NPR News: 07-21-2026 2AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder.
How severe are the Ontario wildfires and who is affected?
The wildfires in the Canadian province of Ontario are growing. Officials say crews are battling 190 active blazes and some 1,800 residents have had to flee the flames. Annabella Bonata is a climate scientist at Ontario's University of Waterloo. She says climate change is making wildfire seasons worse.
Wildfire is a natural process for the boreal and many of our forests in Canada. So we need it in order to regenerate the forest and have healthy forests. However, with some of the impacts that we're seeing, when the wildfire starts that far away, it's so remote and in such a large area, they're not really meant to be put out, but they're becoming too big. And so having other impacts, such as the wildfire smoke that we're seeing travel thousands of kilometers.
Heavy smoke from the Ontario fires, as well as fires in northern Minnesota, spread into several U.S. states in the northeast and mid-Atlantic last week. Air quality has since improved. Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is chiding President Trump for making tariff threats over smoke from the wildfires, saying the U.S. should help instead. On Monday, Trump announced new 50 percent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods using Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Residents of a large area of south and central Texas are working to clean up from the region's second major flood in just over a year.
Why do climate scientists say wildfire seasons are worsening in Canada?
Texas Public Radio's Camille Phillips reports.
Over the weekend, residents and volunteers shoveled mud and lifted waterlogged appliances out of homes that overlook the banks of a creek in the Texas Hill Country. Last year, Miriam Hernandez says the flood stopped a foot from her door while she and her husband slept unaware. So this year, she says she was more vigilant.
This year, I happened to be up late just doing laundry and just happened to look out and just started watching it.
The creek flooded at least four feet into her home, breaking windows and crumbling walls. Hernandez says it's highly unlikely they'll rebuild. I'm Camille Phillips in Kerrville.
North Korea's foreign minister met with Russia's Vladimir Putin and vowed to strengthen their alliance. NPR's Seyoon Wong reports from Seoul.
Foreign Minister Choi Sun-hee said her country will continue to steadfastly support Russia, calling Putin the closest and dearest friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korean state media said the two countries discussed key international affairs of mutual interest, and added they were aligned on all issues. North Korea has provided Russia with weapons and more than 14,000 troops for its war against Ukraine, according to Ukraine's military intelligence. In the meantime, North Korea has ignored Washington's calls for dialogue and fortified its border with South Korea.
You're listening to NPR News. Forecasters say tropical storm Bertha is getting stronger. The latest update for the National Hurricane Center says Bertha now has top winds clocked at 50 miles per hour. Bertha formed in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday and is about 125 miles south of Panama City, Florida. Bertha expected to bring heavy rains to the coastal areas of northern Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, where it could make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. South Carolina Republican Senator Darlene Graham says she will run for a full term for her late brother Lindsey Graham's seat. She made the announcement Monday on Sean Hannity's Fox News show. Darlene Graham sworn in last week to fill the remaining months of her brother's term.
A new study finds many packaged foods that claim to contain avocado oil don't contain what the label says. Here's NPR's Maria Godoy.
Browse the aisles of the grocery store and you'll find chips, dressings, and mayonnaise all boasting that they're made with avocado oil. But when UC Davis professor Selena Wong noticed this trend, she got curious because her past research has found that most bottled avocado oils sold in stores are either rancid or they've been adulterated with other oils.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:04
2
How severe are the Ontario wildfires and who is affected?
0:04–1:27
3
Why do climate scientists say wildfire seasons are worsening in Canada?
1:27–4:50
4
How did wildfire smoke from Ontario and Minnesota impact U.S. air quality?
4:50–5:04