NPR News: 07-13-2026 3AM EDT
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How did U.S. and Iran clashes start in the Strait of Hormuz?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The U.S. and Iran have been trading attacks this weekend as both countries fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz. The latest fighting began when Iran attacked a commercial vessel Saturday in the strait. The U.S. responded with a series of attacks, including one early Monday. Those attacks were followed by Iranian strikes on several Middle Eastern nations. Oil prices, meanwhile, have opened the week higher after several days of attacks between the two countries. Tehran says the fighting has rendered recent diplomatic efforts futile.
What military responses and diplomatic efforts followed the attacks?
The BBC's Barbara Platt-Usher has more.
The battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz has stalled movement towards ending the wider conflict. Iran pledged to open the strait according to the terms of its interim deal with Washington, but it has been firing on commercial vessels it says are using an unauthorized route. The U.S. military says its latest round of strikes has continued to degrade Iran's ability to attack international shipping, and it insists that traffic is still able to flow through the strait. The Trump administration needs that to happen to bring oil prices down ahead of midterm elections in November. Attempts by mediators to resolve the dispute at the weekend failed, and it's clear how important control of the strait is to Iran, more important than dozens of atomic bombs, senior Iranian officials have said.
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher. Friends and colleagues of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham continue to speak out after the Republican lawmaker died late Saturday. In a post on social media, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker said that despite their political differences, Graham had a positive influence on his life.
My prayers are with his family and all those who loved and cherished him. I will miss my perhaps most unexpected friend in the Senate.
The medical examiner in Washington, D.C., said Graham died at home from a ruptured aorta. The Memphis Safe Task Force is under scrutiny after two deadly officer-involved shootings in a week.
How are oil markets and U.S. politics being affected by the Hormuz conflict?
The task force is designed to make the city safer. President Trump formed the task force last fall, and it includes a mix of National Guard, local police, and federal agents. Mariana Bakayal of member station WPLN reports.
A DEA agent with the task force fatally shot a 47-year-old man last week, just days after a Tennessee guardsman fatally shot a 20-year-old. These shootings, along with three others, are still under investigation by the state. Memphis District Attorney Stephen Mulroy points to the way officers are trained for the task force. In trainings he observed, Mulroy says instructors mocked the concept of de-escalation and referenced the prosecution of the officers accused of killing George Floyd and Eric Gardner as witch hunts. Other Tennessee DAs have rejected Mulroy's statement, saying it undermines prosecutors and law enforcement to promote a political ideology. For NPR News, I'm Marianna Bacayau in Nashville.
And this is NPR News.
What was said about Senator Lindsey Graham’s death and its aftermath?
Officials still don't know what happened when a fire in a pub in Bangkok late Saturday night killed at least 27 people. Michael Sullivan reports from Thailand.
Prime Minister Anitin Charvinakun told reporters that the cause of the fire is still under investigation. But a musician at the site told local media that the lights briefly went out before there was a sudden explosion and then the blaze. Videos shared online by some of the first to arrive show huge flames billowing from the front door of the pub in Bangkok's Chatuchak neighborhood as many patrons inside attempted to flee out the back. Local media says many of the deceased were found huddling in or near the bathrooms in the back. Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control in under an hour. Dozens of the injured patrons were brought to nearby hospitals. For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai.
Senator Mitch McConnell says a fall put him in the hospital four weeks ago. In a statement, he said he was reluctant to explain what happened because it meant what he called sharing the vulnerability that comes with growing older.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How did U.S. and Iran clashes start in the Strait of Hormuz?
0:01–0:33
2
What military responses and diplomatic efforts followed the attacks?
0:33–2:01
3
How are oil markets and U.S. politics being affected by the Hormuz conflict?
2:01–3:01
4
What was said about Senator Lindsey Graham’s death and its aftermath?
3:01–4:57
5
Why is the Memphis Safe Task Force under scrutiny after two deadly shootings?
4:57–5:04