Parents of Uvalde victims will gather to protest gun laws; California is phasing out gas-powered cars

Plus, how a N.J. town reduced its traffic fatalities to zero [View this email online]( [NPR]( by Suzanne Nuyen First up [A March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., on June 11. The youth-led gun safety advocacy group is teaming up with parents from Uvalde, Texas, to demand that Gov. Greg Abbott hold a special session so that state lawmakers can vote on whether to raise the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15-style rifle from 18 to 21.]( Jose Luis Magana/AP Here's what we're following today: Thousands of people — including family members of the students who died in the Uvalde shooting — are expected to gather in Austin, Texas, to demand that Gov. Greg Abbott [raise the age for purchasing AR-15-style rifles]( from 18 to 21. Abbot has argued that mental health is at the core of America's gun violence epidemic. Activists say that's part of the issue, but ignoring the part guns play is ridiculous. California is phasing out the sale of gas-powered vehicles, culminating in a total ban of new sales of the vehicles by 2035. Transportation is the largest source of climate-warming greenhouse gases, and [other states are expected to enact similar laws]( as they try to curb emissions. Americans have changed the way they shop. They're making fewer shopping trips, but spending more at the register. They're cutting back on nonessentials, but flocking to discount dollar stores. [Here's what these trends say about the economy](. When the new 988 mental health hotline launched in July, it received a vast amount of calls and they're expected to keep increasing. Although the hotline is a vital resource, some centers say [there are limits to what they can accomplish]( without more local resources. Activist Chaz Stevens is taking on a Texas law that requires public schools to display signs and posters with the national motto "In God We Trust" in "conspicuous places." Since there's no requirement for the signs to be in English, he's started a fundraising campaign to send posters to schools around the state with the motto — [written in Arabic]( instead. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Picture show [García greets a woman before Friday prayer.]( Toya Sarno Jordan A new shelter that used to be a bar in Tijuana, Mexico, has become a beacon for Muslim migrants. For the first time, they have [a dedicated space]( where they can practice their faith while searching for a better life beyond. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s listens [Deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. jumped 10.5% in 2021 from the year before.]( John Lamparski/Getty Images Traffic fatalities are on the rise across the United States. Yet in Hoboken, N.J, there hasn't been a single traffic death in four years. 🎧 [Listen to the measures the city took to achieve this]( or [read the story](. Edward Buckles, Jr. was just 13 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and changed his home forever. 🎧 Listen to him talk about his new documentary, which [attempts to unpack the trauma of that childhood experience]( or [read the story](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekend picks [Tilda Swinton plays a literary scholar and Idris Elba is the Djinn she conjures in Three Thousand Years of Longing.]( Festival de Cannes Check out what [our critics]( are watching, reading and listening to this weekend: Movies: George Miller's [Three Thousand Years of Longing]( which he co-wrote with his daughter, Augusta Gore, unveils an outlandish premise with a sly wit that's initially hard to resist. TV: In [The Rehearsal]( Nathan Fielder helps real people practice for real moments in their real lives, breaking down the boundaries between reality and reality TV in the process. Books: Actor Michael K. Williams produced a gripping, revelatory memoir, completed weeks after his death, detailing a long struggle with addiction and self-doubt. In [Scenes From My Life]( he shows Black men it's OK to be vulnerable. Music: Blondie is working on a new studio album, but in the meantime the band has released a new box set called [Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982]( highlighting how Blondie shattered the conventions of punk and pop. --------------------------------------------------------------- Before you go Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images - Do you have a family recipe that excites your palate and makes you pine for memories with your loved ones? [Share it with us]( and you could be in our next story. - A jury in Oregon has ordered Walmart to pay $4.4 million in damages to a Black man who says he was [racially profiled]( by an employee while shopping. - The bacteria that feed on your sweat aren't pleasant to the nose — but it turns out these sweat-eating critters are [responsible for a big health benefit](. - Shortly after researchers unearthed the mummified body of a 55,000-year-old Steppe bison in the Alaskan tundra, they [sliced off a piece of its neck]( — not for research, but to eat 🤢. - A rare Chicago license plate made from thin, stamped aluminum is expected to [sell at auction]( for upwards of $4,000. - A "swarm" of earthquakes hitting a small South Carolina town has fascinated geologists, who say it's the [longest-running series of quakes]( there in recent history. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. 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