Trump and Jordan’s king meet on Gaza’s future. And, U.S. math and reading scores

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

Jordan’s King Abdullah is set to meet with President Trump today at the White House. The meeting comes after Trump floated a proposal for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and move Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt — a plan that’s been rejected by both countries and Palestinians.

• 🎧 To say that the tone of this meeting will be tense is an understatement, NPR’s Jane Arraf tells Up First. Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister of Jordan, tells Arraf that this will be one of the toughest meetings the king has faced. Creating an alternative Palestinian homeland in Jordan would mean it would essentially cease to exist as a country. It’s not something Jordan could or would agree to, no matter the cost. Jordan’s current foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told State TV that the expulsion of Palestinians to the country would be a breach of Jordan’s historic peace treaty with Israel and seen as a declaration of war.
• ➡️ Palestinian refugees in Syria have a message for Gazans: Don’t leave your land.

Trump last night signed orders for a 25% tariff on all foreign steel and aluminum. Unlike the tariffs he imposed during his first term as president, Trump says there will be “no exceptions or exemptions” for any country.

• 🎧 The U.S. by far gets most of its aluminum from Canada, NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben says. It also gets a lot of steel from Canada and other allies like Mexico and South Korea. Though Trump paused threats of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, this latest announcement means he’s putting tariffs on them anyway — just not on all goods. Kurtzleben says the decision should be good for American steel and aluminum companies. Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, tells her industries that use these metals, such as aircraft and auto manufacturing and bridge construction, could be weakened and lose jobs.
• ➡️ Here’s how Trump’s tariffs could impact you and your wallet.

The Justice Department has ordered prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The move offers him a potential lifeline as he seeks reelection. Adams was indicted last year, and a trial was scheduled for April. Prosecutors allege he accepted about $100,000 in luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from people connected to the Turkish government in exchange for official acts from City Hall. He has denied any wrongdoing and claimed without evidence that he was targeted for criticizing the Biden administration’s immigration policies. (via Gothamist)

• 🎧 A memo from the DOJ outlined two reasons for the decision, Brigid Bergin at NPR network station WNYC says. First, it says the charges were filed too close to the mayor’s reelection campaign. Second, it says the pending prosecution “unduly restricted” Adams’ ability to devote his full attention to and his ability to support the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. Now, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District will decide whether to drop the case. The memo states that the case could be reviewed after the general election in November.

Deep dive

The latest release of the Education Recovery Scorecard, gives a deep-dive into student learning. Allowing researchers a look into student learning in some 8,700 school districts.

Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

The latest Education Recovery Scorecard, a data-rich deep-dive into student learning, reveals that U.S. students were still nearly half a grade level behind in both math and reading in the spring of 2024, compared with achievement levels before the pandemic. The report comes after the Nation’s Report Card found similar results. Take a look at what’s happening to the nation’s reading and math scores — and what schools can do about it.

• ✏️ Students aren’t just failing to catch up on their reading skills post-pandemic. They’re continuing to fall behind.
• ✏️ The nation’s highest-income districts were “nearly four times more likely to recover” in math and reading than the lowest-income districts.
• ✏️ How schools spent federal aid money mattered: Student achievement grew more in districts that spent federal relief money on academic interventions like tutoring or summer school rather than facility upgrades or mental health supports. But that doesn’t mean those were poor spending decisions.
• ✏️ More students are missing school now than they were in 2019, though the rate of chronic absenteeism is falling. Being absent can affect the student and their peers, as teachers are forced to repeat instruction.

Life advice

Tools for visible mending.

Arounna Khounnoraj, Visible Mending, © BOOKHOU 2023

hide caption

toggle caption

Arounna Khounnoraj, Visible Mending, © BOOKHOU 2023

Tools for visible mending.

Arounna Khounnoraj, Visible Mending, © BOOKHOU 2023

A creative sewing technique called “visible mending ” can extend the life of your clothing. It involves noticeable threads, fabrics and decorative techniques. To get started, you only need a few basic sewing skills, thread and scrap materials. Arounna Khounnoraj, author of Visible Mending: A Modern Guide to Darning, Stitching and Patching the Clothes You Love, and other textile artists explain how anyone can try this creative mending style.

• 🧵 Put together your sewing kit. It should include a mix of threads, yarn of varying thickness, needles, scrap fabrics for patches and sewing pins.
• 🧵 Before starting, visualize your mending design. Look at the garment as a whole. Place your supplies on top of or near the damaged area to experiment with different combinations of shape, texture and colors.
• 🧵 Consider the weight of your materials. If your mend area is in locations like the elbows, knees, inner thighs, or back pockets, choose a fabric that’s a closer match to the original piece for maximum durability.

3 things to know before you go

A ring of light surrounding the center of NGC 6505,a nearby galaxy is captured by the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope, an example of an Einstein Ring.

ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li/European Space Agency

hide caption

toggle caption

ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li/European Space Agency

1. The Euclid space telescope has discovered a rare ring of light known as an Einstein ring surrounding a galaxy nearly 590 million light-years away from Earth.
2. Trump on Sunday ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Does his decision make cents? The value of the coin has been a decades-long debate.
3. Author Salman Rushdie will face in court the man accused of violently stabbing him at a literary event in 2022. The trial began this week.

This newsletter was edited by Yvonne Dennis. Brittney Melton contributed.