NPR News: 07-29-2026 9AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
Why did Dr. Anthony Fauci invoke the Fifth Amendment before the Senate committee?
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who helped lead the nation's COVID-19 response, is on Capitol Hill at this hour. Just a few minutes ago, he invoked the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee about the origins of the virus. Committee Chairman Rand Paul has long accused Fauci of misleading Congress about the pandemic and U.S.-funded research.
What accusations has Senator Rand Paul made about U.S.-funded research and Fauci?
I hope today Dr. Fauci will come clean, admit it was a mistake to fund dangerous research in China, admit that the risk of this dangerous research exceeded any possible benefits, ask forgiveness, and pledge to help our government devise safeguards so a man-made epidemic never happens again.
Dr. Fauci has maintained he never misled Congress and says the accusations against him are false. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks at the White House on Tuesday amid growing tensions over the war with Iran. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports.
The two sides launched a war together that Trump told the public would be relatively quick and easy. It's now five months in and there's no end in sight. Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution says the relationship is very complicated now tactically.
How did talks between President Trump and Netanyahu highlight tensions over the war with Iran?
They're making a lot of decisions and disagreeing on a lot of decisions about when to strike what. And there's obviously the legacy of the last six months where President Trump, despite his denials, may feel like he got dragged into this a little bit by Trump. a Netanyahu who is too optimistic about what we could accomplish.
But he adds that he doesn't see a fundamental rupture and that it's still cooperative, just more complicated because neither side seems to know how to end the war. Israel has one theory and Trump has another.
What progress and risks are French firefighters facing with massive Bordeaux wildfires?
Franco, Ordonez, NPR News.
Firefighters in the Bordeaux region of France say they're making progress against two massive wildfires that have led to more than 220,000 evacuations. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports the country is bracing for its fourth heat wave this summer.
The heat, over 100 degrees, combined with high winds, could reignite the fires, say experts. Mounia Moustafawi is a climatologist and board member of the French Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change. She says the conditions that have ignited and sustained these fires were all predicted.
Why is Spain declaring a national emergency as wildfires force mass evacuations?
At the rate Europe is warming, which happens to be faster than any other continent, models show heatwave days will be multiplied by five.
These heat waves, they create drought conditions. It's exactly what we had currently in France. Like we had three, three heat waves. We're only in July. You know, August has not even started.
How are Democrats weighing economic messages versus threats to democracy ahead of the midterms?
Now the fourth heat wave is underway. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Samir-en-Oxois, France. This is NPR News in Washington.
Wildfires continue to burn across parts of Spain as crews battle flames fueled by extreme heat and dry conditions. More than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from affected areas, including near Madrid and in central Spain. Officials say this year's fire season is among the country's worst in decades. Spain declared a national emergency last week as crews struggled to contain multiple large blazes. Forecasters are warning that another round of dangerous heat could make firefighting even more difficult. Democratic candidates have been focused on the economy ahead of the midterms, but as President Trump raises doubts about elections, some Democrats think they might need to talk about democracy too.
NPR's Ashley Lopez reports.
Democrats have been dominating in special elections since last year, mostly by running on an economic message. This is why some operatives say candidates shouldn't get distracted by other issues cropping up, including threats to democracy. But Jane Klebb with the Democratic National Committee says this was something she heard a lot in 2024 as well.
And it turns out that that was a fundamental issue that was motivating people. And that might not have been something that they were telling exit pollers or it wasn't something that was coming up on exit surveys or polling.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:04
2
Why did Dr. Anthony Fauci invoke the Fifth Amendment before the Senate committee?
0:04–0:30
3
What accusations has Senator Rand Paul made about U.S.-funded research and Fauci?
0:30–1:23
4
How did talks between President Trump and Netanyahu highlight tensions over the war with Iran?
1:23–1:53
5
What progress and risks are French firefighters facing with massive Bordeaux wildfires?
1:53–2:32
6
Why is Spain declaring a national emergency as wildfires force mass evacuations?
2:32–2:50
7
How are Democrats weighing economic messages versus threats to democracy ahead of the midterms?
2:50–5:04