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Happy almost birthday America tomorrow, the United States turns 250 years old. And parts of the country may feel like it's 250 degrees. A heat wave from Texas to the East Coast is already forced cities to cancel parades and fireworks.
I am Michelle Martin, that's Amartinus, and this is up first from NPR News.
[MUSIC] The death toll from Russia's attack on Keev is climbing. Ukraine's president says more air defenses could have saved lives. And Democrats are hoping to win back the house as fall, but a fight within the party could get in the way progressive and democratic socialist upsets are energizing voters' inclusive cities.
The worry is one of that message can win in the places Democrats actually need to take back the majority.
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Catch my interview about the birth of the culture wars. Even breakfast cereals have become part of the culture wars. Author Isaac Butler takes us back to when the Christian right mobilized against provocative art. Listen to Fresh Air on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Shore Wave, working from home is popular.
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Every episode of it's been a minute, NPR is what's happening in culture podcast.
“Starts by asking three questions, who, how, why now?”
If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it. At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity. Follow it's been a minute wherever you get your podcasts. And we'll break down the zeitgeistie topics that are filling your feed. Today is the eve of the 250th birthday of the United States.
Tomorrow there will be celebrations of independent state, large and small, all across the country. Many of which are being affected by intense heat. NPR culture correspondent, Anastasia Siolka, has been tracking the festivities across the US. So what are some of the difficult choices some people have to make about public events? Well, that he wave is extending from Texas all the way up and down the east coast.
And officials across much of the country are going to have to make some tough decisions potentially at the last minute.
“But some places have already decided to cancel our cut-back on their festivities, eh?”
The city of Philadelphia, which of course is central to our independent story, has already decided to substantially cut its annual fourth of July parade route. Many communities in Colorado, like Durango and Vale, have canceled their fireworks displays due to the risk of wildfires. And it's not clear yet what's going to happen in Washington, DC, where President Trump has, of course, been emphasizing this 250th anniversary. Yeah, that's the big spot that everyone's looking at because the great American state fairs out there and on the national mall,
and it's going to be out there in blazing heat no matter what. That's right, yesterday afternoon, morning edition producer Lindsey Totti headed out to the mall to check out the state fair. It was 101 degrees and it felt like 114 with the heat index. And for security reasons, metal and glass water bottles aren't allowed, so folks can only bring in or buy plastic ones. And water is priced like at an airport, it's five bucks for a 20-ounce bottle, a lemonade is $10.
But there are also hydration stations scattered around where visitors can get free bottles of water and a bit of space to cool down. All right, well, at least there's that. So what's the plan for the evening in DC for the capital fourth concert and fireworks display? That is a good question and we just don't have a good answer yet. Yesterday, the capital police in DC announced they'll be making a call this morning, whether or not the public will be allowed to attend the capital fourth event this evening.
Today, the forecast is for 102 degrees with the heat index expected to make it feel up to 113. And Washington in the summer is notoriously hot and muggy in any case. You are really reminded that this city was built on a swamp. A couple of days ago, President Trump said at a public event that he intended to give a quote, really long speech on the night of the fourth, but it's supposed to be nearly as hot then as it will be during the day.
All right, what about some other big 250 if anniversary events that are happening elsewhere? Well, as of now, the coast is clear, so to speak, for the arrival of the tall ships here in New York where I'm based. As of now, we're still expecting about 40 tall ships from around the world and something along the lines of 20,000 sailors to be here, starting this afternoon, and that is despite scorching temperatures and heat index of up to 115 degrees.
All right, that's MPR's Anastasia Seal, because thanks a lot.
Thanks for having me.
Rescue workers and key pulled bodies out of an apartment building overnight,
a building that was crushed by a Russian missile on Thursday. Officials say 30 people are killed in the volume of missiles and drones in Ukraine's capital. The attack was Russia's response to weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. That's an attempt by Ukraine to weaken the Kremlin's ability to wage war. Join us now as MPR's Joanna Kokysus, who is in Kyiv, Joanna Howe's Kyiv recovering.
Well, many here, they're still very shaken, especially in Southeastern Kyiv, where Russian missiles hit this high rise apart in complex. Outside the rubble.
He looked tired and angry, and he said, "Look, if our allies had delivered the air defense
“supplies they had promised on time, I think we could have saved more lives and homes."”
He said, "Russia's latest attack exposed Ukraine's shortage of interceptors for missiles." The sudden NATO leaders meeting in Turkey next week, and the security lines has been helping Ukraine defend itself. He has said many times before that Russia is a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Europe as a whole. And in his evening video address last night, Zelensky said he wants to secure licenses to produce US-designed patriot air defense missiles in Ukraine and Europe. He's saying if NATO still means something to the allies, Europe must have its own capacity to defend itself from all types of threats, including Russian ballistic missiles.
Now last month, G7 leaders said they would consider granting a license to Ukraine to produce air defense missiles.
Is Ukraine developing its own anti-missile system?
Yeah, actually they are. The Ukrainian defense firm firepoint is testing an anti-balistic interceptor to destroy Russian missiles. Those interceptors are not ready yet, so there's this gap.
“Ukraine has already developed interceptors that destroy Russian drones.”
And I know that Ukraine has also made its own attack drones, including some that can travel more than 1,000 miles. So how is that Ukraine use those? Yeah, well for weeks now Ukraine has launched this systematic campaign of long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia. And in Russian occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukrainian drones have even hit Moscow and St. Petersburg and as far away as Siberia. Another targets of largely been Russia's oil industry. This is a pillar of the Russian economy.
Since this March, this past March, there have been more than 50 reported Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities. And what's the goal with those drone strikes? So Ukraine says these long-range strikes are targeting what it calls Russia's war machine. It is an attempt to pressure the Kremlin to end the war. The drone strikes have caused widespread gas shortages in Russia.
And Russia is also making very little progress on the frontline. Ukrainian drone strikes have hit supply routes and logistics centers for Russian troops on the frontline and inside Russia. And a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says that the Russian military is actually suffering far higher casualties than Ukrainian forces. A rate of nearly 8 to 1, which is much higher than it was at the beginning of the war. Zelensky has said many times that he wants to bring the Kremlin's war home to Russians.
And Russians are now feeling the pain. That's MPR's Joanna Kekissas, Joanna thanks. You're welcome. lawmakers in Congress have gone home for the 4th of July recess. Now, when they return, much of their focus will turn to this false midterm election.
This morning, we wanted to focus on the race for the house where Democrats are hopeful they can win back the majority. But fighting within the party could complicate their plans. MPR political reporter Elena Moore has been following this. So Elena, primarys can expose tensions inside a party.
“But it seems for Democrats this year, it feels especially pronounced. Why is that?”
Well, Democrats have long been struggling with how to reenergize their base. And in some Democratic primaries, the cycle voters have been engaged. And they're turning out because there's deep frustration with the party establishment and politics as usual. And most recently, we've seen this dynamic playout in some high-profile upsets, where candidates in Denver and New York City have ousted sitting Democrats, that they feel are not far enough to the left.
Okay, so how does those upsets happen?
Well, these are candidates who are running on a core set of issues. In large part, you know, they want the party to adopt ambitious economic policies to address the affordability crisis. They're also talking a lot about money in politics and criticizing elected Democrats for taking donations from corporate packs and pro-Israel lobbying groups. And those were key issues for Daria Lisa Avila Shavaliar.
The Democratic Socialist from New York who successfully challenged Adriano Espayat, the chair of the powerful congressional Hispanic caucus in the House.
And one thing A that made that such a big deal is Espayat was backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. So his loss may underscore that frustration. A lot of voters are feeling with the establishment right now. Okay, so if it appears to be a winning message and Democrats want to win and need to win, I would assume.
“Why aren't they embracing more of these candidates?”
Well, some are, I mean, just yesterday, we saw Alexandria Ocasio Cortez endorsed Abdul El Said in Michigan's Democratic primary for Senate. We should say El Said is a progressive, not a Democratic socialist, but he's one of several candidates that's being painted as two extreme by Republicans. And now that's an attack that all Democrats are bracing for because even though Democrats broadly agree on key economic issues, they worry that other positions held by more leftist candidates will muddy their message.
Take Avela Chivalier, for example, she holds positions that make some Democrats nervous for one on her campaign website. She advocates for abolishing the quote deportation machine. She's also one of several candidates who has faced criticism that their opposition to Israel's war and Gaza borders on anti-Semitism. And those are charges that these candidates deny. All right, so how is all of this affecting the way Democratic leaders are thinking about November and maybe even pass that?
Let's complicated because it's clear that these candidates have tapped into something A. You know, they're doing a better job engaging voters that Democrats have struggled with, like young voters in these liberal cities. But at the same time, Democrats also need to win in more moderate places if they want to retake the house. So it's a balancing act. They think focusing on the economy as a winning message, but they don't want voters distracted by other issues.
“And that's what Republicans are going to try to do.”
If Democrats win, there's the question of whether they can all work together. That's NPR, political reporter Alain Moore, thanks a lot. Thanks, eh?
That's a first for Friday July 3rd of me, Martina.
And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of the first was edited by Luis Clemens, Tina Crya, Jason Breslow, Muhammad over D.C. and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Zeyak Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Zach Coleman, and our executive producer is Jay Shailer. We hope you'll join us again on Monday.
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It's something we protect together. Power a truly independent press. Support the NPR network at plus.npr.org. For three weeks in 2020, part of my Seattle neighborhood was taken over by a protest occupation. We were here to protest police brutality.
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