 | | Displaced children in a damaged water tunnel in Sana, Yemen. Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency | Your Friday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN |
| Good morning. |
| Here's what you need to know: |
| • A day of rallies. |
| Protesters plan large demonstrations in Baltimore and across the country today, May Day, a date traditionally used to champion labor issues. |
| Organizers hope to broaden the day's usual theme to call attention to what they say is police brutality. |
| Police investigators handed over the findings of their inquiry into Freddie Gray's death to Baltimore's top prosecutor on Thursday. |
| • Aftershocks in Nepal. |
| The United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, is in Nepal today meeting victims and local leaders. The death toll has surpassed 6,200 and aftershocks are still being felt. |
| One of the many pressing concerns today is the disposal of the hundreds of bodies still being found six days after the earthquake. |
| • Yemen's escalating conflict. |
| The increasing Saudi-led airstrikes against positions of Iran-allied Houthi rebels this week, combined with fierce fighting on the ground, is deepening the humanitarian crisis there. |
| On the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, Navy warships are now escorting U.S.-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran's seizure of a cargo ship there. |
• Bird flu spreads in Iowa.
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| Avian flu turned up in tests at a commercial egg operation in Iowa housing up to 5.5 million birds. |
| It could be the largest single operation to be hit in the current outbreak. |
| • On Capitol Hill. |
| The House is sending to the Senate a narrowly passed Republican budget deal that outlines deep cuts in government spending over the next decade. |
| • Chemicals under scrutiny. |
| A class of chemicals called PFASs, used in products as varied as pizza boxes and carpet cleaners, is under attack by scientists who question whether enough research has been carried out into their safety. |
| • At the White House. |
| President Obama holds a meeting with persecuted journalists for World Press Freedom Day, which is Sunday. |
| And Mr. Obama's presidential library will be in his adopted home, Chicago's South Side, according to two people briefed about the decision. |
| • Italy's high hopes. |
| The Milan Expo, a six-month exhibition of products and technologies from around the world, begins today with the participation of 145 countries. |
| The Italian prime minister says it is a litmus test for the future of his country after years of stagnation and recession. |
| MARKETS |
| • Wall Street stock futures are rising. Markets elsewhere are mostly closed for the May Day holiday. |
| • Tesla Motors, the maker of electric cars, today unveils a fleet of solar battery systems aimed at homeowners, businesses and utilities. |
| • Warren E. Buffett is preparing to address his flock at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting on Saturday. |
| Among their holdings are Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Benjamin Moore and See's Candies. |
| • Grooveshark, a free music streaming site that once had 35 million users, is shutting down after copyright infringement lawsuits stretching back four years. |
| NOTEWORTHY |
| • A superhero spectacular. |
| "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the new installment in the comic-book-based franchise, packed with superstar actors in superhero roles, is expected to blow out the weekend box office. |
| Our critic writes: "If you're not acquainted with the intricacies of the Marvel universe, it can be hard to keep track of who's doing what to whom and especially why." |
| Here's what else is coming to theaters today. |
| • Popular reads. |
| Mary Norris's "Between You & Me," which is more than just a grammar and usage guide, is spending its third week on our hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list. |
| David Brooks's "The Road to Character" debuts at No. 1 on our best-seller list from the Sunday Book Review. |
| • New digs for American art. |
| The Whitney Museum of American Art reopens today in a Renzo Piano-designed building in Manhattan's meatpacking district with its largest ever exhibit of works from its permanent collection. |
| • All-star weekend. |
| Sports fans are in for a jam-packed few days, on top of the N.B.A. and N.H.L. playoff games. |
| The N.F.L. draft continues today live from Chicago. Rounds 2 and 3 are at 7 p.m. Eastern (ESPN2, NFL Network), while rounds 4 to 7 are Saturday at noon (ESPN, NFL Network). |
| Saturday also brings one of the most anticipated boxing matches in history, between the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, to Las Vegas (9 p.m. Eastern, pay-per-view). |
| And the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby takes place on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, NBC) with a 20-horse field. |
| BACK STORY |
| In most of the world, today is a public holiday, the May Day celebration of workers. But not in the U.S., which waits until September for its Labor Day. |
| Before you Americans roll your eyes about all the days off in other countries, you'll want to know who actually gets the most national holidays. |
| It's not France, despite its reputation. |
| India and Colombia, at 18, celebrate the most public holidays, according to Mercer, a management consulting company. Mexico, with seven, has the fewest. |
| At 15 days, Finland leads Europe (France has 11), and Morocco has the most in the Middle East and Africa (14). |
| The United States is indeed on the low end with 10, one fewer than Canada. |
| May Day is a day off for 80 percent of the 64 countries Mercer surveyed. |
| The other leaders are New Year's Day (94 percent), a nation's independence day or constitution day (92 percent), and Christmas (80 percent). |
| Mercer notes that public holidays can be an issue for multinational companies. Portugal, for example, canceled four of its holidays in order to help its economy and send a message to investors. |
| May Day, though, survived the cuts. |
| Victoria Shannon contributed reporting. |
| Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning. |
| What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com. |
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