NPR News: 07-08-2026 3PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. is finally granting Ukraine's long-running request for the license to make Patriot air defense systems to use against Russia's missile attacks. President Trump publicly disclosed his decision today as he was meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he praised for trying to reach a truce with Russia.

Speaker 20:23

At the summit, we announced the three billion dollars of new defense investments with U.S. companies, and, uh, Lockheed Martin will establish a world-class Patriot missile sustainment facility, a big deal in Europe. They're given a tremendous incentive by Europe to do that.

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:40

A resolution to the more than four-year-old conflict has eluded Trump's mediation attempts. So has an end to the more than four-month-old war between the U.S. and Iran. In Ankara, Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire may be over. He threatened more military strikes on the Islamic Republic tonight in retaliation for Iran's attacks on U.S. interests in the region. But he also said both sides were still negotiating over an end to their hostilities. The Department of Justice sent letters to election officials across the country threatening them with potential legal action ahead of this year's contentious midterm elections. In particular, the DOJ is warning election officials they will be liable if any noncitizens cast a ballot. Here's NPR's Ashley Lopez.

Ashley Lopez1:25

Noncitizen voting is extremely rare, and it's typically a result of mistakes with