career or moving to a different city, there are exercises that can help you make difficult decisions more clearly. Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, says the key is to be curious because it opens you up to the prospect that life can be even more interesting than you envisioned. If you’re ready to make a big decision, grab a pen, a notebook and a calendar and answer these prompts from Life Kit‘s experts.
- ✏️ Brainstorm with the “Two Lines” exercise. On the left side of the page, write where you are today. On the right, write where you hope to be. In the middle column, write down ideas for achieving your goal.
- ✏️ Get unstuck with the “20 Statements Test.” Write the question “Who am I?” at the top of the page and write down 20 answers. Look to see if any of your written traits counteract the ones holding you back.
- ✏️ Look for a date on your calendar to kickstart your significant life change. Creating a symbolic date can spur the “fresh start effect,” boosting your motivation and sense of optimism.
3 things to know before you go
Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street Washington, D.C., is repainted following the removal of the lettering for a construction project on May 13, 2021.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
- Washington, D.C.’s iconic “Black Lives Matter” street mural near the White House will soon be gone after U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., introduced legislation last week that gave the District an ultimatum: Remove it or risk losing federal funding.
- Ryan James Wedding, a 43-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is now on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for allegedly running a drug trafficking operation that regularly shipped kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
- A group of researchers discovered in East Africa that early humans used animal bones to craft tools more than a million years earlier than previously believed. Most of the tools were made from the bones of elephants, hippopotamuses and bovids.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
An explosion and fire drew a large emergency response on Friday to a lumber mill in the Midcoast region of Maine, officials said.
The State Police and fire marshal’s investigators responded to Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, about 72 miles northeast of Portland, said Shannon Moss, a spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Mike Larrivee, the director of the Waldo County Regional Communications Center, said the number of victims was unknown, cautioning that “the information we’re getting from the scene is very vague.”
“We’ve sent every resource in the county to that area, plus surrounding counties,” he said.
Footage from the scene shared by WABI-TV showed flames burning through the roof of a large structure as heavy, dark smoke billowed skyward.
The Associated Press reported that at least five people were injured, and that county officials were considering the incident a “mass casualty event.”
Catherine Robbins-Halsted, an owner and vice president at Robbins Lumber, told reporters at the scene that all of the company’s employees had been accounted for.
Gov. Janet T. Mills of Maine said on social media that she had been briefed on the situation and urged people to avoid the area.
“I ask Maine people to join me in keeping all those affected in their thoughts,” she said.
Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, said on social media that he was aware of the fire and explosion.
“As my team and I seek out more information, I am praying for the safety and well-being of first responders and everyone else on-site,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Crime scene tape surrounds a bicycle in front of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Atlanta on May 14, 2026. (SKYFOX 5)
ATLANTA – The woman stabbed to death on the Beltline has been identified as 23-year-old Alyssa Paige, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner.
The backstory:
Paige was killed by a 21-year-old man Thursday afternoon while she was on the Beltline. Officials confirmed to FOX 5 that the stabbing happened near the 1700 block of Flagler Avenue NE.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the department was alerted around 12:10 p.m. that a woman had been stabbed just north of the Montgomery Ferry Drive overpass. She was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital where she later died. Another person was also stabbed during the incident, but their condition remains unknown.
According to officers, the man responsible attacked a U.S. Postal worker prior to the stabbing before getting away on a bike. He then used that bike to flee the scene of the stabbing as well.
The suspect was arrested near St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Peachtree Street in Midtown around 5:25 p.m.
What we don’t know:
While officials haven’t released an official motive, they noted the man may have been suffering a mental health crisis.
The Source: Information in this article came from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.
The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.
The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.
The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.
Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.
The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.
“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”
The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.
Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.
“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”
Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.
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