"Live from NPR News in Washington.
is scheduled to vote today on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
“Fauci declined to answer questions from members of the committee last week during a hearing”
on the federal government's response to the COVID pandemic, and PR's Eric McDaniel reports." That she invoked his fifth amendment right to avoid self-incrimination at last week's hearing. That infuriated Senator Rand Paul with Kentucky, who's long tried to prosecute him. Paul, a libertarian, opposed to government mandates, is a longtime critic of Fauci's response to COVID-19. "You present in your recommendations not as judgments open to debate,
but as dictates of science itself." Contemptive Congress is the mechanism by which lawmakers can attempt to compel someone to cooperate with the legislative process or face potential criminal proceedings. It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will choose to pursue an investigation or charges for the 85-year-old Fauci, as it has for other former officials, President Trump
“disliked Eric McDaniel and PR News Washington.”
The Senate has confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vote was largely along party lines. It's been almost a year since the CDC lost its last permanent director. That's when health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Susan Minarez and is dispute over vaccine policy. The CDC is currently responding to a surge in measles cases in the U.S. as well as outbreaks
of cyclosporiasis. The war with Iran, energy prices, and the U.S. economy got a lot of attention from President Trump yesterday as he traveled to Nevada. The President spoke to supporters in Las Vegas as NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports. Trump emphasized his no-tax on tips policy, which allows a worker to deduct up to $25,000 in tips on their income taxes. That was passed last year as a part of the spending package
known as the one big beautiful bill. He also talked about the price of oil, which has been elevated since the start of the war in Iran, but has fallen from its peak in the spring. Trump acknowledged, however, that it could rise again. We may have to send it up again. We may have to, you know, what happens when we send it up, but we hope we don't have to. But when that oil and gasoline go down, everything else
follows. Amid the higher prices, President Trump's approval rating has slid, and is currently
just below 40 percent, according to multiple polling aggregators.
Daniel Kurtzleben and PR News. The man suspected of starting one of the wildfires, burning near Spokane, Washington, is scheduled to be a rain today. 37-year-old Aaron Ferranachi is charged with first-degree arson. Investigators believe Ferranachi intentionally set the old trails fire. It's the largest of three wildfires burning near the city. The flames have destroyed hundreds of homes and force tens of thousands of people in the area to evacuate.
This is NPR News from Washington. The Vatican says Pope Leo plans to visit South America later this year. The Pope will travel to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in November. The Pope holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship, having worked as a missionary in Peru during the 1980s and later serving as a bishop there. Water rationing begins tomorrow when Puerto Rico, where the territory is
experiencing the most severe drought in more than a decade. NPR's Adrian Floreto and San Juan says the National Guard will be distributing drinking water as the government cuts
service to more than a half million residents.
“So little rain has fallen this summer that key reservoirs have run nearly dry. Governor”
Jennifer Gonzalez says the public water utility will start cutting service to parts of the capital, San Juan and neighboring cities. People's taps will go dry on a schedule 48 hours with water than 48 hours without until reservoirs are restored. But that could be weeks or longer. Forecasters expect no significant rainfall for the Caribbean islands in the short term. It's just the latest of Puerto Rico's water troubles. Many people have already been coping
with and protesting intermittent service for months, caused by cracks in aging pipes that supply urban areas. Adrian Floreto and Peruvian San Juan Puerto Rico. Long time Canadian TV news anchor Lloyd Robertson has died at the age of 92. Robertson was chief anchor of CTV National News for 27 years. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, where members Robertson as a reassuring voice in moments of uncertainty. Wall Street is coming
off another record high close for the Dow. I'm Dave Madingly in Washington.
