>> Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
President Trump is dismissing reports that families of service members on board the USS Abraham Lincoln are concerned about their loved ones health and safety on the aircraft carrier, which has been deployed for nearly nine months.
“>> Well, no, that ship is moving right now, we're very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship.”
>> No, no, no, no, no, no, not nearly long enough.
>> Trump's speaking there at Joint Base Andres in Maryland. Sailors have been at sea for more than 250 days of record, and are reportedly dealing with poor living conditions that are leading to deteriorating mental health. More than 5,000 sailors are on board, and Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Pentagon after reports of food shortages. A defense official not authorized to speak publicly tells NPR the Navy is sending the carrier, the USS Washington, to relieve the USS Lincoln. President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to lift a block on construction for the White House ballroom, and Pierce Carr Johnson reports the administration says a lower court order to stop the work is unlawful.
>> Solicitor General John Sauer says the ongoing construction is vital for national security, and a new filing with the Supreme Court Sauer says a single district judge should not be able to decide what's necessary to protect the president and staff at the White House.
“President Trump's taken a special interest in the renovations, which he says will include a highly secure ballroom and crucial national security features.”
His lawyers say the national trust for historic preservation has not suffered any real injury.
A divided federal appeals court panel ruled the issue is for Congress to decide, and that the president is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House. Kerry Johnson and PR News. >> Retail spending a key economic measure declined in July for the first time in months. >> The member's department says spending is down six tenths of a percent compared to June, and Pierce Alina Seljuk has more.
“>> In July compared to June, people spent a bit less on autos and auto parts on electronics and at gas stations as gas prices had dipped a bit.”
But the big reason why retail sales fell in July compared to June seems to do with prime day.
The event that was previously in July, but this year was moved to June, and so online sales fell 2.2 percent month to month.
Now, comparing the spending to last year, sales grew almost across the board, with people buying more clothes and gardening supplies, spending at restaurants and bars was up 5 percent. And higher gas prices had people spending more at gas stations by 16 percent from a year ago. And beer news. Wall Street is trading lower at this hour, doubt on 60 points. You're listening to NPR news. A suspect has been arrested in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Attorney Janine Piero says on X, that the woman faces two federal felony charges, calling it a despicable attack on a sacred monument. The woman is expected to be a rain today. The memorial, one of the most popular in Washington, was vandalized yesterday, with bubbles filling the fountain and grid graffiti on the memorial. This comes after President Trump claimed the nearby Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was deliberately damaged without citing evidence. A former Olympian was charged, but Piero dropped the charges after saying the damage was caused by botched repairs at the pool.
Yet another summer of surge of COVID-19 is underway in the U.S. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Piero's Robstein has more. COVID cases are increasing again nationwide, with the most activity in the South and West, but also inching up in the northeast and Midwest. The good news is that the levels of virus are still very low, and so far, this year's wave seems to be continuing the trend of getting milder each summer, sending fewer people to the hospital and causing fewer deaths.
But the virus is expected to continue increasing for weeks, so help that spurred rising people to consider masking up if they're in crowded places like airports and to get one of the updated vaccines when they become available in the fall, Robstein and Piero News. And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This week on Consider This From NPR.
