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Donald Trump, Peggy Whitson, Robert Pirsig: Your Tuesday Briefing

Peggy Whitson aboard the International Space Station. On Monday, she surpassed the 534-day record for time spent in space by an American.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Seeking an A on a test he rejects.

President Trump has dismissed the 100-day point of his administration on Saturday as an “artificial barrier” that is “not very meaningful.”

Nevertheless, he has invested plenty of meaning into the period, anxious to be judged a success from an early stage, our chief White House correspondent writes.

Part of his ambitious agenda — funding a border wall with Mexico — is complicating negotiations in Congress to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week.

• “They’ve learned a lot.”

Behind the Trump administration’s sudden urgency in dealing with North Korea is a growing body of evidence that suggests the country is capable of producing a nuclear bomb every six or seven weeks, our national security correspondent reports.

Pyongyang, which staged huge artillery drills today, has threatened to conduct another nuclear test, its sixth in 11 years.

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The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, with what the C.I.A. calls “the disco ball.” The sphere is supposedly a nuclear weapon small enough to fit inside the nose cone of a missile.
Credit...Korean Central News Agency

• A sigh of relief in Europe.

The success of the centrist Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election has reassured mainstream Europe.

He is widely expected to win a runoff in early May against the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who went on the attack on Monday.

The issues that have animated populist movements remain, two of our correspondents in Europe write.

• Double execution in Arkansas.

Monday was the first time in almost 17 years that an American state has put to death two inmates on the same day.

Arkansas is carrying out a series of capital punishments before one of its lethal injection drugs expires.

• New York expands free preschool.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that New York City would offer free, full-day preschool for all 3-year-olds, as it already does for 4-year-olds.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio visiting a prekindergarten class in Brooklyn last year. New York would be only the second city in the U.S. to offer free preschool for every 3-year-old.
Credit...Richard Perry/The New York Times

• License and registration? Probably not.

Police officers in Australia made an unusual traffic stop over the weekend involving a 12-year-old boy.

He was alone behind the wheel of the family car, having driven 800 miles.

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A 12-year-old boy drove across the width of the Australian state of New South Wales.Credit...Conor Ashleigh for The New York Times

• “The Daily,” your audio news report.

In today’s show, we discuss whether the U.S. government is about to shut down over the proposed border wall with Mexico.

Listen on a computer, an iOS device or an Android device.

• President Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, from 35 percent, and plans to announce it as the centerpiece of a tax-cut blueprint this week, according to people with knowledge of his plans. Here’s what to watch for.

• “I am sad that I am not on television anymore.”

With those words, Bill O’Reilly broke his silence on Monday in a podcast on his personal website, addressing listeners for the first time since being ousted from Fox News after sexual harassment allegations.

• As the fallout from the sham accounts scandal at Wells Fargo continues, the bank’s directors face a re-election vote by shareholders today.

• U.S. stocks were up on Monday. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

• Sell-by dates on groceries should be thought of as suggestions. For the most part, trust your senses.

• Exercising before breakfast might prevent weight gain. Just don’t gorge afterward.

• Recipe of the day: Savory black bean and poblano tacos make a satisfying vegetarian taco.

• A reconciliation village in Rwanda.

The 1994 genocide tore the country apart. Today’s 360 video visits the village of Mbyo, where perpetrators and victims live side by side.

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The 1994 Rwandan genocide tore the country apart. But today, in the village of Mbyo, perpetrators and victims live side by side.CreditCredit...Megan Specia/The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

• Partisan writing you shouldn’t miss.

Read about how the other side thinks: From the right, a successful 100 days for President Trump; from the left, a Trump takedown; and from the center, a plan.

• Ask him anything (except about Trump).

Former President Barack Obama avoided any mention of his successor during a discussion at the University of Chicago on Monday, his first public event since leaving the White House.

• An out-of-this-world record.

On Monday, the astronaut Peggy Whitson surpassed the 534-day record for most time in space by an American. She received a congratulatory call from President Trump and his daughter Ivanka.

• In memoriam.

Robert Pirsig wrote “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” which became an unlikely publishing phenomenon in the mid-1970s. He was 88.

Erin Moran, a former child actor, played the sweet but mischievous Joanie on the television series “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi.” She was 56.

• Best of late-night TV.

On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert — whose ratings have risen recently — thanked President Trump for a great first 100 days.

In a way, today’s vanity license plates are nothing new.

On this date in 1901, New York became the first state in the U.S. to require registration of automobiles — and with it, the display of the owner’s initials. (Some countries in Europe introduced registration plates in the 1890s.)

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Fishermen complained about the smallness of the cod shown on the 1928 Massachusetts license plate.Credit...Petersen Automotive Museum

As the number of automobiles grew at the turn of the 20th century, states needed an accountability system.

Drivers painted their initials on wood, metal or leather, but because there were too many overlapping names and initials, the modern license plate was born.

Massachusetts became the first state to issue plates, in 1903.

In a number of states, license plates have mostly been produced by prisoners. New Jersey inmates make more than a million annually.

Designs have occasionally drawn criticism. In 1928, fishermen in Massachusetts blamed the Registry of Motor Vehicles for their low catch after a codfish was pictured on the state’s license plates. The image was deemed too small, and what’s more, the fish was swimming away from the word “Mass.”

It was changed to a more substantial codfish (swimming toward “Mass”) a year later. How that affected fishing is unknown.

Remy Tumin contributed reporting.

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Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning.

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