NPR News: 07-31-2026 9PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump now says the U.S. hasn't agreed to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missile systems.
What did President Trump say about licensing Patriot missile production for Ukraine?
NPR's Franco Ordonez reports.
Less than three weeks ago, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would give Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles, something Kiev has long wanted. But now Trump says the U.S. must be judicious with sharing the technology.
Now, we have not agreed to that. We're talking about it. But it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology. And I don't think this would ever happen, but you know, those people that you give that technology, they can someday turn on you.
Access to the missiles has been a critical part of Ukraine's defense in the war. The Biden administration sent stockpiles over to assist, but Trump has so far resisted doing so. Franco, Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
The Trump administration has dropped its case against a former Olympic canoeist who was accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports the motion to dismiss charges against David Hearn blames the damage on a botched renovation.
In the 20-page filing, government prosecutors say the damage to the reflecting pool was caused by contractor errors and rushed construction rather than vandalism. National Guard troops and US Park Police arrested David Hearn at the reflecting pool after he stopped to examine a peeling section of the new pool liner. Federal prosecutors charged Hearn with felony property destruction, alleging he deliberately tore the lining installed as part of a $14 million rehab. Hearn pleaded not guilty. In a statement to NPR, Hearns' legal team said the dismissal, quote, does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
And the U.S. says Hamas has confirmed that it will disarm as part of a deal announced by President Trump that also requires Israel to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza. It marks a potential breakthrough in ending the war, but implementation faces major challenges. The FBI says that water facilities across the U.S. were victims of recent cyber attacks. NPR's Jenna McLaughlin spoke to cybersecurity experts. who say they've seen hackers widely targeting industrial devices.
According to multiple cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR, there's evidence that bad actors have been scanning the internet in recent weeks, looking for insecure industrial control systems. Those devices are used in critical infrastructure, from water to power. Michael Crean of cybersecurity firm SonicWall says his company has seen broad opportunistic attacks on this technology explode in recent months, highlighting the risk of connecting these devices to the Internet. Another cybersecurity expert who requested anonymity to protect sources on sensitive security matters said the recent attacks were almost certainly linked to Iran. The timing suggests they were likely motivated by U.S. strikes.
Jen McLaughlin, NPR News.
This is NPR. Arizona, California, and Nevada would get a lot less water from the Colorado River under a proposal to stave off a crisis in the river. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plan spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts for now, but it's a temporary fix as the states fight over management of the dwindling river, which powers huge swaths of the western U.S. Public health nurses in Michigan have found themselves on the front lines of the cyclosporiasis outbreak. The state has over 10,000 cases. Kate Wells with our partner KFF Health News has more.
When it comes to public health, foodborne illnesses are some of the most complicated to investigate, especially cyclosporiasis, because symptoms may not appear for up to two weeks after eating contaminated food. Linda Kim is a public health nurse in Washington County. She's been spending hours on the phone helping patients comb through their grocery receipts and their takeout orders.
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