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 Live from NPR in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. The U.S. is imposing 50% tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods. This after trade talks between the two nations broke down last night. Canada has promised to match U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar. NPR's Michael Copley reports. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he suspended trade talks after the U.S. pushed last-minute changes that Carney called unfair. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative responded on social media, saying Canada had made new demands and walked back prior commitments. U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer said in an interview with Fox News on Saturday that no new trade talks are planned. We're moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation. Carney said Canada has known since the start of negotiations that its relationship with the U.S. has permanently changed and that its country has been working to diversify its trade relationships globally.
The U.S. Postal Service has released a finalized plan. This in response to President T's order to restrict mail-in voting for the fall midterm election. But multiple court orders are blocking USPS from carrying out that plan for now. NPR's Hansi Lo Huang reports. A key change under the finalized rule from the U.S. Postal Service would require states to turn over their absentee voter list to the mailing agency in order to have their mail-in ballots delivered. For now, though, a federal judge in Boston has blocked USPS, which is a financial supporter of NPR. The judge found that President T's executive order for the Postal Service and other federal agencies oversteps his authority under the Constitution. T himself has voted by mail in Florida. And for months, his executive order to limit mail-in voting has been caught up in legal fights. A dozen Republican-led states are appealing the latest nationwide ruling by the judge in Boston. That comes as the way continues for the Supreme Court to weigh in on an earlier ruling that blocks USPS from implementing T's order in the 23 mainly Democratic-led states, plus Washington, D.C., that sued.
The National Bowl in Washington, D.C., looks a lot different this weekend. As part of the nation's 250th birthday celebrations, Indy is holding a race. NPR's Adam Bearn reports. Instead of parked tour buses and ice cream trucks, the roads around the mall are lined with concrete barriers and catch fences. They mark out the circuit for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. The race's chairman, Bud Denker, says the city makes for a dramatic backdrop. You have the view of the nation's capital cars going by on 3rd Street. You have the view of the Washington Monument for cars going by on 7th Street. It's just epic. Also epic will be the speed. The cars are expected to hit about 180 miles an hour. It's IndyCar's first race in D.C. German tourist Chris Herold has his ticket. That's really maybe once in a lifetime, who knows, but the first race, it's amazing during the anniversary also. Around 120,000 fans are expected to be there. Adam Bearn, Washington. It's NPR.
Fall classes are getting underway at colleges and universities across the country, despite a renewed question of whether a college degree is even worth it. NPR's Alyssa Nodrini reports from a college campus in Muncie, Indiana. I'm at Ball State, a public research university, where students are moving in. I'm seeing roommates meeting up, families unloading U-Hauls. There's so much energy and excitement, but there's a lot happening in the world of higher ed. High tuition, fear of student debt, increased interest in the trades, changes to student visas. And yet, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergrad enrollment overall is up, driven by gains at public four-year programs, like here at Ball State, and community colleges. Stephen Combs is the chancellor at Ivy Tech Community College's campus in Columbus, Indiana. We provide programs that are everybody's first choices. Nursing, flight, cyber, IT, industrial maintenance. So there's so many different opportunities that many community colleges offer that people just need to explore. And, of course, community college is one of the cheapest options that students have.
AAA says the national average price for a gallon of gasoline remains stable today at $4.10 a gallon. That's three cents higher than a week ago and 96 cents more expensive than a year ago. Diesel prices increased two cents to $5.39. They're up $1.91 from a year ago. Diesel is the main fuel in the trucking and the railroad industries. California has the most expensive gasoline in the country at $5.60 a gallon. Indiana, the cheapest at $3.56.