NPR News: 07-21-2026 12PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Defense Department is identifying another soldier killed in connection with the U.S.-led war in Iran. Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton of Fayetteville, North Carolina, died during a controlled detonation of a drone in northern Iraq July 19th. He was thirty years old. In all, at least 17 U.S. service members have died since the war began late February. Lawmakers will have questions for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when he testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee today. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports the White House is asking Congress for a nearly ninety billion dollar funding boost, most of it for the war.

Quil Lawrence0:40

U.S. forces have bombed Iranian military and infrastructure targets for 10 days running and have reinstated a naval blockade on Iran's ports and coastline. Iranian media reports scores of casualties. Iran has attacked U.S. bases around the region with missiles and drones, killing at least three U.S. service members since Friday. This week, the Department of Defense divulged that at least 100 U.S. troops have been injured in the last two weeks, most of whom returned to service. The Pentagon hasn't briefed the press since May, and the hearing today will be the first chance for senators from both parties to ask Hegseth publicly about the depletion of U.S. military munitions, safety of troops in the region, and how the U.S. plans to resolve the war. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

Lakshmi Singh· Host1:22

Against the backdrop of a war that also involved fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon,