NPR is reporting that the U.S. Senate is returning today with a full agenda for its final session before a long recess until mid-September. It said a key item on the agenda is the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche. Blanche formally rescinded a plan for a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" in a letter released last night. Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis had previously withheld support for Blanche's nomination due to their opposition to the fund, which was established as part of a settlement deal for a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS over leaked tax returns. NPR's Claudia Grisales said the provision of the deal protecting Trump and his family from future IRS tax audits was not addressed in Blanche's order, leaving several questions unanswered. Grisales added that it is uncertain whether Blanche has sufficient Republican support on the Senate floor for confirmation, noting that even a few dissenting members could derail the vote given slim Republican margins.
NPR also reported that President Trump posted on social media over the weekend that the U.S. is canceling planned attacks on Iran, stating that "the perimeters of a deal" had been reached. The president credited allies for persuading him to avoid renewed attacks, after news reports indicated the U.S. and Israel were poised to strike Iran's energy infrastructure. Trump said the potential deal would ensure the immediate total opening of the Strait of Hormuz and eliminate Iran's nuclear threat. NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi told Up First that Trump has been in a pattern of threatening military strikes, then backing off and announcing a diplomatic resolution, a routine that has played out multiple times since an initial deal with Iran in April. Trump indicated talks on the latest agreement would begin today, but Iran has not yet confirmed this. Following Trump's announcement, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 8% to around $83 per barrel yesterday.
An NPR review of court records from the last five years reveals a dramatic shift in how the Department of Justice is using a Civil War-era statute to bring forth charges of conspiracy to impede or injure an officer. Since Trump took office last year, the department has charged more than three dozen people, all in cases involving protests against federal immigration enforcement. Before 2025, most cases using this statute involved the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Capital One formally revealed in a new court filing that its decision to close approximately 385 bank accounts tied to the Trump Organization and its affiliates in mid-2021 was the result of an internal anti-money-laundering review. Trump-affiliated businesses had alleged in an ongoing lawsuit that the accounts were closed due to political retaliation following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Capital One Bank has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
The U.S. experienced three major heat domes last month, with the latest bringing extreme temperatures to much of the South, parts of the Midwest, California, and the Four Corners region. Medical experts are warning of increased heat-related health risks, including heat stroke and sleep loss, especially for millions lacking easy access to air conditioning. NPR provided advice on staying safe, including staying out of the sun, drinking water, wearing light clothing, and recognizing heat stroke warning signs.
In other news, NPR highlighted "The Clayton Sisterhood Project," where Black queer photographer Laila Annmarie Stevens documents her family's "reverse migration" from Queens, New York, to Clayton, North Carolina. Stevens captures a growing trend of Black families returning to the South for affordability, community, and quality of life, viewing it as a reversal of the Great Migration.
Finally, NPR reported that scientists expect a piece of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to crash into the moon at more than 5,000 miles per hour on Wednesday. An avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak killed famed climber Nirmal Purja and nine other members of a mountaineering expedition. FIFA also abandoned its plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to minority investors following backlash and a planned boycott from European nations.