NPR News: 07-18-2026 5AM EDT

Speaker 10:00

This message comes from Capital One. With the Capital One Savor Card, earn unlimited three percent cash back on dining and entertainment. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. Details at capitalone.com.

Windsor Johnston· Host0:13

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Millions of people across the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic are facing another day of unhealthy air as smoke from wildfires spreads from Minnesota and Canada. Dan Karpenchuk reports more than nine hundred fires are burning, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

Dan Karpenchuk0:36

Some of the worst-hit regions are Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec. Flames have destroyed buildings, and smoke has blanketed much of central Canada and drifted into the northeastern US. At least one indigenous community in Northern Ontario has been destroyed. Many residents only able to grab a few belongings and flee by boat. People have also been displaced by fires in Manitoba, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. The Ontario government and the Assembly of First Nations have called on Ottawa for support. Although officials say it hasn't been the worst fire season on record, research has linked climate change with longer wildfire seasons across Canada. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Windsor Johnston· Host1:14

Republican senators are pushing back on President Trump's claim that the nation's election systems are dangerously vulnerable. In a primetime speech on Thursday, Trump reiterated false claims about the twenty twenty election and said newly