NPR News: 08-03-2026 1AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
What major DOJ action ends President Trump's 'anti-weaponization' fund?
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch has issued a formal letter that terminates President Trump's so-called anti-weaponization fund. The $1.8 billion fund was set up to compensate his political allies. A disagreement over the fund has slowed confirmation for Blanch as Attorney General. It's been a busy last weekend of campaigning just ahead of Michigan's contentious U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday. As Michigan Public's Steve Carmody reports, the primary has implications far beyond the Great Lakes states.
The primary between Congresswoman Haley Stevens and former Detroit public health official Abdul El-Sayed is seen as a battle between the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive wings. Stevens has garnered a slew of endorsements from party leaders, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Meanwhile, El-Sayed has the backing of progressive stars, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Michigan's primary battle is not only about the direction of the National Democratic Party, but also whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate next year. For NPR News, I'm Steve Carmody in Saginaw, Michigan.
Officials in Washington state say firefighters are beginning to get a handle on wildfires burning in and around Spokane. The fires have destroyed at least 600 structures and some 60,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes because of the flames. Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner says such destruction has not been seen before in the region. This is an unprecedented catastrophe for the Spokane area, but I think we're going to see unprecedented collaboration in responding to this fire. The Old Trails fire has burned thousands of acres of land and is just one of three fires burning in the area. The death toll from last week's surge of migrants arriving from Morocco to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta has risen to at least 72 people.
Spain says most of those who made it to the territory have now returned to Morocco.
How could Michigan's U.S. Senate primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El‑Sayed affect national party control?
But Terry Schultz reports that the diplomatic uproar the incident caused in the European Union continues.
The dramatically different responses to the Ceuta crisis from the European Union's top leaders illustrate how deeply divided the 27 governments are on migration and how worried they are about threats to the passport-free travel rights granted inside the bloc's borders. European Council President Antonio Costa, who's from Portugal, expressed his personal solidarity with Spain. But Costa was not able to speak on behalf of the EU because there's no unified stance. The majority of governments sound more like EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who focuses on reinforcing control of EU borders. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has expressed outrage at what he calls polarizing positions.
EU ambassadors meet Monday and Interior Ministers Tuesday to debate a collective response. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels.
And you're listening to NPR News. Police in Idaho say the suspect in a fatal shooting at a fast food restaurant in Twin Falls died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators say they're confident that 24-year-old Chad Williams acted alone during the shooting that left four people dead and seven others injured. Police Chief Matthew Hicks says an off-duty state trooper and an armed citizen fired at the gunman and distracted him from killing more people. A museum devoted entirely to AI-generated art has opened in Los Angeles, and Paris Chloe Veltman reports that the exhibits are also raising a more complicated question, just how much of the art comes from a machine and how much still depends on the human behind it.
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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