NPR News: 07-04-2026 10AM EDT

Windsor Johnston· Host0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.

Speaker 20:04

[upbeat music] Yeehoo.

Windsor Johnston· Host0:05

President Trump kicked off the nation's 250th birthday celebration with a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota last night. Trump used the address to urge Republicans to back his legislative agenda ahead of this year's midterm elections.

Speaker 20:22

We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms, if we are foolish, stupid, and unwise. But if we terminate the filibuster, as we should do, and immediately vote for the Save America Act- [cheering] -then we will not lose.

Windsor Johnston· Host0:42

The Fourth of July celebration moves to Washington, D.C. today, where crowds are expected on the National Mall for concerts, military flyovers, and the annual fireworks display. The president will address the crowd as a part of the administration's Freedom 250 celebration. A heat wave is affecting many parts of the United States this Fourth of July. NPR's Cindy Lupkin reports hospitals are preparing for an increase in visits to the emergency room.

Cindy Lupkin1:10

In this past week, Dr. Ryan Stanton has seen two golfers, two gardeners, an airport worker, and a couple of construction workers in his Lexington, Kentucky ER with heat-related illness.

Ryan Stanton· Soundbite1:22

It's been a little bit of everybody, and I know everybody wants to get out there and enjoy this, uh, this time of year, but boy, it is... If it were a dry heat,