Cohen Releases Tape; Laos Dam Collapses; Goldfish Recall

New poll shows most Americans think Trump isn't tough enough on Russia. [NPR]( Daily Headlines Wednesday, July 25, 2018 FIRST UP: What you need to know now [Trump administration plans $12 billion in farm aid.]( American farmers, especially soybean growers, are beginning to feel the sting of the administration’s intensifying international trade war. The short-term aid is intended to offset tariffs imposed by other countries, but farm state lawmakers and other groups criticized the move and called it a bailout. [Read more](. [19 dead, nearly 50 missing in Laos dam collapse.]( A hydroelectric dam under construction collapsed and flooded villages in southern Laos on Monday, leaving more than a dozen dead and missing. More than 1,300 families have been left homeless. The $1.2 billion dam project was scheduled to begin operation next year. [Read more](. [U.S. government has lost track of hundreds of migrant parents separated from children.]( [A Brazilian mother, who asked to be identified only as W.R., was reunified with with her 9-year-old son A.R. in Boston on July 16.]( Michael Dwyer/AP Despite reuniting more than 1,000 parents separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, as many as 463 parents may have been deported or have voluntarily left the U.S. without their children. A federal judge called the government's failure to keep track of split families a "deeply troubling reality" of its policy. [Read more](. [Trump blasts former lawyer Michael Cohen for taping conversation]( President Trump asked “What kind of lawyer would tape a client?” in a tweet on Wednesday after Cohen released a recording of the two discussing payments to his former Playboy model who alleges she had an affair with then-candidate Trump. [Read more](. IN THE NEWS: Digging deeper How tough is Trump on Russia? Not enough, says NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist's new poll. A new [NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll]( conducted after President Trump's summit in Helsinki last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin finds that two thirds of respondents don't believe Trump was as strong as he should have been. While nearly half of Republicans shared this view, more than half of GOP voters polled say that Trump should see Putin as an ally. [Other poll findings]( - Fifty nine percent of respondents say it's good for the U.S. to build relationships with Russia. More than three quarters of Republicans share that view, and about half of Democrats believe the U.S. should see Russia as a threat. - About 69 percent of Americans agreed Russia was a bad actor in the elections, and 57 percent believe Russia will do it again in this year’s elections. - Nearly half of respondents believe special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of the Russia probe has been fair. - Negative impressions of President Trump were extremely pronounced among women, and the poll found an enormous gender gap of 43 points between women and men. - Trump gets credit for his handling of the U.S. economy — just over half say he’s moving it in a better direction, while about a third of respondents say he’s making it worse. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( BEFORE YOU GO [A masked Somali pirate stands near a Taiwanese fishing vessel that washed up in 2012 after the pirates were paid a ransom and released the crew. The image appears on the cover of Michael Scott Moore's new book The Desert and the Sea.]( Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP - No surprises here: [being held hostage by Somali pirates]( is as bad as you’d expect. - Toddler meltdown alert! [Goldfish crackers have been recalled]( for salmonella risk. - Fyre and fraud: the SEC settles with the founder of the calamitous [Fyre Festival](. - Who runs the world? Meet Mexico City’s [first elected female mayor](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's newsletter was written by [Korva Coleman]( and intern Cecilia Lei. You received this message because you're subscribed to our News emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]