NPR News: 07-16-2026 5PM EDT

Libby Casey· Host0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Libby Casey. President Trump will make a primetime address tonight. He says the focus is election security. Trump continues to repeat, falsely, that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Tonight's speech comes amid heightened hostilities with Iran, and as NPR's Franco Ordoñez reports, the war could affect voters' decisions in the fall midterms.

Franco Ordoñez0:23

Foreign policy rarely dominates midterm elections. This year may be the exception. John McHenry, a Republican pollster with North Star Opinion Research, says exit polls, for example, are less likely to cite the war in Iran as a reason for people's vote and more likely to cite energy prices and the economy, which are driven by the war.

John McHenry· Soundbite0:44

Because gas prices have a ripple effect on everything. Um, prices, you know, at every retail shop and at the grocery store will go up because [laughs] you know, a gallon of milk doesn't walk to the grocery store. It gets driven there by a truck.

Franco Ordoñez0:55

That could change if the war expands and, for example, President Trump commits troops to the conflict, which he's been reluctant to do. Franco Ordoñez, NPR News.

Libby Casey· Host1:07

The military will begin screening service members over 30 years old for low testosterone. It's an initiative that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on social media yesterday. NPR's Will Stone has more.

Will Stone1:20

Hegseth says service members will be screened and have the option to pursue testosterone replacement therapy if their levels are low. But guidelines from major medical groups