NPR News: 07-08-2025 11AM EDT

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NPR News Now 4 min 4 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 22 days ago

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What happened in the Texas flood and how are officials responding?

Kristen Wright 0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. Officials in Kerr County, Texas are set to give an update this hour on the immense loss of life and the missing. In extraordinary flooding on the fourth of July, more than one hundred people died. Vigils across the state are honoring their lives. Deborah Garza attended a vigil at Travis Park in San Antonio last night. She thinks of her own family. My heart breaks for the families. Sorry.

How did the Houthi rebels attack the Greek‑owned vessel Eternity Sea?

Unknown 0:32

To be honest, we looked at it and we were like I I was like it wouldn't look great. I

Kristen Wright 0:36

mean I think if it was my grandkids. That's what I think about. I don't know about what make it. Meanwhile, volunteers are clearing masses of wreckage and debris and down trees through an expansive area in search of victims. And questions are intensifying over how officials reacted to weather alerts forecasting the possibility of flash flooding and the lack of an early warning siren system. At least two people have been reported dead and two others hurt in an attack by Houthi rebels from Yemen that's continued today on a ship in the Red Sea. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports it's the second vessel to be attacked by Houthi rebels in this globally vital shipping corridor in recent days.

Why is Elon Musk launching a new America Party and what are its platform promises?

Ruth Sherlock 1:29

Rebels in speedboats fired rocket-propelled grenades at the Greek-owned vessel Eternity Sea, while drones attacked it from overhead, dropping explosives onto the ship. The UK Maritime Trade Organization said the vessel sustained significant damage and had lost its propulsion. The crew has been told to abandon the ship. Early this week, Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for another attack on another vessel, the MV Magic Seas. The Yemeni rebel group says its campaign against ships in this critical trade route is intended to pressure Israel to end its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The US recently targeted the Houthis in a major campaign of airstrikes. Ruth Sherlock and Pian New York.

Kristen Wright 2:11

Yeah.

What does research say about audiobook listening versus reading for comprehension?

Kristen Wright 2:12

Tech billionaire Elon Musk says he's proceeding with plans to form a new political party. NPR's Bobby Allen reports the push comes amid a growing rift between Musk and President Trump.

Bobby Allen 2:22

Musk says he's starting the America Party. He says it'll appeal to voters in the middle. Musk wrote on X that the party will embrace gun rights, Bitcoin, cutting the national debt, and free speech. Political scientist Lee Drummond with the new America think tank says Musk's net worth is nearly four hundred billion dollars, and he could make that a political war chest.

Unknown 2:40

Could be a force of major disruption because our two parties are so tightly balanced for control of Washington, it doesn't take a ton of money to disrupt the two party system right now.

Bobby Allen 2:51

President Trump says Musk's push for a new political party shows he's off the rails.

How are retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart shaping the Prime Day shopping weekend?

Bobby Allen 2:55

Bobby Allen and PR News.

Kristen Wright 2:57

This is NPR. According to a recent NPR Ipsus poll, forty percent of adults in the US don't think listening to an audiobook is a form of reading, but NPR's Andrew Limbong reports what science says about it.

Andrew Limbong 3:12

Beth Ragaski is a professor at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania who studies auditory and visual learning styles. And in 2016, she co-authored a study that found there was no difference in comprehension when it came to listening to an audiobook or reading on an e-reader.

Unknown 3:27

Which is exciting news for people who join a book club but want to be able to fold laundry while they're reading the book.

Andrew Limbong 3:34

But that study was done using adults who already knew how to read. She did some further research looking at school aged children and learning styles, which led her to the conclusion that

Unknown 3:44

when you are learning to read, you really need to have the experience reading.

Is the TSA ending the shoe‑removal requirement at airport security checkpoints?

Andrew Limbong 3:50

From an actual book, that is. Andrew Limbang and Pierre News.

Kristen Wright 3:54

As retailers weigh the potential impacts of President Trump's tariffs, Amazon Prime is extending its annual Prime Day to four days. The e commerce giants discounts start today and go through Friday. Competing retailers are having their own coinciding discount days. Target is trying to lure shoppers with Circle Week, and Walmart Deals starts today.