NPR News: 07-07-2026 3PM EDT
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What are the latest developments in the Graham Plattner sexual assault allegation?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Congressional support is collapsing for Maine oysterman and Senate candidate Graham Plattner following a sexual assault allegation reported by Politico. Fellow progressive Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is among the last politicians to, or the latest politicians, to urge Plattner, a Democrat, to drop out of the race in Maine, which the Democratic Party sees as a key path to winning back the U.S. Senate in November. Maine Public's Kevin Miller spoke with NPR's Here and Now about what happens next.
So the state law only says that a political committee can put forward a replacement nominee if the withdrawal takes place before 5 p.m. next Monday. So that's on July 13th. The committee then has two weeks, so until July 27th, to make that selection. But the process is entirely left open to the party. And that's kind of a lot of the speculation right now as to... what's going to happen if and when Plattner does decide to step down.
Politico had published a report in which Jenny Rasico accuses Plattner of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Plattner denied the allegation. A high-rise under construction in midtown Manhattan is at risk of collapse. Mayor Zoran Mamdani says bricks were falling this morning from the former Pfizer building near Grand Central Terminal.
Two structural columns have buckled in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. The building remains unstable. Since arriving on scene, we have witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns.
Mamdani says that and other tall buildings in the area, as well as a school with about 400 students, have been evacuated. Streets around the site are also closed to pedestrians. The pharmaceutical company's former global headquarters was being converted into a more than 1,500-unit residential complex. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she will run for president of France next year and legally challenge her embezzlement conviction. The French appeals court has cleared the way for Le Pen to run, but is requiring her to wear an electronic tag. And Pierre's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
Most people expected a clearer decision. If the lower court verdict was fully upheld, Le Pen was to be barred from politics for five years. But the court gave her a suspended sentence and one year with an electronic bracelet. If she'd been declared ineligible, her National Rally Party's number two, Jordan Bardella, was to be the candidate for president. The 30-year-old politician is very popular, especially with young people.
How is the Maine political committee responding to Plattner's situation?
Others call him an empty suit who lacks experience. Le Pen is a shrewd politician with decades of experience, but a guilty verdict on her head. The national rally now faces a difficult choice at a time when it's never been so popular and has a real chance at the presidency. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.
From Washington, this is NPR News. A new government study finds an increase in students with disabilities being taught alongside non-disabled peers. More from NPR's Janaki Mehta.
There's been a 25% jump in the number of students with disabilities being taught in general education classrooms for most of their day. The change happened over the course of a decade between the 2020-12 to 13. and 2023 to 2024 school years. This is according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which found that the share of students being taught in integrated settings has increased in 42 of 50 states. These increases happened across race and ethnicity, as well as socioeconomic levels. And in that 10-year period, there's been a 21% growth in students who are getting special ed services across the board. Janaki Mehta and Pear News.
Dolly, a true original musical, begins performances at the St. James Theatre. Here's Jeff London.
The video dropped early Tuesday morning.
Dolly Parton, holding a guitar with a bedazzled butterfly on it, says, I can officially announce that Dolly, a true original musical, is coming to Broadway.
The musical, which she co-authored with Maria S. Schlatter, will feature many of Parton's hits, including Jolene and I Will Always Love You, as well as new songs written for the story.
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