NPR News: 07-12-2026 5AM EDT

Louise Schiavone· Host0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Four term US senator Lindsey Graham has died from a brief and sudden illness, according to his Senate office. The South Carolina Republican died last night, two days after marking his seventy-first birthday. The day before he died, Graham was in Ukraine and had met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about boosting Ukraine's air defenses. Graham was known as one of the most outspoken Republican advocates of Ukraine following Russia's invasion. Graham was up for re-election in November, and in June, after a bitter primary fight, Graham told his supporters that he was optimistic.

Lindsey Graham· Soundbite0:38

And President Trump, I'm coming back to the Senate in '27. I'm gonna win in November, and I'm gonna help you change this world and change this country.

Louise Schiavone· Host0:48

[cheering] Senator Graham had allied himself with Donald Trump after Trump's first election win in 2016, writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, "The president is calling Graham one of the greatest people and senators that he ever knew, always working, a true American patriot." The US and Iran are again exchanging fire for the third weekend in a row. The back-and-forth strikes began after Iran fired warning shots at a tanker attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The US retaliated, striking multiple sites in Iran. NPR's Carrie Kahn has more.

Carrie Kahn1:24

Iran's navy says it fired the warning shots at a container vessel after, quote, "Several