NPR News: 07-26-2026 3AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
How much has the Iran war actually cost the U.S. and why is the official figure disputed?
Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth told Congress this week that the Iran war has cost the U.S. almost $40 billion so far, but budgeting expert Linda Bilmes of Harvard University says that number is way too low.
According to my analysis, the very upfront short-term costs are, to date, about $120 billion. But that doesn't include another $250 billion for rebuilding the hundreds of U.S. facilities across the Middle East that have been destroyed or damaged. And then there are long-term costs and economic costs.
And Bilmes says there are other reasons the government figure is so low. For instance, she says Hegseth is using the original cost to account for munitions used. But replacement costs, she says, are at least 50 percent higher. Maine Democrats voted overwhelmingly Saturday to approve Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former legislative leader, to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins in this fall's general election. Kevin Miller with Maine Public Radio reports on one of the nation's closest-watched congressional races.
Jackson received all but five of the 571 votes cast by Democratic delegates during a special convention. He replaces Graham Plattner, an Oysterman and Marine Corps veteran who withdrew earlier this month. Like Plattner, Jackson pledged to work toward universal health care, to protect abortion rights, and to stand up to the Trump administration.
What additional long-term and rebuilding costs does Harvard budgeting expert Linda Bilmes identify?
Are you ready to defeat Susan Collins?
Yes!
Well, then let's unite this party. Let's build the largest working class movement Maine has ever seen. And let's win this fight.
Jackson will now face Collins, a 30-year Senate veteran who is the only Republican member of Congress from New England. For NPR News, I'm Kevin Miller.
Fast-moving wildfires continue to burn in Southern Europe this weekend. And as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, evacuations are underway near the southwest French city of Bordeaux.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Le Corneau said the fire had reached conditions that, quote, we have never seen before. 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.
Officials, meanwhile, say the final stage of the Tour de France, which is the annual cycling race that ends in Paris, will be shortened. That's because security forces have been reassigned to help with those fires. You're listening to NPR News. German officials have issued a wanted notice for a suspect in an incident in an LGBTQ plus event in Berlin this weekend. They say the 21-year-old is responsible for driving a van into a crowd at a city park. One person was killed and at least 16 others injured, and some of those injured may have been stabbed. A Louisiana Democrat who's losing his House seat to redistricting says he'll run for his former state Senate seat instead of seeking re-election to Congress.
His district was redrawn to favor a Republican. Brooke Thornton from member station WRKF in Baton Rouge has more.
For Congressman Cleo Fields, this is all too familiar. He represented the majority black fourth district in the 90s until the Supreme Court ruled it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In 2025, he returned to Congress in the newly drawn sixth district seat. But this year, Louisiana redrew the map again. Nowfield says he's hoping to return to the state Senate where he represented Baton Rouge. The Democrat says he isn't viewing this as a step down.
I come back to the state because this is where I feel like I've been most effective. It's hard to get things done in Washington, and particularly when you're not in a majority.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:04
2
How much has the Iran war actually cost the U.S. and why is the official figure disputed?
0:04–1:33
3
What additional long-term and rebuilding costs does Harvard budgeting expert Linda Bilmes identify?
1:33–4:46
4
Who is Troy Jackson and why did Maine Democrats nominate him to challenge Sen. Susan Collins?
4:46–5:02