To kick off celebrations of America’s founding, Trump travels to its heartland
President Trump will deliver a speech in Iowa Thursday night launching a year of “America250” events for the country’s 250th anniversary while Republican leadership races to pass his “One Big Beautiful Bill” through the House.
The event will be at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and is touted as “A New Era Of American Greatness” by the commission organizing it. Trump is expected to speak at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Trump is expected to announce more details about proposals he floated on the campaign trail, like high school athletes competing in “Patriot Games” and a “Great American State Fair” featuring pavilions from all 50 states that “will showcase the glory of every state in the Union, promote pride in our history and put forth innovative visions for America’s future.”
But the speech will also be used as a platform for the president to tout his second-term policy agenda, including a sweeping tax and policy measure that is projected to increase the budget deficit while extending tax cuts that Trump put in place in his first term. The package also makes cuts to health care and social services.
Trump also said he would be discussing his trade agenda, “especially as it relates to Farmers.” Trump’s steep and broad tariff plans have put him at odds with farmers who rely on trade but have also been a part of the president’s base. The administration set a deadline of next week for countries around the world to propose new trade deals if they want to stave off steeper tariffs on their goods to the U.S.
Just how much policy versus pomp the event will have remains to be seen.
As part of the planning for the semiquincentennial anniversary, Trump signed an executive order in January creating a task force to plan for America’s 250th birthday next year.
The order also revives Trump’s call for a National Garden of American Heroes, a statuary park honoring 250 figures ranging from Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy to basketball star Kobe Bryant, architect Frank Lloyd Wright and civil rights leader C.T. Vivian.
The yearlong celebration will be overseen by a president who has wielded some of the most power over the federal government since its founding nearly a quarter of a millennium ago. In the months since he took office, Trump has put the separation of powers to the test, as he seeks to consolidate power within the executive branch.
Colombia’s lone Amazon port faces drying river and rising tensions with Peru
Colombia's only Amazon port town could soon be cut off from the river that keeps it alive. As drought and a shifting river spark a tense border dispute with Peru, locals are scrambling to adapt—and politicians are raising flags, literally.
Sunday Puzzle: Common denominator
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz along with listener Cynthia Rose of Littleton, Colorado.
South Korea says it has reached a deal with the US for the release of workers in a Georgia plant
More than 300 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration raid on Thursday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home.
Hitch a ride to the moon in a rusty old car and ‘The Couch in the Yard’
As the sun sets in a small town, a family loads up their rusty old car with the spare couch in their yard. When it breaks down in the mountains, what else is there to do but fly it to the moon?
The silent killer increases your risk of stroke and dementia. Here’s how to control it
New recommendations for early treatment for hypertension to prevent strokes, heart attacks and dementia come as an experimental medication is shown to lower blood pressure in hard to treat patients.
Are you a grandparent-to-be? Here’s some advice from those who came before you
Sept. 7 is National Grandparents Day. NPR readers shared the joys of becoming grandparents and offered some sage advice.
