Live from NPR News and Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
Rescue crews and western Colombia are digging through the rubble, searching for survivors
after this week's powerful earthquake.
“The operation is growing more urgent as teams move beyond the critical 72-hour window.”
Reporter John Otis is in Kali, one of the cities hit hardest by the quake. Columbia officials know they are in a race against the clock. The news conference yesterday, Kali Mayor Alejandro Edder said they have identified seven sites in the earthquake zone where they have the best chance to save people. Let's listen.
So here, the mayor is calling on Kali residents to avoid the disaster zone. So it's not to create traffic jams or to get in the way of rescue teams. John Otis reporting. Attorney General Todd Blanch is speaking out for the first time since his Senate confirmation last week.
He says a plan to compensate people.
The White House claims were targeted by the Biden administration as dead. NPR's carry Johnson reports the proposed anti-weaponization fund drew bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill.
“Todd Blanch says there's no infrastructure for the nearly $1.8 billion fund.”
No commissioners and no transfer of money from the treasury. President Trump touted the fund as a way to help his supporters who faced charges, including for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Blanch addressed the question with reporters at the DOJ. He feels very strongly that he would want to make them whole as do I, but it will not
be through the anti-weaponization fund. January 6th defendants and other Trump allies already have filed separate legal claims with
the Joe's disdepartment, seeking money for the ways they say the DOJ harm them.
Carrie Johnson and PR News Washington. A growing number of Canadians are calling for Ottawa to expel U.S. Ambassador Pete Huxtra, Dan Carpenter reports and online petition says he's made statements that undermine the candidate U.S. diplomatic relationship. The woman behind the petitionly walker of Calgary says the response has been far beyond
what she expected. On Tuesday, it had 30,000 signatures, by Wednesday, that number had jumped to 70,000. The petition says Huxtra should be declared persona non-grata and should be expelled. Walker says Huxtra has repeated President Trump's rhetoric about annexing Canada, and his criticized Canadian politicians who have responded to tariffs by discouraging travel
to the U.S. and supporting a ban on American alcohol. Walker says the response shows many Canadians are uncomfortable with how Huxtra has acted. The petition will be presented in the Canadian Parliament this fall by Green Party leader Elizabeth May, for NPR News. I'm Dan Carpenter, and Toronto.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Large parts of Western Europe are sweltering again with Britain facing its fifth heat wave of the summer. Temperatures could reach 100 degrees today in Central and Southeastern England, just shy of the August record said in 2003.
Britain is on track for its hottest summer on record, wild drought and wildfires have spread across much of the country. Two people are dead following a military helicopter crash in Central Texas on Wednesday. Gabrielle Felizquez-Neyra from Member Station, KUT in Austin reports. The Bell County Sheriff's Office says the Apache attack helicopter crashed around 130 pm
local time and started a fire which has since been contained. The crew members were later pronounced that at 230 pm according to the Sheriff's Office. Their craft was based in Fort Hood. It's unclear what led to the crash. Military responders, local fire and police departments and the Texas Department of Public
Safety all responded to the incident. Fort Hood's Criminal Investigations Division and the Bell County Sheriff's Office are now investigating. For MPR News, I'm Gabrielle Felizquez-Neyra in Austin. Emergency crews are nearing full containment of the three major wildfires near Spokane
Washington. The blazes have burned nearly 10,000 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 800 structures. All evacuation orders have been lifted, allowing residents to return to their neighborhoods. A man is charged with setting fire to one of them while the causes of the other two remain under investigation.
I'm Windsor-Johnston and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The working class.
“It's a term politician throw around a lot these days, but do we know what it actually means?”
Midterm elections are coming up, and on it's been a minute, we discuss who these candidates are really talking about. Watch the full it's been a minute episode on YouTube or listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
