Senate passes debt limit bill; a mother takes on YouTube; Black Americans face health disparities

Plus, how a start-up restaurant in Kabul is feeding women and providing economic opportunity. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by [Suzanne Nuyen]( June 2, 2023 Good morning, and happy donut day! Or is it [doughnut day]( Don't let the spelling debate distract you from grabbing one for breakfast today. Here's what else we're following. The Senate narrowly passed the debt limit bill to avoid a default. It now [goes to President Biden]( to sign. [Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol]( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images 🎧 Republicans are celebrating an increase in work requirements for people who receive SNAP benefits from 49 to 54 — something Democrats pushed against. Veterans, homeless people and youth who aged out of foster care will be exempt. On Up First today, NPR's Ximena Bustillo reports that the Congressional Budget Office predicts [more people will be eligible for SNAP benefits]( but Republicans disagree with the math. Annie McGrath's 13-year-old son died in 2018 after participating in a challenge he and his friends found on YouTube that involves [holding your breath until you pass out](. McGrath will speak today at a shareholder meeting for Alphabet, YouTube's parent company. She wants to seek clarity from the company on how it decides what videos it removes from the site. 🎧 NPR's Dera Kerr reports that nearly 1,400 children have died from this online challenge, and McGrath wants to [channel her grief to pressure Alphabet]( to make a change. Kerr adds McGrath's actions are part of a "groundswell of action" parents have recently taken to protect their kids from social media. The U.S. and China's defense chiefs are keynote speakers at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top security meeting, that opens today in Singapore. But the two chiefs [won't be speaking to each other](. China has declined an invitation for the two to meet, according to the U.S. 🎧 NPR's Emily Feng reports that a 2018 sanction against the Chinese defense chief is behind the country's refusal to meet. China wants the sanctions lifted. Feng adds that many delegates attending are from Southeast Asia, and they'll discuss [how their countries fit]( into the U.S-China relationship. The war in Ukraine, which Southeast Asian countries have been quiet on, will also be on the agenda. Black Americans face health disparities at every stage of life. They are more likely to struggle with asthma during childhood, have high blood pressure during adulthood, experience complications during childbirth and develop Alzheimer's as elders. 🎧 NPR's Michel Martin talks to Kat Stafford, an Associated Press reporter who worked on a series exploring these health disparities, on Morning Edition. Doctors and historians tell Stafford [genetics alone could not explain the disparities](. "What we are seeing are the effects of socioeconomic conditions … and all of these things that manifest because of this legacy of structural racism." How closely have you been paying attention to the top news this week? Test yourself with [NPR's news quiz](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [Cooks prepare a dish called samboose, a stuffed pastry, in the kitchen of the Banowan-e-Afghan restaurant.]( Nava Jamshidi These photos show women cooking up delicious samboose and bolani at a restaurant in Kabul called Banowan-e-Afghan (Dari for "Afghan ladies") The start-up is run by women, for women and aims to provide food and opportunities to Afghan women. But success first requires [overcoming economic crises and Taliban interference](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [ A screenshot of Miles Morales' Spider-Man reaching toward the camera from "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" ]( Sony Pictures Check out [what NPR is watching]( reading and listening to this weekend: 🍿 Movies: Miles Morales is back, and [Spider-Man: Across Spider-Verse]( is thrilling in all dimensions. 📺 TV: Catch up on the Sex and the City spinoff now. Kim Cattrall is reprising her role as Samatha in [And Just Like That](. 📚 Books: It's a great summer for book lovers. Here are [19 books]( our critics can't wait to dive into. 🎵 Music: corook's song "if i were a fish" went viral on TikTok for its silly message of self-acceptance and confidence. Their album [serious person (part 1)]( comes out today. 🎮 Games: Activision Blizzard's [Diablo IV]( is thrilling to play and teeming with demons. But can it fix the company's reputation with fans? --------------------------------------------------------------- [Edith KanakaÊ»ole chants in the koa forest of KÄ«pukapuaulu in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in 1977. She titled the photo "The Growth of Love is the Essence Within the Soul."]( Franco Salmoiraghi/Hawaii Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole is the first [Native Hawaiian woman]( to be featured on U.S. currency. Her quarter is the seventh in the American Women Quarters program. Amazon must pay more than $30 million in fines to settle [alleged privacy violations]( involving its voice assistant Alexa and doorbell camera Ring. Three teens in Syracuse, N.Y., have been charged for [killing and eating a mother swan]( and stealing her children. (via [WRVO]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter was edited by [Majd Al-Waheidi](. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]