NPR News: 07-16-2026 8PM EDT
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How has U.S. military action escalated against Iran and what are the latest developments?
Live for NPR News in Washington, I'm Liddy Casey. The U.S. intensified its strikes against Iran today, hitting targets farther north and firing at a ship after reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports yesterday. Iran has been retaliating by launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies. The White House says it now has another 60-day clock to use military action against Iran without congressional approval. NPR's Greg Myrie says more than four months since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, the war seems to have resumed and with little accomplished.
Just objectively, the objectives have not changed. been completed. The same kind of Iranian regime remains in place, even if the faces have changed. The nuclear program still exists, although it has been set back with attacks last year and perhaps some more this year. Iran can still clearly carry out missile and drone attacks.
President Trump is making a national address tonight focused on elections, but the White House says he may also talk about the Iran war. Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston, New York and Washington are among major cities in the U.S. under air quality alerts today because of heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada. NPR's Ava Berger reports.
A combination of extreme heat and dry conditions in Ontario and northern Minnesota led to raging wildfires. Then this week, weather patterns forced the smoke into the Great Lakes region and down the east coast of the U.S.,
What does the White House's new 60-day clock mean for congressional approval of action against Iran?
Health experts warn, wildfire smoke is dangerous. It's made up of tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into a person's lungs and even enter the bloodstream. Here's how Dr. David Eisenman, a professor of medicine at UCLA, puts it.
There are studies that show effects on the heart with increased heart attacks and heart failure. There's strokes associated with it, respiratory illnesses.
Eisenman says depending on air quality reports, reduce outdoor activity, use air filters, and wear an N95 mask. Ava Berger, NPR News.
The major reservoirs that hold water from the Colorado River just set a shocking new record. For Member Station KJZZ, Alex Hager reports the combined amounts in Lake Powell and Lake Mead is now the lowest it's been since 1957.
The last time there was this little water stored along the Colorado River, Lake Powell hadn't even been built yet. Jack Schmidt directs the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
It's a real reminder of what a remarkably small amount of water we have left in the system. We've never been in this position. We are truly in uncharted territory.
Schmidt said Western policymakers aren't doing enough to turn things around. He compared current negotiations over sharing the Colorado River to a bus careening toward a cliff, with state policymakers arguing about who should steer rather than hitting the brakes. The federal government is expected to release new rules for managing water as soon as next week. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Phoenix.
It's NPR. The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits. That could include food stamps, housing vouchers, Medicaid and other benefits. The policy, known as public charge, appeared today in the Federal Register and will be formally published next week. The policy was implemented by President Trump in his first term, but President Biden narrowed it. Immigrant rights advocates warn it could cause families to avoid seeking assistance even when they or their U.S. citizen children legally qualify. Actor Hal Williams has died at the age of 91. He was best known for playing Officer Smitty in the 1970s hit TV show Sanford and Son. NPR's Chloe Veltman has this remembrance.
Hal Williams got his big break in 1972 when he landed the recurring role of the friendly neighbourhood cop on Sanford and Son. He got big laughs for patiently translating his partner, Officer Hoppy Hopkins' very formal way of talking... So until we apprehend the suspect in question... ...into real talk with father and son Fred and Lamont Sanford.
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