NPR News: 07-18-2026 5AM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Millions of people across the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are facing another day of unhealthy air as smoke from wildfires spreads from Minnesota and Canada. Dan Karpinchuk reports more than 900 fires are burning, forcing thousands of people from their homes.
Some of the worst-hit regions are northern Ontario and northern Quebec. Flames have destroyed buildings and smoke has blanketed much of central Canada and drifted into the northeastern U.S.
How are wildfires in Canada and the U.S. creating unhealthy air across the Great Lakes and Northeast?
At least one indigenous community in northern Ontario has been destroyed, many residents only able to grab a few belongings and flee by boat. People have also been displaced by fires in Manitoba, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. The Ontario government and the Assembly of First Nations have called on Ottawa for support. Although officials say it hasn't been the worst fire season on record, research has linked climate change with longer wildfire seasons across Canada. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.
Republican senators are pushing back on President Trump's claim that the nation's election systems are dangerously vulnerable. In a primetime speech on Thursday, Trump reiterated false claims about the 2020 election and said newly declassified documents revealed serious security weaknesses. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy challenged those claims.
Our electoral system is incredibly decentralized. I mean, it's incredibly decentralized. There's not like one place where you can go and control the master election across the country.
Other Republicans are urging Trump to focus instead on issues such as inflation, energy prices and the war with Iran. Trump also used his speech to press Congress to pass the Save America Act, which would tighten voter identification and citizenship requirements. The legislation, though, does not have enough votes to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. A major recall is underway for iceberg lettuce linked to cyclospora infections in five states. NPR's Alison Opry reports the lettuce was sourced from central Mexico and distributed by Taylor Farms.
The FDA's traceback investigation identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico as the potential source of thousands of cyclospora cases in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. Taylor Farms confirmed it is removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.
Which communities and regions are most impacted by the northern Ontario and Quebec fires?
The company says no Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits that you can buy in the grocery store are associated with this outbreak. Federal health officials say more than 1,600 people infected with Zynglospora reported eating Taco Bell in the five states. And in Michigan, investigators interviewed nearly 200 people who'd gotten sick after eating at Taco Bell, and 90 percent said they'd eaten iceberg lettuce as part of their meal. The move follows Taco Bell's announcement to voluntarily remove potentially affected lettuce. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.
This is NPR. First responders in Texas are again rescuing people trapped by rising floodwaters after another round of heavy rain. At least two people have died and nearly 600 have been rescued across southern and central Texas. Some areas have received more than two feet of rain over the past week. The latest storms pushed already swollen rivers higher and flooded rural communities near the Mexican border. Emergency declarations have been issued for at least 59 counties in the state. Stock markets fell this week as concerns about overinvestment hit chipmakers. NPR's Rafael Nam reports that investors also remain uneasy about the ongoing war with 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.
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