NPR News: 07-21-2026 8AM EDT

Speaker 10:00

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Jeanine Herbst· Host0:15

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears before the Senate Appropriations Committee today asking for tens of billions of dollars in additional defense spending. This as President Trump heads to Dover, Delaware today to receive the bodies of two US soldiers killed in an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan last week. NPR's Quil Lawrence has more.

Quil Lawrence0:41

I, I spoke with three former US military officials about this new and rapidly evolving reality of drone warfare. One of them was General Joseph Votel, who formerly led CENTCOM. He said the US had built up power in the region by building these bases.

Joseph Votel· Soundbite0:56

Our strength for the last several decades has been our forward deployment and our positioning across the Gulf. Now we are seeing that that same advantage has turned into a little bit of a disadvantage.

Quil Lawrence1:08

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy had no real range or air power, but now in the age of drone warfare, Iran doesn't even really need an air force because its drones can travel a thousand miles and hit US bases all over the region.

Jeanine Herbst· Host1:21

NPR's Quil Lawrence. The FDA has retracted test results identifying a cyclospora on samples of lettuce from Taylor Farms