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Today's Hot Story

President Trump met with House Republicans at the Capitol yesterdayurging them to lag behind his massive tax and immigration bills, which could otherwise increase taxes. The bill has about $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, a large portion of which comes from Medicaid.

• 🎧 Overnight, a key committee met to debate the bill's parameters on the floor, still meetingNPR's Deidre Walsh told first. A committee spokesman said at about 1 a.m. that they were reaching a deal. Leaders are expected to raise the cap on state and local tax breaks to address the concerns of some moderate legislators. During his visit to the Capitol, Trump said there will be no cuts when it comes to Medicaid, which targets waste, fraud and abuse. But, as Walsh reports, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 8.6 million people may lose health coverage. A new CBO analysis also found that the poorest 10% of Americans will lose resources, while the top 10% of Americans will increase their income.

Today, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with Trump at the White House Trying to reset the relationship between the two countries. Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut aid to South Africa and expelled the ambassador. Moreover, the U.S. government repeatedly criticized Pretoria's false claims as a systematic persecution of white Africa farmers - a South African side repeatedly tried to correct Washington.

• 🎧 Reporter Kate Bartlett Trump's dealers and the U.S. efforts to oppose China in Africa. Ramaphosa is expected to attract US interests in China's influence in Africa. Bartlett said South Africans are watching closely to see if Ramaphosa is being treated the same disdain that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced during his Oval Office visit earlier this year.

A new NPR analysis finds government efficiency ministry tries to cut There have been at least 40 institutions and groups in recent weeks. The analysis found that Doge is based on policy differences rather than just targeting waste, fraud or abuse, contracts and spending.

• 🎧 Doge tries to reach places that are not government agenciesStephen Fowler of NPR said it was like the private nonprofit Vera Justice Institute and the public broadcast independent company. These institutions say no, they need to do Duge's request. There have been more than a dozen lawsuits related to the Doge efforts of these small organizations, which say are illegal. Many institutions were created by Congress, and almost all had funding and functions prescribed by law, which in some cases explicitly restricted the president's power.

Diving deep

Lithium-ion batteries were invented in the United States, but a few years ago, China began to lead in mass production, part of the push for electric vehicles. Now, competition is emerging to determine which country will dominate the future of electric electric batteries. This is why this game is getting more and more complicated:

• 🔋Chinese automakers are announcing updates, better batteries, including vehicles expected to use 5 minutes of "flash charging" time. American companies have not announced such a thing, but are focusing on cutting costs.
• 🔋China plans to install 4,000 fast charging stations, none of which are in the United States, and Chinese electric vehicles face the risk of serious tariffs and technical restrictions.
• 🔋Companies around the world are trying to build batteries based on sodium or "solid state" batteries. These technologies can be safer, cheaper, and provide higher energy storage space.
• 🔋The Trump administration has begun a process of revoking incentives, infrastructure and demands to encourage electric vehicles.

Check out other factors that happen in the big battery competition between the two countries here.

Life advice

What you eat before bed can affect your sleep at night. Sleep researchers and Lifestyle Kit The effects of diet, caffeine and alcohol on sleep health. Here are their science-backed DOS and NOTS:

• 😴Follow foods rich in tryptophan, such as almonds, salmon and brown rice, which are amino acids that are converted into serotonin and melatonin in the brain.

• 😴Swap processed foods for more fruits and vegetables. They are rich in fiber and nutrients such as serotonin and melatonin, which can help you fall asleep deeper.
• 😴Avoid avoiding caffeine later in the day. It stops adenosine, a chemical that makes you feel sleepy at night.

For more guidance on eating habits that can help you sleep better at night, listen to this episode's NPR. Lifestyle Kit. subscription Lifestyle Kit Newsletters about love, money, relationships, and more.

Three things to know before moving forward

1. As writers tend toward social media, the future of promoting books is shifting as some authors facilitated a break from the back of a book jacket. Several authors discussed changes in the literary world.
2. Today, the Chicago auction house will sell items from Abraham Lincoln’s body, the earliest known handwriting and other artifacts in his life, on the night of his assassination. (via WBEZ)
3. Actor George Wendt, 76, plays Norm Peterson in a TV sitcom cheersdied peacefully at home yesterday.

The newsletter was edited by Majd al-Waheidi.