NPR News: 08-08-2026 9AM EDT
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Why did the Senate narrowly confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. Attorney General?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Senate has narrowly confirmed Todd Blanch to serve as the next attorney general of the United States. The upper chamber voted on his nomination early this morning. All Democrats voted against it, along with two Republicans. NPR's Ron Elving reports Blanche received enough votes after weeks of opposition from both parties.
They say they got a written commitment that Blanche would not pursue that $1.8 billion compensation fund that Trump wants for people prosecuted under the Biden administration, including the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. But the last holdouts who gave in also expressed more general frustration, saying a vote against Blanche would not rein in Trump, or saying anyone Trump appointed to replace Blanche with Would be just as bad or worse if it was
How did the stock market rise despite weak job numbers and what does it mean for the Fed?
That's MPR's Ron Elving reporting. The stock market soared this week even as the job market showed signs of weakness. NPR Scott Horsley reports investors shrugged off news that US employers cut more than twenty thousand jobs last month.
Investors focus their attention on strong corporate earnings reports and renewed hopes that a diplomatic deal can be reached to end the war with Iran. Retail gasoline prices have been falling in recent days, although they're still more than a dollar a gallon higher than they were when the war began. Higher energy prices have been a drag on the economy, causing restaurants and retailers to cut jobs last month. Revised figures also show hiring in May and June was weaker than had been reported.
What record‑breaking heat is hitting Europe and how are countries responding?
Investors hope the lackluster jobs report will make the Federal Reserve less likely to raise interest rates next month. For the week the Dow rose three percent, the S P five hundred index climbed more than three and a half percent, and the Tech Heavy NASDAQ jumped more than five percent. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington.
Many parts of Europe are bracing for another heat wave. Vicky Barker reports Europeans have been suffering through a record breaking hot summer.
Heat health alerts have already taken effect in much of the UK, where London is about to experience its fifth heat wave of the season. All of Italy's major cities are under the highest level of heat alert, and record heat's been reported in neighboring Austria. Several European countries have been experiencing temperatures above one hundred and four Fahrenheit, prompting health warnings for millions of elderly or otherwise medically vulnerable people.
Which parts of the United States are under extreme heat alerts and what are the risks?
Climatologists say Europe, which lacks widespread air conditioning, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, severely testing public health systems, power generation, transportation networks, and tourism infrastructure. For NPR News, I'm Vicky Barker in London.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Dangerous heat is gripping much of the country with 73 million Americans under heat alerts. The National Weather Service says the most intense conditions are building across many parts of the Southwest. Temperatures could climb well into the triple digits in some areas. A study on Pumas and Washington State shows the large cats, also called cougars and mountain lions, May make roadways safer for drivers, NPR's Burley McCoy reports.
How are pumas in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula reducing deer‑vehicle collisions?
Researchers combined data from more than 500 wildlife cameras around the Olympic Peninsula. They also looked at the number of vehicle wildlife collisions and found where pumas were most active, there were 76% fewer vehicle collisions with deer compared to areas with the least amount of puma activity. Justin Surachi at Conservation Science Partners says the pumas are likely changing deer behavior. They're actually spending less of their time near roads. Which he thinks is so deer can avoid the open space that roads provide, which are ideal hunting grounds for ambush predators like pumas. Surachi says these results could add to conversations around allowing pumas to naturally recolonize areas where they're currently popping up in the Midwest, or even reintroduction.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Why did the Senate narrowly confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. Attorney General?
0:00–0:56
2
How did the stock market rise despite weak job numbers and what does it mean for the Fed?
0:56–1:41
3
What record‑breaking heat is hitting Europe and how are countries responding?
1:41–2:36
4
Which parts of the United States are under extreme heat alerts and what are the risks?
2:36–3:31
5
How are pumas in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula reducing deer‑vehicle collisions?
3:31–5:04