Today's INTERNATIONAL story

El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Bukele

What happened
El Salvador's Legislative Assembly yesterday approved constitutional changes that will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times, extend presidential terms to six years from five, and scrap presidential runoff votes. The measures passed quickly and without debate, with all 54 members of President Nayib Bukele's New Ideas party and three allied lawmakers voting in favor and the 60-seat chamber's three opposition lawmakers opposed.

Who said what
The legislation will allow Bukele to "further consolidate the almost total power he already holds in the impoverished Central American country," The Wall Street Journal said, citing opponents and analysts. President since 2019, Bukele won reelection last year "with almost 85% of the vote after the country's high court, stacked with loyalists," allowed him to ignore the constitution's clear prohibition on seeking a second term.

"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said opposition legislator Marcela Villatoro (pictured above). Ana Figueroa, the lawmaker from Bukele's party who introduced the constitutional changes, said they would give El Salvador's voters the "power to decide how long you support your president." Bukele, 44, "remains one of the most popular leaders in the region, largely due to his across-the-board crackdown on gangs," Reuters said. An estimated "75,000 people have been arrested under emergency measures that have been repeatedly extended," the BBC said.

What next?
A "second vote of the legislature" is required before the constitutional changes can be ratified, the Journal said.

Today's HEALTH Story

Trump revives the K-12 Presidential Fitness Test

What happened
The White House yesterday said it will reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test, first introduced in 1966 to promote physical health among public elementary school students. The Obama administration phased out the test in 2012, replacing it with a Presidential Youth Fitness Program focused more on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks, among other wellness initiatives. Trump also named a number of allied professional athletes to what he called his "revitalized" President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Who said what
The president "wants to ensure America's future generations are strong, healthy and successful," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Trump is an "avid golfer who remains enthralled with the world of sports," building most of his weekends around golfing or "attending sporting events," The Associated Press said. He has also "used his bully pulpit to reshape cultural issues," CNN said, "many of which have been tied directly to sports."

The revival of the longtime public school rite of passage drew mixed responses from experts and people who spent their "childhood struggling to do chin-ups or groaning over a sit-and-reach box in gym class," The New York Times said. There's agreement that "children need to move more," but some cautioned that pitting mismatched students against each other risks "turning some children off exercise altogether."

What next?
Trump's presidential fitness council will be empowered to "create school programs rewarding excellence in physical education" and "develop criteria for a fitness award," Axios said.

It's not all bad

High schoolers and senior citizens in Fullerton, California, are spending their summer together at Olive Community Services for a camp focused on learning new skills and staying active. The seniors are teaching teens from the Golden Connections Club how to sew, cook, embroider and iron, while also sharing valuable life lessons. "There's so much wisdom that lives in our older generation," Golden Connections Club founder Leena Albinali told the Good News Network.

Under the radar

Forever chemicals found in menstrual products

Reusable menstrual products have been found to contain harmful chemicals associated with several health problems. And without addressing this and other similar health concerns tied to female-marketed products, the well-being of women — and everyone else — could be at risk.

Researchers reported in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters that they discovered a high level of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, in a variety of reusable menstrual products. "What's shocking is that we found 33% of period underwear and 25% of reusable pads had intentional PFAS use — meaning the chemicals had been put there, likely to keep the products from leaking," Graham Peaslee, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and senior author of the study, said to CNN. PFAS are carcinogenic and are associated with other health problems, like reproductive and endocrine issues.

This is not the first instance in which products targeted at women were discovered to have negative health consequences. For example, several hair dyes were found to contain chemicals that can increase the risk of cancer and can also cause severe allergic reactions in both hairdressers and customers.

This can be seen as part of a larger problem of women's health being neglected by the health care system, including in medical research. And in this case, allowing harmful chemicals in women's products can also bring concrete harm to society as a whole. "Everything in the U.S. ultimately goes into landfills, and with time these forever chemicals leach into our drinking water, our irrigation water and our food supply," Peaslee said.

On this day

Aug. 1, 1996

Author George R.R. Martin published "A Game of Thrones," the first entry in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series. "Thrones" became a cultural phenomenon, spawning four more books and a highly successful television series on HBO. Martin is working on the sixth book in the series, "The Winds of Winter."

TODAY'S newspaperS

'Murky pledges throw shadows on trade'

"Murky pledges throw shadows on trade deals" President Donald Trump is touting as he unveils new tariffs set to take effect in a week, The New York Times says on Friday's front page. "Report: Inflation picks up during June," says the Arizona Republic. The "trade fight reverses gains for millions," The Wall Street Journal says, and even "Ford's made-in-U.S. strategy hurts it in Trump's tariff war." "Ford teases 'Model-T moment' on way," the Detroit Free Press says. Thanks to Trump's deferred resignations, "154,000 are paid to not do U.S. jobs," says The Washington Post.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Vegemite mission is toast

A rocket attempting to carry a jar of iconic Australian yeast spread Vegemite into space crashed back to Earth just seconds after takeoff. The unmanned orbital rocket, built by Australian aerospace startup Gilmour Space Technologies, briefly hovered off the ground after liftoff from a launch pad on the eastern coast of Queensland, before running out of steam and sinking toward the ground. "I'm sorry to say the Vegemite didn't make it," said the firm's CEO, Adam Gilmour.

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.