NPR News: 07-29-2026 3PM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Why did the Federal Reserve choose to hold interest rates steady today?
The Federal Reserve is opting to hold its benchmark interest rate steady, as most investors had expected. NPR's Scott Horsley reports today the central bank left the door open to raise rates in the future if inflation remains elevated.
This was the second rate-setting meeting led by Kevin Warsh, who took over as chairman of the central bank in May. Warsh told lawmakers this month he and his colleagues are determined to restore price stability after five years of uncomfortably high inflation. That task has been made harder by the U.S.
How could the U.S.-Iran war and oil price spikes complicate inflation control?
war with Iran, which has triggered a spike in energy prices. Gasoline prices have moderated from their wartime peak this spring, but renewed fighting around the Strait of Hormuz could keep pump prices elevated for months to come. Three members of the Fed's rate-setting committee dissented from today's decision, saying they would have preferred to raise the benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
The Trump administration is ending subsidies for Medicare drug plans that had been in place since the beginning of last year.
What change to Medicare drug plan subsidies will affect seniors' premiums?
And PR Sidney Lepkin says that means some seniors will soon face higher monthly premiums.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare started capping patients' out-of-pocket drug spending at $2,000 last year. That change, and others that changed how plans would pay for drugs, meant insurers were on the hook for more money. At first, they didn't know how much more they'd be spending or how high to set premiums. To ease the transition for insurers, the Biden administration created temporary subsidies to stabilize premiums. The subsidies were expected to last three years, but are ending a year early at the end of 2026. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, said on the social media platform X that it's because the subsidies are no longer needed. But the change means beneficiaries could be paying higher monthly premiums next year.
Sydney Lepkin, NPR News.
How are wildfires in southern Europe prompting mass evacuations and international aid?
Under an intensifying heat wave, wildfires continue to rage across southern Europe, including Spain's Valencia region, as recorded by APT News, and France, where one massive blaze that's four times the size of Paris could grow. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has been following the fires. that force mass evacuations.
The military's been mobilized, joining firefighters. About 5,000 people are now battling these blazes.
What is known about the death toll and search efforts after the magnitude 6.8 quake in Japan?
The European Union has sent firefighting planes and helicopters to join the French Canadair planes, so those are the planes that scoop up water and dump it on fires. And in France, more than 200,000 people, residents and vacationers, have been evacuated, about 100,000 in Spain.
NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reporting. A massive search operation continues today in southwestern Japan, which was struck this week by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Local authorities say the quake killed at least 18 people, including a foreign national. Dozens more people were injured.
How is AI being used in the new Dataland Museum and what role do humans play?
This is NPR News. President Trump and the Department of Justice are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to toss an $83 million defamation verdict. Columnist E. Jean Carroll won. Carroll accuses Trump of sexually assaulting her years ago in a department store fitting room. Trump later accused her of fabricating the allegation for publicity. A jury awarded Carroll damages, but government attorneys say President Trump cannot be sued for comments he made during his first term in as president. The opening of a new museum dedicated entirely to AI-generated art this summer in Los Angeles brings up questions about how much of it is the work of machines and how much is human. NPR's Chloe Veltman asked the force behind the project world-renowned digital artist Rafiq Anadol.
Rafiq Anadol is known for using AI algorithms to transform massive troves of data into bombastic three-dimensional installations of light and sound. The Turkish-American artist says he creates his projects, including the new Dataland Museum in LA, with the help of the people in his studio, a multidisciplinary group of artists, architects and data scientists.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:05
2
Why did the Federal Reserve choose to hold interest rates steady today?
0:05–0:36
3
How could the U.S.-Iran war and oil price spikes complicate inflation control?
0:36–1:05
4
What change to Medicare drug plan subsidies will affect seniors' premiums?
1:05–2:00
5
How are wildfires in southern Europe prompting mass evacuations and international aid?
2:00–2:24
6
What is known about the death toll and search efforts after the magnitude 6.8 quake in Japan?
2:24–2:57
7
How is AI being used in the new Dataland Museum and what role do humans play?
2:57–5:02