Today’s Big Story

The ‘Las Vegas of Europe’

Copenhagen limits foreign weddings after surge in demand

Do you want to go to Copenhagen? I do. Not to get married, but it seems like a nice city to visit. But so many couples are flocking to the Danish capital that it has become known as “the Las Vegas of Europe” for quick and easy weddings. Scores of couples, both mixed- and same-sex, are getting married in the Scandinavian country that the city says it’s been forced to tighten rules.

How’d this happen? Well, it is a beautiful old city with an iconic brick building for a city hall that’s become an in-demand spot for civil ceremonies. And partly because it requires fewer documents and has a more streamlined process than many other countries. According to the New York Times, it’s “always wedding season in Denmark.” As one local wedding planner said, “there’s so many people from other countries coming to Denmark to get married—it’s really crazy,” and now some of her local clients couldn’t find a good time slot in Copenhagen.

And the competition has grown so intense that Danish authorities have struggled to accommodate everyone who wants a civil wedding, prompting Copenhagen to announce in June that it would start reserving slots specifically for locals.

That news came after officials uncovered an embarrassing error. Since 2018, Copenhagen had inadvertently charged almost 15,000 couples, many of them foreign, about $3.6 million in illegal fees for their weddings. Most of them were charged for City Hall weddings that were held outside of regular hours, through a service that the city had introduced to meet demand. But Danish law stipulates that everyone, including foreigners, must be allowed to marry at City Hall for free, Niels Peder Ravn, a City Council member, wrote in an email. This month, the city budgeted money for refunds. It also added funds to increase the number of civil weddings from 8,000 to 10,000 next year.

Copenhagen has now eliminated the fees. And Denmark’s liberal rules remain unchanged, keeping the country a popular destination for international couples, including Asian-European pairs who often face bureaucratic hurdles at home.

Trump Blames Tylenol for Autism

The administration on Monday ventured into uncertain scientific territory

In a White House press conference Monday, President Donald Trump and several deputies said the Food and Drug Administration would be updating drug labelling to discourage the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women, suggesting a link between the common painkiller and autism. He also pushed to expand access to another being studied as a potential therapy—despite the lack of definitive evidence for either.

“I want to say it like it is: Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” he said. “Fight like hell not to take it.” Offering perhaps his most emphatic support to date of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda, which has pledged to determine the cause of the developmental disorder by September. Researchers who’ve spent decades researching potential causes of autism say that the administration hasn’t uncovered new evidence—and that the existing data still doesn’t support its claims.

The president called the moves “historic,” but the announcement was met with sharp criticism and concern from doctors, scientists and autism advocates. In a statement sent to NPR, Tylenol maker Kenvue disputed the administration's claims. “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism,” the statement said. “We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned about the health risks and confusion this poses for expecting mothers and parents.”

What to Know About the H-1B Visa Shake-Up

Trump says visas used for skilled workers now come with $100,000 application fees

The White House’s abrupt decision to slap a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas has stunned and confused employers, students and workers from the United States to India and beyond. Since announcing the decision Friday, President Donald Trump has tried to reassure jittery companies that the fee does not apply to existing visa holders and that their H-1B employees traveling abroad will not be stranded, unable to re-enter the United States without coming up with $100,000. The new policy took effect at midnight Sunday.

For clarity, the visa in question is a legal immigration program that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire skilled foreign workers in “specialty occupations” across health care, tech and finance industries, among other STEM-related fields. It was created by the Immigration Act of 1990, was originally designed to address critical workforce needs, making it easier for employers to bring in workers with specialized skills that were harder to find in the United States. For the purposes of the visa program, a “specialty occupation” is defined as a job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree or higher and the “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.”

Nearly two-thirds of H-1B visas go to people working in “computer-related occupations”, according to a recent government report to Congress. Big recipients include an array of household names in the tech world, including Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, as well as multinationals like Tata Consulting Services and Cognizant. Recipients from India have come to dominate H-1Bs, especially in the past decade, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Federal data from fiscal 2024 shows that people born in India accounted for 71% of approved H-1B petitions that year, while people from China accounted for almost 12%. All other countries made up a vastly smaller portion in comparison.

Jimmy Kimmel Is Coming Back

The show is returning to ABC tonight, but not all stations will air it

Less than a week after it was taken off the air under pressure from the Trump administration, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to late night Tuesday evening, ABC parent company Disney confirmed to the media. The network said the show was initially pulled “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”

Kimmel’s suspension sparked widespread outrage. On Monday, more than 400 Hollywood celebrities condemned the move in an open letter released by the American Civil Liberties Union. It included everyone from Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep to Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and current Marvel and Star Wars star Pedro Pascal—both with long-standing professional ties to Disney. The letter also included signatures from Selena Gomez and Olivia Rodrigo, both of whom found early success as Disney actors.

However, many households across the U.S. still may not see the show. Sinclair, a company that operates more than 35 ABC affiliates across America, said that it would replace Kimmel with news programming. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” Sinclair said in a statement. The announcement on Monday that the show would return to the air reignited that debate, as reactions to the news poured in. In a post on X, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, called it “a win for free speech” and expressed gratitude to “everyone but @BrendanCarrFCC,” tagging Mr. Carr in the post.

The Long Read

Want your phone to last longer? Charge it properly

The Long Read

Want your phone to last longer? Charge it properly

Roll with the punches.