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Today’s top stories

As Congress returns from recess today, Democrats are in for a tough family conversation. Four senior House Democrats said on a private call yesterday that they believe President Biden should drop out of the 2024 race. Others have publicly criticized those calling for Biden to step aside. Meanwhile, Biden campaigned in Pennsylvania yesterday like a man on a mission.

• 🎧 NPR’s Tamara Keith tells Up First that “the whole point” of Biden’s campaigning in Pennsylvania “seemed to be to show his critics that he has the stamina to beat Trump.” She adds that many House members are looking for clues from top leadership like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — but they haven’t shown their cards yet.
• ➡️ In an effort to quell concerns about his ability to do the job for four more years after a weak debate performance last month, Biden sat down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. Here are six takeaways from their conversation.
• ➡️ Vice President Kamala Harris is the top alternative to replace Biden if he exits the race, according to current and former Democratic leaders. It’s put her under intense scrutiny, even if he stays in. Here are the other up-and-coming Democrats that could be contenders this year or in 2028.
• ➡️ Who is backing Biden, and who wants him to step down? Keep up with NPR’s tracker.

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the Justice Department said in a court filing on Sunday. As part of the plea deal, Boeing will pay a $243.6 million fine, invest upwards of $450 million toward safety and compliance programs and be on probation for three years.

• 🎧 The crash victims’ families hate this deal, NPR’s Joel Rose reports. They say it’s a “sweetheart deal for Boeing.” They’ve urged a federal judge to reject the deal. Many hoped for bigger fines and personal accountability for the company’s leaders. Rose adds that federal law enforcement is looking separately into an incident in January when a door plug blew off a Boeing jet operated by Alaska Airlines midflight.

France’s far-right party fell far short of getting a majority after a historic number of voters participated in the country’s snap elections. The country saw a 67% voter turnout.

• 🎧 NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley describes it as “a huge surprise and upset” for the far-right party. Voters tell her they became frightened after the first round of voting last week when the far-right was in the lead. At a gathering in Paris, Beardsley reports voters from the left were “exhilarated” after the results were announced. But moving forward, she expects a “big political mess.” President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party and the far-left worked together to defeat the right, but Beardsley says they don’t have much in common.
• ➡️ NPR’s international correspondents will cover major elections from across the world all year. Keep track of them all here.

Beryl made landfall in Texas this morning as a Category 1 Hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5:00 a.m. ET update. More than 100 counties are under a state disaster declaration, and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said yesterday more may be added. More than 2,500 responders have been dispatched across the state.

Life Advice

If you order more food than everyone else, how do you split the check? Chef and writer Kiki Aranita offers advice.

Malaka Gharib/NPR

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Malaka Gharib/NPR

Dining out with your friends is all fun and games until it’s time to pay for your meal. Splitting the bill is a fine art. New York Magazine food editor Kiki Aranita says there should be “a sense of equality in how the check is divvied up” when the meal ends. She offers advice on how to keep things “fair and square”:

• 🧾 If you arrive late and everyone has already ordered appetizers and drinks, consider telling your server you want your food and drinks on a separate check.
• 🧾 Speak up if you didn’t order alcohol and everyone else did. Chances are, your friends will reconfigure the bill more fairly.
• 🧾  Make life easier for your server by putting down one or two credit cards and paying each other back if you’re a large group.
• 🧾 Make sure everyone is on the same page before you order appetizers for the table.

Picture show

Bolivian women skateboarders — wearing traditional garb — demonstrate their skills on the half pipe.
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Indigenous arts and culture from across Latin America were on display at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival. From an all-female Bolivian skateboarding crew to artists singing and painting to weaving, people from the Latin American contingent at the festival shared their stories and expertise with excited onlookers like 2-year-old first-time skateboarder Poppy Moore. One of the artists NPR’s team met was Ubaldo Sanchez from Guatemala. His portrait of former President Obama was selected for his White House collection, and he successfully painted a giant kite by the festival’s closing.
📷 See photos from the festival and read about the special connection Sanchez found with NPR’s Marc Silver.

3 things to know before you go

Jennifer Privett takes her Himalayan cat Jean Claude out for a stroll in San Francisco.

Chloe Veltman/NPR

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Chloe Veltman/NPR

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1. In the U.S., whether cats should be allowed to roam freely outdoors is a controversial topic. Some cat owners (including me!) navigate the issue by taking their furry friends on leashed walks.
2. Companies like Walmart and McDonald’s are transforming how they think about higher education by convincing schools to allow employees to earn college credit for what they learn on the job.
3. Angela Zhao was 10 years old when she entered her first piano competition in 2020. She began to doubt herself before the performance until her unsung hero, a fellow competitor, gave her the “precious gift” of a kind smile.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Anandita Bhalerao contributed.

Amid his first visit to Taiwan, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Sunday the opening of a Texas-Taiwan trade representative office in Taipei to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island.

Taiwan-based companies have been expanding into Texas for years, specifically in the semiconductor and petrochemical industries. Totaling $21.3 billion in 2023, Taiwan is Texas’ seventh-largest trade partner, according to Abbott.

One of the notable expansions is by GlobalWafers, a Taiwan-based semiconductor silicon wafer company, which announced in 2022 plans to build a state-of-the-art silicon wafer factory in Sherman, Texas. This facility, expected to be the first of its kind in the United States in over two decades, aims to address the semiconductor supply chain issues in the U.S. by reducing the reliance on imported silicon wafers from Asia. This project is anticipated to create around 1,500 jobs and significantly bolster the state’s local economy.

During a visit to Taiwan on Sunday, Abbott announced the opening of the State of Texas Taiwan Office (STTO), making it the 23rd U.S. state to open an office in Taipei. The STTO, which will operate under Texas’ Economic Development & Tourism Office, was announced in an effort to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island, with the Republican governor also signing a letter of intent.

Newsweek has reached out to Abbott’s office via email for comment.

“We understand, both in Texas and in the United States, the importance of a strong Taiwan for the future of the entire globe. One of the best things that we can do to strengthen Taiwan and strengthen its future is by expanding our economic ties, so that Taiwan grows even stronger economically,” Abbott said on a stage with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-Huei Kuo.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott praised the opening of the office and wrote on Sunday morning, “Taiwan President Lai welcomed our Texas delegation in Taipei. We also announced the opening of a trade representative office for the State of Texas. We do BILLIONS in trade with Taiwan. The country was very hospitable.”

According to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, Texas is an important trading partner as the Lone Star state is the ninth largest export market, with exports exceeding $11.5 billion in 2023.

“During this trip you will open the state of Texas-Taiwan office and sign an economic development statement of intent. I assure that the office will create new and trailblazing opportunities for an even stronger collaboration between Taiwanese and US businesses,” Lai said, according to Taiwan News.

However, the announcement comes as tensions between Taiwan and China continue to grow.

In May, Lai faced China’s largest-scale military exercises in nearly two years. It comes as a response to Lai’s inauguration speech as he asserted that “the Republic of China Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation,” adding it is “an important link in the global chain of democracies.” While Taiwan has been independently governed since 1949, China views the island as part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out the use of force to unify the nations.

In addition, China has said it would launch a war if Taiwan were ever to officially declare independence. Lai, like his predecessor, former President Tsai Ing-wen, has maintained that there is no need to do so, as Taiwan is already an independent state.

Last week, China issued a no-sail zone warning in waters near Taiwan.

Maritime Safety Administration of China’s eastern Zhejiang province issued the navigational warning for a “military exercises” in the East China Sea from Wednesday to Friday as China’s military deployed 22 aircraft and six vessels.