Pressure builds for Trump-Putin summit
👋 Hello! Rebecca Morin here. Look what I got for you! It's Wednesday's news.
But first: Be that well-read dinner guest. 📚 The 10 niche nonfiction reads that will impress your friends or further your quest for knowledge.
Trump sets stakes for Putin summit
It's a high-stakes one-on-one summit that could lead to an even bigger meeting. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he wants Vladimir Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "almost immediately" after his upcoming Alaskan summit with the Russian leader. Trump said there would be 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to end the Ukraine war when they meet. He added that the summit between him and Putin would be "setting the table" for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting that he might attend as well. 👉 What Trump wants to see from the summit.
Where will the Alaska summit take place? Friday's summit will take place at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which spans 13,000 acres, to discuss Russia's three-year war with Ukraine. The meeting will be the first time in four years that a U.S. president has met Putin since the war began. 👉 What to know about the base.
Speaking of Alaska …
A crisis dodged. Emergency barriers installed throughout Alaska's capital city, Juneau, appear to have successfully funneled floodwaters away from neighborhoods during a "glacial outburst" supercharged by climate change. The flood risk was dropping Wednesday after the Mendenhall River crested at a record-setting 16.65 feet as of 7:15 a.m. Alaska time (12:15 Eastern) and began to recede, according to National Weather Service experts. Fooding has been a growing concern for Juneau in recent years, and federal scientists say climate change is causing the glacier to melt faster. 👉 What to know about the flooding.
Real quick
An honor for cultural icons
It's an annual tradition at the Kennedy Center: honoring those in performing arts – from the radio to the stage to the screen – for contributing to American culture. President Donald Trump, who is also the Kennedy Center's new chairman, announced the nominees for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors on Wednesday. The nominees include country music legend George Strait, Michael Crawford, who originated the role of the Phantom in Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera," Sylvester Stallone, disco star Gloria Gaynor and rock band KISS.
Emcee-in-chief: Trump did not just announce the nominees to be honored; he also named himself host of the ceremony. Trump revealed he had agreed to emcee the event after he said organizers begged him to take the role, arguing he would bring better ratings. The show will air later this year on CBS. 🎤 What to know about the ceremony.
Not your average suburb
In Washington, DC, the nation's capital and one of largest metropolitan areas, it is well-known that the suburb of McLean is a high-earner enclave, housing diplomats and spies alike. But it is just one of the wealthiest suburbs in the country. A new report from the personal finance site GOBankingRates identifies the wealthiest suburbs of America's 50 largest metropolitan areas in 2025. It's a spinoff from an earlier analysis that listed the wealthiest suburbs in America. To compile the report, researchers found the suburb with the highest mean household income for each of the 50 largest metropolitan areas. 🏠 See the wealthiest suburbs of the nation's largest cities.
A break from the news
Rebecca Morin is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY. Got thoughts or feedback? Reach out to her at rdmorin@usatoday.com.
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