Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
Acting attorney, General Todd Blanche, was on Capitol Hill for a Senate confirmation hearing
“to be the permanent head of the Justice Department.”
It was a rocky hearing where he faced criticism by Republican Senator John Kornin, who was defeated by a Trump backed opponent in the Texas primary.
Kornin grilled Blanche about his role in creating a $1.8 billion fund for purported victims
of Justice Department persecution. Blanche needs all the Republican votes to get his nomination out of the committee and onto the full Senate. It appears Ryan Lucas has more. Democrats are united in their opposition to Blanche's nomination.
They say weaponized the Department to go after President Trump's perceived enemies. They criticize his handling of the Epstein files, the firing of a political, career employees at the Justice Department. The list really goes on and on. But for better or worse, when it comes to this confirmation, Blanche knows he really only
has to worry about keeping all of the Republican senators on board. It appears Ryan Lucas, at least it doesn't Democrats in Maine are hoping to win their
“party's nomination to challenge Republican senators' Susan Collins this fall.”
As Kevin Miller, with Maine Public Radio reports, Democrats are scrambling to replace former nominee, Graham Platner. The list of candidates who filed papers by Wednesday's deadline includes several names familiar to Democratic voters. For instance, three of the contenders, former State Senate President Troy Jackson, Maine's
Secretary of State Shena Bellows, and former Maine CDC director, Nourov Shaw, competed in last month's Gubernatorial Primary. Platner lost the support of state and national party leaders after a former Romantic partner accused him of raping her five years ago. He strongly denied the allegations, but withdrew last week.
The Maine Democratic Party is now under intense pressure from Platner's large and mobilized base of supporters to choose a replacement with the same populist progressive agenda. The new nominee will be chosen on July 25th. For NPR News, I'm Kevin Miller. Argentina has headed back to the World Cup final after beating England two to one in today's
“semi-final and Pierce Becky Sullivan has more.”
The defending jams are defeat defying escape artists. In every knockout game so far, Argentina has come face to face with elimination. They have gone to extra time twice in trailed late in two other games, including in this semi-final in Atlanta against England.
In a tough physical game, England scored first, but that just seemed to uncork Argentina
who cranked up the intensity as they took shot after shot late in the second half. It felt inevitable they would score, and in the eighty-fifth minute they did. Inzo Fernandez hit a rocket in from outside the penalty area, then soon after, his teammate Laptaro Martinez put Argentina ahead with a stoppage time header. Listing on both goals, Superstar Leonardo Messi.
Now Argentina's headed to the final for a possible repeat, this time they'll face Spain, a defensive juggernaut that has allowed its opponents only one goal in the entire World Cup. Becky Sullivan and Pierre News, Atlanta. This is NPR News.
Iran's former president is denying reports that Israel cultivated him as a possible future leader of Iran. The report was first published in the New York Times, and his empires a deal all-shaltchi reports, his office called it fake news. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the New York Times report and attempted
to quote "disturb" public opinion in Iran. The report claimed that Ahmadinejad and the Mossad had met secretly in 2025, and that the CIA was later informed that it had established contact with him. The report goes on to say that Israel believed that Ahmadinejad's break with the Islamic Republic was genuine, and that he could be installed as Iran's new leader.
In the statement, the former Iranian president denied that he's under house arrest, contrary to what the report says. The liberal Israeli news outlet Harrettes published its own version of the same report. He'd deal al-shalchi and PR news, Istanbul. Astronomers have discovered a faint elusive planet that's orbiting a young star.
This after more than a decade of star-style hide and seek, researchers found the new planet around the star-bed up Pictoris, which was overshadowed by its considerably brighter star in two companion planets. This new planet is slightly bigger than Jupiter, and it takes 91 years to orbit its star, a little longer than it takes Uranus to orbit our Sun.
Born into a star system that's barely 20 million years old compared to the Sun's four
and a half billion year old neighborhood, the planet is probably similar to a much younger Jupiter. I'm Janine Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The last time Antonio May's senior heard from his son, it was in a note, the 16-year-old laughed in the family's garage.
He told me he was going to make me cry. Antonio Junior left home to join a protest in Seattle. A week later, he was shot and killed there. I need some a ref me, just as for my son.
