NPR News: 07-07-2026 2AM EDT

Speaker 10:00

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Giles Snyder· Host0:15

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing growing calls to step aside from the Senate race in Maine after a sexual assault allegation reported Monday by Politico. NPR's Sam Greenglass reports a campaign arm for Senate Democrats is among them.

Sam Greenglass0:37

In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, call the allegations incredibly disturbing and say the DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot. That's after Politico reported the account of a woman who dated Platner. She alleges he entered her home uninvited and intoxicated and forced her to have sex despite her saying no. NPR has not independently verified the allegation. Platner denies it categorically. If Platner exits the race by July thirteenth, Maine's Democratic Party could select a replacement to face Republican Senator Susan Collins in a race that could determine control of the Senate. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.

Giles Snyder· Host1:24

President Trump aboard Air Force One on his way to Turkey for a NATO summit where the war in Ukraine