NPR News: 07-18-2026 1PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Canadians are pushing back after criticism from President Trump and other American politicians, blaming Canadians for wildfire smoke drifting south of the border.
How are Canadian wildfires and U.S. political criticism connected?
More than 900 fires are burning across Canada. Dan Karpinchuk reports.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urges critics to send support rather than complain, just as Canada has done for efforts to fight fires in California. In a post on social media, Trump says he's holding Canada responsible for the fires and is threatening more tariffs, claiming Canada is not maintaining its forests, resulting in dangerous polluted air. Other Republican lawmakers accuse Canada of not acting with urgency. A former aide in the Harper government, Demetra Soudis, says wildfires do not recognize international borders and noted Canada has 9% of the world's forests, much of it in remote areas. Prime Minister Mark Carney took a swipe at Washington's climate change policies, saying climate change is everyone's responsibility.
For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.
Israel's military campaigns in Iran and Lebanon have quieted, but its attention has shifted back to Gaza. Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes in the past few days have killed 20 people. NPR's Anas Baba reports.
One of the deadliest attacks came Friday, when an Israeli drone strike hit Palestinians gathering outside a mosque in central Gaza, as they were arriving for the funeral of another person killed the day before. Health officials say eight civilians were killed and 30 wounded. The Israeli military says it struck what it described as an Islamic Jihad militant cell, but provided no evidence to support the claim. The Israeli military also says it now controls more than 70% of the Gaza Strip, leaving most Palestinians living in the remaining areas. In one of those areas in Khan Younes, Palestinians officials say 49-year-old Amani Abu Jazar, a mother of four, was shot and killed Friday by Israeli forces.
Her relatives say she had gone out to buy groceries for her children.
What responses have Canadian leaders made to U.S. blame for smoke?
The U.S. and Iran launched airstrikes against each other's targets again last night, the seventh night in a row. The U.S. military says it hit military and surveillance sites across Iran. Iranian officials say they targeted U.S. assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan. Stock markets fell this week over chipmaker concern about overinvestment. NPR's Rafael Nam reports investors also remain uneasy about the war in Iran.
It was a pretty ugly week in Wall Street, with all three major indexes ending down for the week. Nvidia and other chip companies were among the most notable laggards. Investors have plowed billions of dollars into these companies, and there are still concerns about whether all of that is going to pay off. But more broadly, spiking energy prices this week also raised fears about inflation. Although gas prices fell last month, renewed tensions with Iran could push those prices back up. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
This is NPR News. Floodwaters continue to rise in south-central Texas. Governor Greg Abbott issued a major disaster declaration for the hardest-hit counties and says more will be added to provide access to federal assistance. Officials are urging people to stay away from flooded roads as rescue operations continue. After 103 matches and more than a month of games, this year's World Cup final takes place tomorrow afternoon at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. With Spain and Argentina squaring off, NPR's John Stolnes has a preview.
Argentina is the defending champion and looking for its fourth World Cup title. All eyes will be on superstar Lionel Messi, who has tallied eight goals so far in this tournament, and at age 39 will play in what most believe will be his final World Cup match. Spain is looking for its second title. They last won in 2010. They're led by teenage star Lamin Yamal and are backed by a fierce defense that has seen them allow only one goal in the entire tournament. According to FIFA's rankings, these were the two best teams entering the tournament with Argentina 1 and Spain 2.
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