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President Biden is expected to sign an executive order tomorrow allowing him to temporarily seal the U.S. border with Mexico to migrants when crossings surge. The move, which is all but certain to be challenged in court, would represent the single most restrictive border policy instituted by Biden, or any other modern Democrat.
The order would allow border officials to turn away migrants who claim asylum once border crossings exceed a certain threshold — restricting what has long been the surest way for migrants to stay in the U.S. White House officials have discussed setting the cutoff at 2,500 illegal crossings per day. If that level is set, the border would immediately be closed because roughly 3,500 migrants are currently apprehended each day.
Biden pushed Congress earlier this year to enact a similar policy into law, but Republicans thwarted the bill, saying it was not strong enough. Now under intense political pressure to address illegal migration, a top concern of voters ahead of the November election, the president has decided to use his executive authority.
Biden’s move underscores how the politics of immigration have tilted to the right. Many Democrats, including Biden, condemned a similar effort by Donald Trump in 2018 to restrict long-established protections for asylum seekers. Federal courts blocked his attempt. Now the former president’s harder line on immigration appears to be resonating more broadly.
Mexico elected its first woman president
Claudia Sheinbaum, a leftist climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, will be Mexico’s next president after winning the election by a landslide. She will be the first woman, and the first Jew, to hold the position.
Sheinbaum campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s current president and her mentor. The election was seen as a mark of confidence in his tenure, during which millions of Mexicans were lifted out of poverty, although he failed to control rampant cartel violence and often undercut democratic institutions.
In other election news, voters in India have been casting ballots for the last six weeks. The results will be announced late tonight. Here’s what to know.
Netanyahu is trying to keep his cabinet from unraveling
Israel’s latest cease-fire proposal, which Biden said he endorses and Hamas said it views “positively,” is threatening to tear apart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, declared today that he would pull his six crucial parliament seats out of the governing coalition, if Israel accepted the truce. Netanyahu’s finance minister also said he would leave the government. Without them, Netanyahu would likely struggle to remain in power.
In a closed-door meeting, Netanyahu offered assurances to lawmakers that the proposal would not end the war without ending Hamas’s rule in Gaza. Here’s the latest.
Also in Israel, the military said that an additional four hostages who were abducted in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel were “no longer alive.”
The Washington Post reels after its editor resigned
Sally Buzbee, who had led The Washington Post’s newsroom as executive editor since 2021, announced late last night that she had stepped down. She had been offered an effective demotion under a new organizational structure imposed by Will Lewis, the company’s relatively new chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter. Instead, she resigned.
Buzbee’s sudden departure stunned many reporters and editors who had expected her to remain at least until November’s presidential election. At a town-hall meeting today, Post reporters grilled Lewis about the leadership changes.
Car dealers are finally willing to haggle again
The art of negotiating for a lower car price nearly disappeared during the pandemic: Dealers had so few cars to sell and so many customers willing to buy that sticker-price purchases became a standard. But that era appears to be ending.
Supplies have shot back up, while higher interest rates have reduced demand, giving dealers and manufacturers more incentive to sell cars at discounted rates. Ford, Dodge, Volvo and other brands have already begun offering a few deals.
More good news: Electric cars are suddenly becoming more affordable.
The photos that define the modern age
My colleagues at T: The Times Style Magazine recently gathered a group of experts to come up with a list of 25 images that have best captured — and changed — the world we currently live in. Some of the photographs are beautiful, others are horrifying.
How many sails does it take to move a cruise ship?
The 136-passenger Sea Cloud Spirit stands out in more ways than one. It’s almost brand-new, and yet it looks diminutive compared with the gargantuan cruise ships most people now think of — those with water parks and basketball courts and thousands of tourists. The Sea Cloud Spirit is also propelled by 28 hand-raised sails.
The ship’s design is inspired by the original Sea Cloud, built in 1931 for the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; it was the largest private sailing yacht in the world at the time.
Have a luxurious evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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