NPR News: 07-05-2026 12PM EDT

Jeanine Herbst· Host0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. Thousands of people braved blistering heat to celebrate the Fourth of July in the nation's capital, though the extreme weather forced a temporary evacuation before the celebration continued. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel has more.

Geoff Brumfiel0:17

Temperatures topped one hundred degrees as fighter jets flew over the National Mall. [jet flying] Watching was Patricia Smedley. She was visiting from England.

Patricia Smedley· Soundbite0:27

I'm not used to this sort of heat coming from the UK.

Geoff Brumfiel0:30

Smedley has been visiting the US for decades. She doesn't begrudge Americans at all for that little war they fought with her country way back when.

Patricia Smedley· Soundbite0:38

No, you'd made the right decision in seventeen seventy-six, believe me.

Geoff Brumfiel0:41

[laughing] Many others told NPR they were excited to be there witnessing America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday. Geoff Brumfiel, NPR News.

Jeanine Herbst· Host0:51

China and Russia are kicking off joint naval drills off the coast of eastern China today. NPR's Emily Feng reports the exercises demonstrate that the two countries are increasingly cooperating militarily.

Emily Feng1:05

China and Russia have been holding joint naval exercises since the early 2000s, and these naval drills were first held in two thousand and twelve. But the scope and frequency of these exercises have increased significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in twenty twenty-two, with about a third of Russia-Chinese joint military drills taking place after. Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, visited China just over a month ago, and he's strengthened