July 28, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. Starting Aug. 1, NPR Music is diving into a week packed with stories all about the Grateful Dead’s legacy and where they’re headed next. They want to hear from you, too. Share how you became a fan of the band. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today’s top stories

President Trump wearing a black suit and red tie. He holds an umbrella as he exits a plane.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to attend funeral services today for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Their presence reflects their respect for Graham and recognition of the loss of a key ally in their relationships with Trump and Washington. Trump will meet with each world leader separately before the funeral.

🎧 Graham was a tenacious advocate for Israel and Ukraine, and he will leave a void, as few political leaders can match his level of support, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. Zelenskyy and Netanyahu will now need to make the case themselves to Trump that Graham once made for them. Zelenskyy is seeking to build support for Ukraine's cause against Russia, and says Russia is sharing satellite imagery of U.S. military sites in the Gulf. Richard Fontaine, who served in the White House under George W. Bush, tells Ordoñez that this is a scenario where the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The White House says that Trump and Netanyahu plan to discuss the Iran conflict and the U.S.-brokered plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Netanyahu aims to mend the rocky relationship with Trump that has been brewing over recent months, even as their countries' goals regarding the conflicts in Iran and Lebanon differ.

Thousands of Haitians and Syrians in the United States could soon face deportation after the Supreme Court earlier this year permitted the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for those groups. To remain in the country, these immigrants will need to find other legal options. More than half of the nearly 30,000 Haitian immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, rely on TPS. In nearby Springfield, Ohio, where Trump and his allies made false accusations that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs, around 12,000 are on TPS.

🎧 Many immigrants in Ohio are feeling out of sorts as they await clarity on their legal status, says George Shillcock of NPR network station WOSU. Yola LaMarre from the Haitian Community Network tells him that many are organizing their affairs and seeking alternative legal avenues to remain in the U.S., where some have lived for more than a decade. The Department of Homeland Security tells Shillcock that conditions in Haiti have improved enough for Haitian nationals to return. The U.S. Secretary of State's Office considers the country unsafe for travel. Commercial flights from the U.S. to the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, are suspended, and the travel advisory highlights risks of crime, kidnapping, terrorism and limited healthcare. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has criticized the Supreme Court's ruling and has defended immigrants' positive contributions to the state's economy, specifically in the restaurant and healthcare sectors.

Nearly all voters — 90% of Republicans and 93% of Democrats and independents — view corruption as a major issue in American politics, according to recent polling by the Brennan Center for Justice. But voters hold differing views about how much they care. NPR observed two focus groups of Pennsylvania swing voters earlier this month. Half of them expressed concerns about Trump's earnings in office, while the other half dismissed them. The president has significantly boosted his net worth through investments in companies that do business with the government. Since he first took office in 2017, Democrats have tried to make his financial entanglements a key issue for voters, with limited success. Now, some Democrats are pushing for anti-corruption reforms — not only to serve as a check on Trump, but to address an issue they say extends to the whole U.S. political system.

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Life advice

Three copies of the same woman’s face, arranged left to right, with a hand gently covering each face in embarrassment. The faces are against a pastel pink background.

marabird/Getty Images

Dealing with awkward moments around strangers, friends, coworkers or even family is something everyone faces now and then. Uncomfortable situations are a part of life, but they can definitely be handled. Experts share their simple tactics to navigate five classic cringeworthy moments smoothly and with style.

💥 You've been talking with food in your teeth. Acknowledge what happened in some way to show the other person your understanding of the social expectation of the situation, and then move on.
💥 You're not good at accepting compliments, and you just received one. Instead of deflecting, negating, or freezing up, simply say thank you.
💥 Someone keeps commenting on your appearance. Make a light joke that lets the person know you're uncomfortable. If they keep crossing your boundary, speak up directly.
💥 Your family puts you on the spot with an uncomfortable question. Be direct and say you don’t want to discuss it, or use humor to redirect the conversation.
💥 You messed up while public speaking. Pause, take a deep breath and go back to the beginning of the sentence or restate the word you stumbled on.

Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

Behind the story

MARISSA LANG

national correspondent

A man wearing a black shirt and black shades sits on the bench of a picnic table, holding a water bottle.

Erica Lynn for NPR

A number of states have passed laws to criminalize outdoor camping.

Rather than focusing on the nuances of the most recent criminalization efforts in Louisiana and North Carolina, I wanted to better understand how these laws were or were not working as intended — and how they affect those who live on the street.

I have covered homelessness, and the people at its center, for many years. It can be difficult to establish contact with those who live transient lives, and harder still to earn the trust of people who tend to be skeptical of institutions and weary of being used for political ends.

But to tell the story of these laws, I knew I needed to find someone who had actually been charged with breaking one.

In Tennessee, the maximum penalty is up to six years in prison. When I first reached advocates there, they hadn’t seen an arrest in a while. I asked them to hang onto my number for the next time they did.

It didn’t take long for my phone to ring.

Joseph Lamont Williams was arrested at the end of June in the East Nashville park where he’s lived for years. He spent nine days in jail.

Days after his release, I tagged along to a standing breakfast that Williams has with a neighbor who befriended him several years before. It was their first since his arrest.

Williams was clearly affected by the arrest. He grew agitated as I asked him to recall how he felt when police confronted him at the picnic shelter under which he sleeps. He insisted, though, that he wasn’t worried about them coming back, and that he returned to the park, he said, because it’s the place he feels the safest.

Read Williams' story, and find out how these laws are working in practice.

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3 things to know before you go

A man sleeping outside as a small goat looks at him.

Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

1

People worldwide lose an average of 56 hours of sleep each year due to uncomfortably warm temperatures. Ten percent of that loss is attributed to human-driven climate change, according to a new study from the research organization Climate Central.

2

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's office released a new photo and statement showing that he is still in rehabilitation and will miss the annual Fancy Farm Picnic this weekend. (via Louisville Public Media)

3

The U.S.-Mexico border will reopen to cattle in Arizona next month. It was closed for more than a year to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm parasite. (via KJZZ)

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.