NPR News: 07-25-2026 9AM EDT
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What developments are fueling tension between the U.S. and Iran right now?
With live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lindy Kenyon. Tensions remain high between the U.S. and Iran, even after the U.S. said it ended its attacks for the first time in two weeks. But as NPR's Emily Fang reports, countries in the Middle East are still preparing for an escalation in the war.
Trump said this week he'd gotten reports Iran moved uranium-refining centrifuges deep under a huge mountain called Pickaxe Mountain and said the U.S. was likely to strike the mountain, quote, very heavily. In Iran, hardliners have been pushing for increased military action against the U.S. and its allies, while rhetoric from senior leaders calling for negotiation has been dampened. This week, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France withdrew their diplomats from Tehran as a precaution in case the war with Iran kicks up a notch. And across Israel, municipalities reopened public shelters, citing an increased risk of bombing from Iran in the coming days. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
Why are Middle Eastern countries preparing for an escalation in the Iran conflict?
President Trump's latest set of tariffs comes at a challenging time for the U.S. economy. They're also raising concerns about the cost of living among American households. NPR's Rafael Norm has the story.
The White House frames the sweeping new tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent as a matter of human rights and market fairness. Although they're not significantly higher than the temporary ones they're replacing, economists caution they will likely have a negative economic impact.
How could President Trump's comments about Pickaxe Mountain affect regional security?
The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates it could drive up consumer inflation by 0.7 percentage points and will be equivalent to a tax of nearly $1,100 a year on American households. That's at a time when many families are already struggling with high gas prices and paying more at the grocery store. And it will continue the uncertainty being felt by American businesses. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
Wildfires continue to rage in southern Europe. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports evacuations are underway in the suburbs of the southwest French city of Bordeaux.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the fire had reached conditions that, quote, we have never seen before and that more than 141,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde and Lens region, which lie close to Bordeaux. President Emmanuel Macron has mobilized the army to assist as firefighters' battle blazes, they say, are spreading quickly in high winds and across parched land. Fires are also raging near the Spanish capital of Madrid. Scientists say Europe is heating faster than other places on the planet due to man-made global warming conditions. Three consecutive heat waves have left drought conditions across the continent. EU figures say more than 1,200 fires have already burned through 600,000 acres this year.
Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News.
You're listening to NPR News in Washington. A slate of popular peptide therapies has won the backing of a key advisory panel to the federal government. This is just the first step in a series of steps that could eventually open up broader access to these experimental drugs. NPR's Will Stone reports.
The panel of advisors recommended the Food and Drug Administration reclassify almost all of the compounds under consideration so that specialized pharmacies in the U.S. could begin offering them. The outcome represents a win for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has publicly supported peptide therapies, and the broader wellness and longevity industry, which stands to profit substantially. The yes votes run counter to the FDA's own position. Scientists repeatedly cautioned there was limited data on safety and efficacy in humans. These peptides are not approved drugs. They are promoted widely online for uses like injury recovery, muscle growth, and more. The final decision is up to the FDA, which typically follows the panel's recommendations.
Will Stone, NPR News.
Remember Punch the monkey? The orphaned primate at a Japanese zoo is marking his first birthday tomorrow. Punch, who stole people's hearts by clinging to an orangutan plush toy, still attracts big crowds.
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