Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman.
The cottonwood fire in Utah is continuing to gain strength at this hour, officials say the
blazes now burning unchecked across 112 square miles. State officials are now restricting the use of fireworks because of the dry conditions. Red flag warnings are also in effect for parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Idaho. The federal arts in case against Jonathan Render Connect ended in mistrial Friday.
He has been accused of starting the deadly palisades fire in California last year. The jury was split with 10 members wanting to equip Render Connect. On one juror named Serena would not offer her last name, she said she was frustrated with the results. It makes me sad as an American like that, you know, we couldn't come to the conclusion.
“I mean, honestly, which I could come back and do it, you know, because I wish we could have”
came to a conclusion. We're going to face three arson charges that could have sent him to prison for 45 years. The fire killed 12 people. The Trump administration's religious liberty commission is calling for greater ties between church and state and PR's Jason Deros reports.
President Trump created the commission through an executive order in May of 2025. The report says religion is often treated as, quote, a problem or annoyance to be managed restricted or sideline among the commission's recommendations. The creation of a hotline for students and teachers to report what they perceive as violations of their religious liberty and legal protections for healthcare workers who refuse to participate
in procedures such as abortions that they say violate their religious beliefs. Critics of the religious liberty commission say most of its members are conservative Christians who don't represent the diversity of religious thought in the U.S., Jason Deros, and PR news. Several Democratic governors have sent national guard troops to Washington, D.C., ahead
“of America 250 celebrations in that city, it's the first time, Democrats have sent troops”
to D.C. as part of President Trump's deployment there as NPR's Cat-Landstorm explains. North Carolina Kentucky, Michigan, and Minnesota all have troops in D.C. now. They join more than a dozen Republican-led states that have had troops in the city for months. NPR reached out to each Democratic governor's office and spokespeople made it clear that their
guard members were sent to help with the influx of crowds expected for America 250 celebrations, and not as part of a larger law enforcement efforts in Trump's federal task force. But legal experts say drawing a distinction between the America 250 celebration and the task force operations will prove difficult and a city already full of troops.
There are more than 4,800 now in D.C., at an estimated cost of more than $2.8 million per
day. Cat-Landstorms and PR news, Washington. The U.S. Central Command says military strikes were launched at Iran on Friday in response to an Iran drone attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. In a statement, the military says the strikes hit coastal radar locations along with
missile and drone launch sites. You're listening to NPR news. The search is continuing in Venezuela for more than 51,000 people missing since this week's earthquakes. Officials say the death toll is risen to at least 920 and is expected to go much higher.
Since in many of the affected areas are digging through rubble, trying to find anyone still alive, they say they've seen little government help following the two massive earthquakes that hit late Wednesday. A group of ex Noah employees and volunteers have launched a new climate data website to replace one that was taken offline last year by the Trump administration.
Empires Scott Newman. As more. Until a year ago, climate.gov was a go-to resource for scientists, educators, farmers, and the general public to access climate data and analysis. But at the height of the doge cutbacks last year, it was shut down and the Noah personnel
who maintained it fired. The administration said the information was moved to other parts of the agency's website. But now three of those fired employees have created climate.us, a clone of the site to ensure that access to the information is maintained. Rebecca Lindsey heads the effort.
“I think this information is too important and it should remain in a protected place.”
Lindsey says the goal is to maintain current data and easily understood analysis. Scott Newman and PR news. Scott E. Schaffler missed a 25-foot-foot Friday that would have given him his second ever sub-60 round, but he ended the day at the PGA Championship in Connecticut with a 60 and a two-stroke lead at first place.
Victor Hovelin finished Friday with a 61 and has sole possession of second round three. This Saturday, I'm Dale Willman and PR news. This is our glass. On this American life, when they mean like, it's a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best.
Our lost and found is currently filled with pants.
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This is true. This is true. Mysteries of every size each week, this American life, wherever you get your podcasts.
