NPR News: 07-06-2026 3AM EDT

Dale Willman· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. China's military test launched a long-range ballistic missile on Monday. The launch came from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific. News reports say the missile carried a dummy warhead. Some of Iran's top officials Sunday attended funeral prayers for the country's former supreme leader. The leader and four members of his family were killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike last February. But as NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports, one high-profile figure was not there.

Hadil Al-Shalchi0:30

Iranian state media showed three of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's sons and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Ahmad Vahidi, who is rarely seen in public. They were all performing the ritual Islamic funeral prayers for Khamenei. Iran's president, speaker of parliament, and the head of Iran's elite military, Quds Force, were also there. Some were sobbing profusely, their shoulders shaking. But one notable absence was that of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new leader and Ali Khamenei's fourth son. Mojtaba Khamenei took over power from his father in March and is yet to be seen in public as many top leaders stay in hiding to protect their whereabouts for fear of assassination. It's unclear if Mojtaba Khamenei will take part in any of the ceremonies planned for his father's funeral. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Istanbul.

Dale Willman· Host1:18

Extreme heat in the western U.S. is helping to drive dozens of wildfires burning across the region at this hour. In Colorado Sunday, a memorial service was held for three firefighters killed a week ago in a