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Leaders gather in Washington to pay their final tributes to Lindsey Graham

A U.S. Capitol Police honor guard stands watch around the casket during a Congressional tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

Lawmakers, foreign leaders and President Trump are gathering Tuesday for the first of two days of funeral services for the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

(Image credit: Jim LoScalzo)

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Photos: Spain and France's battle record wildfires

This photograph shows the building of a painting company destroyed by a wildfire in a business park in Biscarrosse, southwestern France, on July 28, 2026.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes as powerful wildfires sweep across Spain and France, revealing the growing scale of a climate crisis already reshaping the continent.

(Image credit: Philippe Lopez)

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'Ricochet' explores how the right to bear arms expands -- while gun laws contract

The New York Times reporter Mike McIntire says gun companies and the NRA are broadening the scope of the Second Amendment, socializing kids to appreciate guns and marketing a new brand of masculinity.

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Here are the 13 books that made the Booker Prize longlist

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The 2026 list includes new works from household names Douglas Stuart, Marlon James and Elizabeth Strout as well as a few debut authors.

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A strong earthquake shakes part of southern Japan but no tsunami detected

An aerial image shows the damaged AEON Mall after an earthquake in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan, Tuesday.

The quake shook Kumamoto, on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, late Tuesday afternoon local time, causing damage and injuries.

(Image credit: Kyodo News via AP)

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Trump to meet with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu. And, TPS holders could soon face deportation

President Trump returns from a trip to Michigan on July 27, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

President Trump is set to hold separate meetings with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are today. And, Temporary Protected Status holders may face deportation soon.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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AI tokens could become the kilowatt-hour of the AI age

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AI companies use tokens to track usage and bill customers. Now economists are using them to track the spread of AI through the economy.

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Yes, it's possible to save money while paying off credit card debt. Here's how

To stay off the hamster wheel of debt, experts recommend saving for emergencies while keeping up with credit card payments. That way, you can pay for unexpected purchases with cash instead of credit.

In fact, experts recommend it because it can keep you off the hamster wheel of debt. Here's how to find the money in your budget to put toward savings and credit card payments.

(Image credit: Reina Takahashi for NPR)

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Trump shattered ethics norms. Will voters trust Democrats to fix them?

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., waves to attendees during a reelection campaign event in Atlanta on Feb. 7.

Democrats are making the case that now is the time to tackle anti-corruption reforms — to serve as a check on Donald Trump and to overhaul a system voters say is co-opted against their interests.

(Image credit: Dustin Chambers)

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Amid U.S. funding cuts, the International AIDS Conference faces an uncertain future

Protesters gather at the opening ceremony of the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.

Dr. Kenneth Ngure, president-elect of the International AIDS Society, says, "We have had very good scientific advances ... yet the funding cuts have also taken us back."

(Image credit: Pablo Porciuncula)

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Netanyahu to meet Trump in a first encounter since the Iran war began

FILE - President Donald Trump listens as Israel

The meeting comes as both face pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection, embattled in part due to his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war.

(Image credit: Alex Brandon)

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With wildfires raging in France and Spain, fire crews race against next heat wave

Firefighters tackle a blaze as wildfires rage near Le Las, outside Bordeaux, France, Monday, July 27, 2026.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France was "facing a completely unprecedented fire," describing the situation as France's worst fire-related crisis since World War II.

(Image credit: Emma Da Silva)

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Rand Paul releases Anthony Fauci's pandemic-era diary notes. Here's what they tell us

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 03, 2024 in Washington, DC. Fauci is expected to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29, 2026.

Sen. Rand Paul has released a tranche of Dr. Anthony Fauci's diary entries from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci is set to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday on the origins of the coronavirus.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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Platner energized Maine's Democrats. Jackson's challenge will be to keep them engaged

Democrats have a new candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine: Troy Jackson. In one of the country's most closely-watched races, he'll have less than 100 days to make his case.

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Authors have mixed feelings about the $1.5B Anthropic copyright infringement ruling

AI company Anthropic will pay $1.5 billion dollars to hundreds of thousands of authors in a landmark copyright infringement settlement. But some authors have mixed feelings about the outcome.

Some say the $3,100 per title payout is small compensation for what they view as big, ongoing threats from the makers of generative AI models.

(Image credit: RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

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Authors wary of content ownership despite court ruling on Anthropic case

The literary world is celebrating Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement with authors. But AI firms may still train models on legally purchased books. What does that mean?

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Inside Joe Manchin's new quest to elect more Independents to Congress

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, seen here at a Detroit Economic Club meeting in 2024, has launched an effort to elect independents to Congress.

The former West Virginia senator was a lifelong Democrat before deciding to register as an independent two years ago. He now wants to create similar pathways for other politicians in both parties.

(Image credit: Jeff Kowalsky)

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The 'cockroach' in the machine: How Gen Z is rattling South Asia's elites

A Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporter shouts slogans at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Thursday during the ongoing protest to demand the resignation of India

South Asia's leaders have long boasted about their demographic dividend. But the region's young people are turning it into a political reckoning.

(Image credit: Sajjad Hussain)

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3 dead in mass shooting in Seattle. And, U.S. and Iran pause fighting

Police officers walk on patrol at the scene of a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival on July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Washington.

A mass shooting at a Seattle festival has left three people dead. And, the U.S. and Iran have been exchanging diplomatic messages after nearly tw weeks of intense fighting.

(Image credit: David Ryder)

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France continues to fight devastating wildfires, while progress is made in Spain

Canadair firefighting aircrafts fight a wildfire burning near Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometers west of Madrid, on July 26, 2026.

In southern France a wildfire in the region of Gironde is still active, while two major fires in central Spain are finally coming under control, ahead of the fourth heat wave of the summer.

(Image credit: Oscar del Pozo)

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In Memphis, an 'anti-crime' task force quietly turned into an ICE crackdown

Members of the National Guard stand watch on Beale St., Friday, July 17, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn.

The influx of federal agents into the city last fall led to widespread immigration arrests – a majority without criminal convictions. President Trump has said he wants to replicate it elsewhere.

(Image credit: George Walker IV)

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Kalshi attacks Wisconsin law banning election bets as 'voter suppression'

File photo: Residents vote in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025. Wisconsin election officials recently warned voters in the state that betting on the midterms could disqualify their vote or result in prosecution. That prompted legal threats from the prediction market Kalshi, which is allowing people to bet on hundreds of midterm races.

The spat between the leading prediction market company and a key battleground state could be a glimpse into the next major fight between states and the fast-growing industry.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

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Baltimore will turn 911 into more than just an emergency number

Aerial view of historic row houses in the Riverside neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.

Baltimore is rethinking what it means to call 911, and who responds. Callers who don't need police will get help finding social services and healthcare before they actually fall into crisis.

(Image credit: Matt Gush)

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Morning news brief

Three people were killed in a shooting at a Seattle food festival Sunday, U.S and Iran pause airstrikes, with less than 100 days left until Election Day, a look at how the midterms are shaping up.

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Can the U.S. and Iran take the off-ramp?

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Washington.

The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war.

(Image credit: Rod Lamkey)

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With just a few primary elections to go, the competitive Senate map keeps shifting

The U.S. Capitol is seen on March 27 in Washington, D.C.

For Democrats to take control of the U.S. Senate, they have to flip 4 seats currently held by Republicans. Republicans, meanwhile, are playing defense and pickup opportunities are harder to find.

(Image credit: Samuel Corum)

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Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia wins the 2026 Tour de France, his fifth victory in the race

Slovenia

The route for the iconic cycling race's final stage was shortened because security and police were reassigned to assist with wildfires in southwest France.

(Image credit: Thibault Camus)

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U.S. pauses attacks on Iran for a second straight day and Tehran does too

Two men wade in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz with vessels anchored in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026.

The United States paused attacks on Iran for a second straight day Sunday and Tehran said it had done so too, as efforts continued to bring the countries back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire.

(Image credit: Razieh Poudat)

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Lebanese displaced by war turn to satellites to check their homes

Mazen Farah points to the location of a convent in his hometown of Yaroun, southern Lebanon, that residents say was destroyed. Despite satellite images and video showing the damage. Israel has denied striking the convent, citing a different building as proof. Unable to return, Yaroun residents are relying on satellite and other imagery to document the destruction from afar.<!-- raw HTML omitted -->

Unable to return home, some Lebanese displaced by Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon are buying satellite images to see whether their houses survived.

(Image credit: Jane Arraf/NPR)

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Rage-giving, innovation and cuts: How public media has survived without federal funds

Lori Walsh was laid off and her public affairs show canceled following the loss of federal funding. She

A year after President Trump signed a law ending six decades of federal funding of public media, it's a time of reinvention, innovation and clear anxiety at public tv and radio stations nationwide.

(Image credit: Aaron C. Packard for NPR)

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