NPR News: 07-30-2026 11PM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder.
Why is Todd Blanch's Attorney General confirmation on hold over a $1.8 billion fund?
Todd Blanch's confirmation to be Attorney General is on hold over the $1.8 billion fund for President Trump's allies who say they've been victimized by the government. Blanch says the fund no longer exists, but two outgoing Republican senators are refusing to advance him until they get that in writing. Trump says he may try to wait them out, as NPR's Eric McDaniel reports.
Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Tillis of North Carolina are using their leverage to make sure that the fund, which Trump has suggested could be used to make payments to Capitol rioters, is kaput, as the Justice Department has claimed.
What leverage are Senators Cornyn and Tillis using to block Blanch's advancement?
In response, Trump posted, quote, Cornyn tweeted in reply that the president is mistaken if he believes concerns about the fund are limited to himself and Senator Tillis, suggesting they're speaking on behalf of other Senate Republicans. Either way, Blanche, who was already confirmed to a lower DOJ post, can remain acting attorney general. Eric McDaniel, NPR News, the Capitol.
President Trump says a deal has been reached to disarm Hamas. On social media, Trump called the deal reached in Cairo between mediators and Hamas leaders historic, saying disarmament would come in phases as Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
What are the reported terms and uncertainties of the Cairo deal to disarm Hamas?
It's not clear how long the process will take, and Israeli support for the plan is uncertain. New government data points to a slowdown in economic growth. NPR's Scott Horsley on what the Commerce Department is saying.
Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second quarter. That's a bit of a slowdown from the first three months of the year, and the growth was really concentrated in some narrow categories. But as you say, the biggest driver of economic activity is consumer spending, and that held up pretty well.
How did the Commerce Department describe the recent slowdown in U.S. GDP growth?
Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. It increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent. With wildfires flaring up in Europe, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports that tens of thousands forced to flee the fires that have ravaged France's Bordeaux region are being allowed to return home.
Sophie Brocas, the prefect of the Gironde region, says this is the first day they are able to feel optimistic. Firefighters have been working day and night to extinguish the fires that have devoured more than 100,000 acres. A giant exposition hall in Bordeaux has welcomed thousands of people who've been evacuated. A couple hundred are still here, including 90-year-old Marie Lalana, who is standing by her cot. We fled in such a panic that I left behind my teeth, my glasses and my hearing aids, she says. But she says the welcome has been warm here. Many people have their dogs and cats with them.
What is the situation with wildfires and evacuations in France's Bordeaux region?
Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Bordeaux. Seattle Police Chief Sean Barnes is out of a job. Mayor Katie Wilson announced Barnes' resignation Thursday amid criticism that the city was slow to release information about Sunday's shootout at a food festival near the Space Needle. Barnes was Seattle's second black police chief. In an open letter, several community organizations said Barnes should not be made a scapegoat. 90-18s representing all 50 states gathered in Boston to create a national policy to help K-12 schools know how to use AI in their classrooms. NPR's Corey Turner was there.
The students were handpicked by their school leaders and gathered in an exact replica of the U.S. Senate, where they decided schools should have to teach AI literacy and do it early. Here's Bina Mejia-Romero of Connecticut making her case to the full student senate.
We should be introduced to it when devices are introduced to our classrooms. If we're going to be using devices, we should know the dangers and the benefits that they have.
How are local U.S. stories—from Seattle police changes to student AI policy and markets—being reported?
For older students, the student senators backed a ban on the use of AI on graded tests and in the act of writing, though editing and studying with AI would be allowed after 8th grade. The recommendations will now be sent to more than 10,000 school leaders nationwide. Corey Turner, NPR News, Boston.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:04
2
Why is Todd Blanch's Attorney General confirmation on hold over a $1.8 billion fund?
0:04–0:39
3
What leverage are Senators Cornyn and Tillis using to block Blanch's advancement?
0:39–1:21
4
What are the reported terms and uncertainties of the Cairo deal to disarm Hamas?
1:21–1:50
5
How did the Commerce Department describe the recent slowdown in U.S. GDP growth?
1:50–2:54
6
What is the situation with wildfires and evacuations in France's Bordeaux region?
2:54–3:58
7
How are local U.S. stories—from Seattle police changes to student AI policy and markets—being reported?
3:58–5:03