NPR News: 07-15-2026 8AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
What are the key issues at Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing?
President Trump's nominee for Attorney General Todd Blanch will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee today during the first day of his confirmation hearings. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
Senators are expected to press Blanch on his record at the Justice Department, including his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the firing of apolitical career department employees, and the targeting of Trump's perceived foes. Republicans and Democrats alike also have questions about Blanche's role in the controversial settlement of Trump's IRS lawsuit, including the creation of a now-abandoned anti-weaponization fund. Blanche began the second Trump administration as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department. He became acting attorney general in April after Trump pushed Pam Bondi out of the top job. Blanche has a narrow path to confirmation in the Senate, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority.
Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
The U.S. military carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran today, targeting military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan is with the Middle East Institute. He tells NPR that economic pressure is mounting on both sides, but Tehran is facing the added strain of a renewed U.S. naval blockade.
Both the U.S. and Iran are going to be looking at the clock, and that clock is an economic clock.
How are senators scrutinizing Blanche's role in Justice Department controversies?
For the US, it's price of oil, and for the world, it's price of energy, etc. But for Iran, the US just implemented their blockade of all goods coming and going from Iran via the sea, which we had stopped when the MOU first was put in place.
Donegan says that leaves President Trump balancing pressure on Tehran against the risk of higher energy prices at home. A new report issued by Human Rights Watch details multiple cases of abuse at immigration detention centers in the U.S. People being held in a camp at the Fort Bliss military base in Texas say they've experienced indiscriminate beatings and life-threatening medical neglect. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports.
The 84-page report was compiled after interviews with people detained at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest immigration detention center near El Paso, Texas. Those interviewed described having to live in filthy and cramped conditions, being fed spoiled food at infrequent meals, refused needed medical treatment, and barriers to legal representation. It said the abuses, quote, "...violate fundamental protections under U.S. and international human rights law." The report comes as the Trump administration has dramatically increased immigration arrests and announced plans to expand its immigration detention facilities at an unprecedented scale. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to NPR for comment about the report's findings.
Kat Wansdorf, NPR News, Washington.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The death toll from a fire at a music bar in Bangkok has risen to 32. Officials in Thailand say more than 70 people were hurt and 30 remain hospitalized. Investigators are working to determine the cause and whether the bar was following safety rules. Israeli lawmakers passed a temporary exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox men. The bill also halts prosecution of draft dodgers for at least six months. NPR's Kerry Kahn reports opponents say it's unfair to the rest of Israeli society.
The ultra-Orthodox pushed hard for the exemption. It protects tens of thousands of religious men from prosecution and enlistment until November. Ultra-religious parties are vital to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition. They threatened to pull support for a slew of controversial bills Netanyahu backs unless they got the exemptions. Netanyahu is pushing proposals to overhaul Israel's judicial system before lawmakers recess for the summer. In social media posts, opponents screamed shame, shame at Netanyahu during the exemption vote. The military's chief of staff called the law inconceivable and, quote, unequivocally inconsistent with Israeli troop needs.
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