DN Speak Daily

Saturday, August 1, 2026

The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-07-31

Domestic

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington this week for his first visit to the White House since the war in Iran began.

Former CDC head Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights as he sat in before Congress during a hearing led by Sen. Rand Paul concerning the doctor’s COVID diaries.

And Temporary Protected Status lapsed for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the U.S. this week.
Interview:

https://the1a.org/segments/the-news-roundup-domestic-23/

International

Reports suggest that Russia is assisting Iran target U.S. troops as the war between the United States and Iran rages. There are few if any signs of diplomacy from either Washington or Tehran.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.

And in what could be a new normal, wildfires are raging across Spain and France.
Interview:

https://the1a.org/segments/the-news-roundup-international-48/

Russian missile destroys US firm’s Kyiv drone factory

Strike on Terminal Autonomy plant appears to be first time in the war that Moscow has targeted a US company…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/us-firm-drone-factory-terminal-autonomy-ukraine-russia

Trump tries to erase the Presidential Records Act

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EGt5znNFwBs

Republican candidates say they are healthcare champions despite cuts : NPR

Republicans campaigning in swing districts are running ads about healthcare after facing criticism of the cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Many of these ads target voters over 35 years old and focus on three topics: Medicaid fraud, rural hospitals and affordability...

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/31/nx-s1-5870960/republican-ads-healthcare-medicaid-2026-midterms

Democrats demand answers over treatment of wounded US troops

The unit had asked for more medical staff and supplies before the strike and been turned down, according to reporting by the Washington Post and CBS News cited in the letter. There was no doctor on site afterward, no fixed aid station, and only one ambulance, with some of the wounded driving themselves to a hospital in Kuwait City, according to the reports. It took nine days before roughly two dozen soldiers, some still unscreened for brain injuries, were flown to the US military hospital at Landstuhl in Germany.

“Doctors told them that because they hadn’t been recorded as medical evacuees on the flight’s manifest or as seriously injured in [the defense department’s] casualty-processing database, they could only get limited treatment and had to wait in nearby barracks because the hospital was unable to admit them,” the letter states…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/iran-strike-democrats-troops-wounded

WATCH: Trump announces effort to train veterans as truckers amid immigrant driver crackdown | PBS News

A new campaign launched last week will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver's license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver's license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school…

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-announces-effort-to-train-veterans-as-truckers-amid-undocumented-driver-crackdown

Trump blames Minnesota for water systems cyber attack, but experts say it’s too soon to dismiss Iran – PolitiFact

At a July 31 Cabinet meeting at Camp David, the presidential retreat, Trump said, “I think that Minnesota is behind it. You know who is behind it? Minnesota, because they are grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it. I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota needs to get its act together.”

However, on July 22, the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned about “ongoing Iranian-affiliated cyber targeting” of devices that run critical infrastructure. A 2024 agency warning about Iranian cyber threats specifically cited water and wastewater systems...

https://politifact.com/article/2026/jul/31/minnesota-water-cyber-attack-iran-blame-trump/

A jury found two police officers covered up a murder. Trump PARDONED them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6hjcwToC0I

'Ricochet' explores how the right to bear arms expands — while gun laws contract (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)

The New York Times reporter Mike McIntire says gun companies and the NRA are broadening the scope of the Second Amendment, socializing kids to appreciate guns and marketing a new brand of masculinity.

Interview:

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/28/nx-s1-5910517/ricochet-explores-how-the-right-to-bear-arms-expands-while-gun-laws-contract

Urban League report says Trump administration is harming Black Americans' chances at American Dream | PBS News

The report contends that the challenges it highlights for Black communities are warning signs for the prosperity of all Americans...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/urban-league-report-says-trump-administration-is-harming-black-americans-chances-at-american-dream

ABC argues that early license review by FCC is ‘retaliation’ for network’s coverage

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: Accommodate the administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” lawyers representing the Disney-owned network wrote in a 109-page filing, submitted as a reply to petitions from conservative media groups to deny ABC’s licenses. “The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely.”…

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/30/abc-fcc-license-renewal-tv-stations

Let them eat SUVs: Trump White House orders fleet of luxury cars as Americans struggle

Americans are facing a deepening affordability crisis but at least Trump and co have ... 250 new Cadillac Escalades…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/29/trump-general-motors-escalades

Trump announces Hamas deal to disarm, militants demand Israel withdraws first : NPR

The Board of Peace is an entity created and chaired by the president to oversee the peace plan in Gaza. The board, which gathered 40 countries at its inauguration, was convened in February. It includes Israel and Arab countries, but no Palestinian representatives...

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/31/g-s1-136500/trump-hamas-gaza

Claims of noncitizens on voter rolls leave states baffled : NPR

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin answers questions from reporters on July 17 after remarks about his agency alleging that more than 250,000 non-U.S. citizens are on the voter rolls in just four states. Those states dispute that tally.

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/31/nx-s1-5906708/trump-claim-noncitizens-midterms-election-interference-voter-rolls

How views on Trump's handling of Iran have shifted, according to this poll | PBS News

Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults want to continue military action in Iran, while about 3 in 10 say the U.S. should pause military action and seek a renewed ceasefire through negotiations. About 2 in 10 want to completely stop military action in Iran and roughly one-quarter don't know enough to say...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-views-on-trumps-handling-of-iran-have-shifted-according-to-this-poll

Iran-backed militant group's threat to Saudi energy hub could upend Trump's midterm message - POLITICO

The world's largest oil processing facility has emerged as the next flashpoint in the Iran conflict, with potentially immediate consequences for global energy markets and Republicans facing tough midterm races…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/houthi-threat-to-saudi-energy-hub-could-upend-trumps-midterm-message-01020417

US-Iran strikes risk regional war in Middle East

The US military has carried out a wave of airstrikes against Iran in response to Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan. The strikes were launched after Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ following a days-long pause in fighting. Iran has expanded its military strikes in the region, raising fears of an all-out war. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian senior international correspondent Peter Beaumount…

https://www.theguardian.com/news/video/2026/jul/30/us-iran-strikes-risk-regional-war-in-middle-east-the-latest

Brendan Carr Speaks Out on Jimmy Kimmel, the Media and Trump - POLITICO

Carr also refused to say it would be inappropriate for Trump to direct the FCC to investigate certain broadcasters or that there should be any limits on Trump using the FCC against media companies he doesn’t like...

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/07/31/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-interview-trump-01017275

Trump claims agreement for ‘complete disarmament’ of Hamas in Gaza but support uncertain

US president’s board of peace says Israel will withdraw from Gaza following disarmament of Hamas but no immediate statement from either side…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/31/trump-hamas-disarmament-agreement-gaza-board-of-peace

Trump says he wishes anti-weaponization fund wasn't dead, angering senators he needs to confirm Blanche - POLITICO

The $1.8 billion fund, which could have compensated Jan. 6 rioters, has become a flashpoint in the battle over Trump's attorney general nominee...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/trump-says-anti-weaponization-fund-is-dead-01020680

‘It’s a peptide wild west’: how RFK Jr is clearing way for a market of untested drugs

A century ago, compounding pharmacies helped people get bespoke drugs. Now these less-regulated businesses are fueling the peptide boom…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/30/peptide-fda-rfk-jr-drug-regulation

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/government-map-mislabels-african-countries

Trump hands Xavier Becerra a climate dilemma - POLITICO

If he coasts to victory in November, as expected, Xavier Becerra will face competing pressures: delivering on the affordability message that propelled him through the primary while fending off President Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on California’s climate agenda...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/xavier-becerra-california-climate-goals-trump-01018137

The student loans of 450K defrauded borrowers are being erased : NPR

Connor likens this case, about schools defrauding borrowers, to the historic settlement against Big Tobacco. Like cigarettes, she says, these student loans to predatory schools are "toxic products."…

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/31/nx-s1-5910885/student-loans-colleges-fraud-borrower-defense-education-department-trump

School supplies really do cost more this year. Here's how much, from lunchboxes to pencils | PBS News

With school supply costs outpacing inflation, many families — and especially the women who do the majority of purchases in American households — are going to feel the sticker shock, said Lindsay Owens, the president and CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative.

"Women in this country are rip-roaring mad about the price hikes that they're absorbing. They're trying to manage household finances and budgeting. They're trying to feed their kids healthy food," Owens said. "The work is getting harder of providing for your family."…

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/school-supplies-really-do-cost-more-this-year-heres-how-much-from-lunchboxes-to-pencils

Brendan Carr: ‘I don't view the FCC as the speech police’ - POLITICO

“This renewal proceeding is the latest attack in a sustained campaign by Chairman Carr and the Trump administration of threatening legal sanctions against licensees whose speech President Trump dislikes,” wrote the ex-officials, including Reagan-era Chairs Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick and Obama-era Chair Tom Wheeler. “And although the purported justification for the early renewal proceeding is that it is in aid of a Commission investigation into unlawful employment discrimination, it is in fact an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process.”…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/brendan-carr-i-dont-view-the-fcc-as-the-speech-police-01015485

Trump administration to let contract aiding unaccompanied minors expire

A series of federal laws has for decades shielded child immigrants from removal, either to protect their safety or to allow them to testify against abusers or human traffickers.

But the Trump administration has undermined those laws, immigrant advocates and prosecutors say, by directing immigration judges to fast-track deportation cases for minors and blocking their access to lawyers who might help them apply for several forms of relief from removal – including acting as witnesses in cases of human trafficking or domestic violence...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/trump-administration-children-immigration