Your Friday Briefing - The New York Times

Progress in U.S.-Mexico deal

The two countries are discussing significant changes in asylum rules and border enforcement that could keep President Trump from imposing tariffs on all Mexican imports. Mr. Trump has set Monday as the deadline.

The changes being considered would give the U.S. a greater ability to reject requests for entry from families fleeing violence in Central America, senior officials from both countries said. Mexico has also pledged to send thousands of troops to its border with Guatemala, the entry point for a recent surge of migrants.

Closer look: Here are the states that would be hardest hit if the tariffs go into effect.

Related: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is set to meet with China’s central bank governor this weekend at a Group of 20 meeting in Japan. It’s the first meeting between senior officials from the U.S. and China since trade talks between the two countries broke down last month.

Automakers warn of deregulation’s effects

The world’s largest automakers told President Trump on Thursday that his plan to weaken tailpipe pollution standards threatened to cut their profits and produce “untenable instability.”

A letter signed by 17 companies urged Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table in his proposed rollback of one of President Barack Obama’s signature policies to fight climate change. The new rule is expected to be made public this summer.

Why it matters: It’s almost certain that California and 13 other states will sue the administration over the new standards while continuing to enforce their own stricter rules. That would, in effect, split the American auto market, a scenario that automakers are desperate to avoid.

U.S. bomb parts to be built in Saudi Arabia

An emergency order from the Trump administration last month that fast-tracked U.S. arms sales included a provision that allows a top American defense company to build high-tech bomb parts with the Saudis.

The deal involving Raytheon Company, which has not been previously reported, involves components for precision-guided bombs whose technology has been closely guarded for national security reasons. Human rights groups say the weapons have been used in airstrikes on civilians in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Response: The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a Raytheon spokesman said there was nothing unusual about the production arrangement.

News analysis: The emergency declaration, which has prompted bipartisan pushback in Congress, was invoked in part because of tensions with Iran. In its recent approach, the Trump administration has walked a fine line between military threats and diplomatic outreach but committed to neither, our correspondents write in a news analysis.

Joe Biden reverses stance on abortion funding

The former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate said on Thursday that he no longer supported a measure that bans federal funding for most abortions.

As recently as Wednesday, Mr. Biden’s campaign had said he supported the measure, known as the Hyde Amendment. He credited the turnaround, in part, to Republicans’ recent efforts to roll back abortion access, calling them “extreme laws.”

Related: Big tech companies were recently seen as one of the few relatively untainted sources of big-money donations for Democrats. Now, that’s changing.

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it

Fears for Japan’s recluses

The Weekly: The second episode of The Times’s TV show is about our investigation into New York City’s taxi industry. Watch a preview here.

Snapshot: Above, Melania Trump, President Trump, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Brigitte Macron watched a flyover at the Normandy American Cemetery in France on Thursday, during ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

In memoriam: Mac Rebennack, the pianist and producer better known as Dr. John, embodied the New Orleans sound for generations of music fans. He died on Thursday at 77.

Stanley Cup finals: The St. Louis Blues are one win away from the franchise’s first N.H.L. championship after beating the Boston Bruins, 2-1. Game 6 is Sunday.

Women’s World Cup: The host, France, and South Korea start the tournament today at 3 p.m. Eastern. More than 100 women from 17 of the 24 competing countries told The Times what it’s like to be an elite soccer player.

French Open results: Here are today’s semifinal results for the women and the men.

News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.

Modern Love: In this week’s column, a young wife and mother who has suffered eight heart attacks curates her legacy while decorating a new home.

Late-night comedy: Stephen Colbert lamented the planned tariffs on Mexican products: “Our top four agricultural imports from Mexico are beer, avocados, tomatoes and tequila. Trump is putting a tariff on summer!”

What we’re reading: This sobriety guide from Vice. Jenna Wortham, a writer for the Times Magazine, says it offers “a super helpful tool kit for maintaining intentions and boundaries during one of the most celebratory and liberating times of the year — Pride!”

Now, a break from the news

Smarter Living: In the age of global warming, traveling is a fraught choice. Our reporter ventured to calculate the carbon footprint of his family’s vacation, and found emissions that could melt about 90 square feet of Arctic ice, an area about the size of a pickup truck. He was surprised to find that cruise ships emit more carbon dioxide than jets do. He’s still going to travel, but judiciously — and after buying carbon offsets.

And the Wirecutter team found only a few cases when single-use batteries beat rechargeables.

And now for the Back Story on …

Presidential salutes

After a photograph in the Morning Briefing this week showed President Trump saluting troops upon his arrival in London, a reader from Philadelphia, Elizabeth Hoffman, asked about the rules for presidential salutes.

As for a president saluting foreign troops, it is customarily a sign of respect toward friendly nations, which generated questions last year after Mr. Trump returned the salute of a North Korean military officer.

That’s it for this briefing.

Hope you’re in the right place, even if it’s the wrong time.

— Chris

Thank you
To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. Chris wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is Part 2 of a two-part series on genetic genealogy as the new frontier in criminal investigations.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: What the Spanish “me gusta” means (5 letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• The Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica hosts a weekly podcast, “Popcast,” which discusses music news, new songs and albums, and artists of note.