Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
The White House has signed a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and appears cruel Lawrence
reports for decades.
“The U.S. has been concerned about nuclear weapons proliferation in the Middle East.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long sought U.S. reactor technology with the stated goal of developing a peaceful nuclear power program. The American nuclear industry is interested in doing business with the oil-rich country, but previous U.S. presidents had worried it could lead to a weapons program, and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East with the Saudis Archrival Iran.
In the past, nuclear cooperation was held out as an incentive if Saudi Arabia recognized the state of Israel, or if the Kingdom addressed human rights concerns. According to a memo seen by NPR, this deal requires none of those concessions and may not include the strictest international inspections to make sure the Saudis don't begin a weapons program.
The House advanced three notable bills to the Senate this afternoon, just before they
leave town for a month-long recess. A trillion dollars for the military, new restrictions on congressional stock trading, and a Republican budget framework with money for the Iran war, farmers, and election security.
“But as Imperial Zurich, McDaniel reports, the Senate won't consider any of the legislation”
as written. Those generally need 60 votes in order to pass in the Senate, and that means that two of these, which lacks substantial democratic support, are dead on a rival there. Even democratic military boosters have spoken out against the trillion dollar National Defense Authorization Act, usually a bipartisan success story in this time way laid by recent American
service member deaths in Trump's war on Iran. And House Republicans attached a voter ID bill to their stock trading restrictions, restrictions that don't require members to shed their personal financial stakes in publicly traded companies. Both policies concern Democrats.
Senate Republicans could pass the Iran and farm and election package on their own, but Senate Majority Leader John Thunes as he's holding that bill back for other reasons. Eric McDaniel and Pyrenees, the capital. And independent autopsy commissioned by the parents of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old whose body was found two days after he disappeared after a July 4th boat trip with friends
to an island off Mississippi, found the cause of his death quote, "undetermined." Civil rights attorney Ben Kromp who's also the family's lawyer says forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell cited body decomposition and missing facts as reason for the inconclusive result. This forensic pathologist identified several limitations doing the second autopsy that
create barriers to establishing a definitive cause and manner of death for Nolan Xavier Wells. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner's office has not released its autopsy results and a fellow star Colin Kaepernick paid for this second autopsy. He was futures contracts are trading higher if you're listening to NPR News.
“Remember people facing hunger worldwide declined for a third consecutive year, according to a”
new report by the United Nations. But the report also finds the progress is fragile and unevenly distributed due to ongoing shocks from climate change and trade-rupt disruptions. And here's Fatma Tanas has more.
An estimated 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025.
It's 14 million less than the previous year, according to the UN report while Asia and Latin America saw steady improvements, Africa continues to have the highest number of hungry people, as droughts affected food production and conflict in the Middle East has driven up fuel and fertilizer prices, which in turn led to an increase in food costs. And more than a quarter of the world's population experienced food insecurity, meaning they
had to compromise on the quality and quantity of the food they ate. The UN says women are disproportionately affected, Fatma Tanas and PR News. Tropical Storm Burtha made landfall on the southern tip of Louisiana east of New Orleans this afternoon. The storms moving slowly along the Gulf Coast, packing strong winds that extend as much
as 100 miles from its center. The National Hurricane Center says the tropical storm warning includes New Orleans and Lake Pantutrain. A storm surge of up to three feet is possible along with that heavy rain. This is expected to weaken as it moves toward Texas.
Earlier the storm forced beaches to close in the Florida Planned Handle along with the tips of Alabama and Mississippi. I'm Janine Herbst and PR News in Washington. One year after Congress eliminated federal funding for public media and PR remains committed to informing the public.
But a free press doesn't just happen, it's something we must protect. Without federal funding, we're relying on your support now. Please show your support today at plus.npr.org.
