NPR News: 07-13-2026 1PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A dozen Democratic state attorneys general are suing to block Paramount from acquiring Warner Brothers Discovery over anti-competitive concerns. A merger would effectively give the Trump-allied Ellison family control over some of the country's largest movie studios, television newsrooms, and other entertainment properties. South Carolina will prepare to hold a special primary election for a new Republican Senate nominee following Senator Lindsey Graham's death over the weekend. Under state law, candidates have a one-week filing period that begins a week from tomorrow. A preliminary medical examiner report said Graham suffered a tear in his aorta. Graham had just returned from another trip to Ukraine. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says he and Graham were pushing for stronger sanctions against Russia over President Vladimir Putin's ongoing war against Ukraine.

Richard Blumenthal· Soundbite0:54

These sanctions would be pivotal in getting Putin to the peace table. That was his objective, and my hope is that his death, tragic as it is, will provide an impetus to President Trump and my Republican colleagues to pass the Russia sanctions bill.

Lakshmi Singh· Host1:13

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has broken weeks of silence about why he was in the hospital. Yesterday, the lawmaker from Kentucky disclosed he had fallen but did not break any bone, bones. He was also being treated for mild pneumonia. The Maine Democratic Party has two weeks to select