NPR News: 07-21-2025 6AM EDT

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How did Japan’s ruling coalition lose its upper‑house majority and what does it mean for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba?

Dave Mattingly 0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingley. Japan's ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house of parliament in yesterday's elections. As NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports, it marks the first time since nineteen fifty five the ruling party is in the minority in both houses of parliament.

Anthony Kuhn 0:21

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner, the Kome Party, failed to get the fifty seats they needed to retain the upper house majority. Two thirds of the contested seats were taken by opposition parties, with center right and right wing parties making the most dramatic gains. They include the Sansei Party, which advocates a Japanese first nationalist agenda. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says he has a responsibility to stay on and deal with pressing problems such as Japan's aging population, rising cost of living, and tariff negotiations with the US. But having lost two parliamentary elections in a row, pressure within the party for Ishiba to step down is likely to grow, Anthony Kuhn in PR News.

Dave Mattingly 1:04

Lawyers for the Trump administration and Harvard University are expected in court today in Massachusetts in a legal battle over federal funding.

What are the legal arguments behind Harvard University’s challenge to the federal funding freeze?

Dave Mattingly 1:13

The administration has frozen more than two billion dollars worth of federal grants and contracts at the university, arguing it fostered an anti Semitic environment on campus and violated civil rights law. Harvard argues the freeze is illegal and should be reversed. NPR's Alyssa Nadwerney has more.

Alyssa Nadworny 1:32

Some of the government's demands have included altering hiring and admissions practices and receiving information about international students' discipline. Harvard has said it has taken steps to protect Jewish students. And it is suing over the cancellation of these unrelated research fundings, saying it's retaliatory and those requests, those demands are in violation of the school's First Amendment rights.

Dave Mattingly 1:55

That's NPR Zelissa Nadwarney.

How are the massive wildfires in the western United States affecting communities and firefighting efforts?

Dave Mattingly 1:57

Large wildfires are burning in more than a dozen states, mostly in the western U.S. The National Interagency Fire Center says the states where crews are busiest include Alaska, California, and Oregon. Eric Newman with Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on some of the fires burning in the Pacific Northwest.

Unknown 2:17

The Burdoin fire began burning Friday afternoon along the Washington state side of the Columbia River, just east of Portland. As of Sunday afternoon, the wind-driven fire had grown to more than 8,700 acres. Jody Walker is a public information officer on the Burdoin Fire. Uh this is very much a a real risk. We're continuing to identify and document uh those homes that are destroyed. In central Oregon, another incident called the Cram Fire is the largest wildfire in the US.

Why is Scotty Scheffler’s British Open victory historic and how does it compare to past major winners?

Unknown 2:46

Crews have made some progress on that fire and officials say cooler temperatures are helping keep it in its current footprint. For NPR News, I'm Eric Newman in Vancouver, Washington.

Dave Mattingly 2:57

This is NPR News. Golfer Scotty Scheffler is celebrating his latest win in a major, capturing the British Open with a final round 68. The Texan becomes the third golfer all time to win multiple majors by four strokes or more in a single year. He joins Ben Hogan in nineteen fifty three and Tiger Woods in the year two thousand. Scheffler also became the fourth player in open history to shoot a sixty eight or better in all four rounds of the tournament. President Trump is threatening to block a plan for a new stadium in Washington, D.C. for the NFL's Washington Commanders.

What is President Trump’s stance on the Washington Commanders stadium plan and the Cleveland Guardians name change?

Dave Mattingly 3:36

On social media, over the weekend, the president said he might step in unless the team changes its name back to the Redskins, NPR's Rob Stein reports.

Angela Perryman 3:46

The team changed its name to the Washington Commanders after years of complaints that the original name was offensive to indigenous Americans, but in two posts on the True Social Network, the president threatened to quote, put a restriction on the plan if the commanders don't switch their name back. Congress recently gave the DC government control over federal land in the city for a multiple. multi billion dollar plan to redevelop the property into a new stadium that would let the team move back to Washington from Maryland.