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Episode Date: June 28, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. Iran launched missile and drone strikes on U.S. military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait and Saturday. U.S. officials have acknowledged the strikes, but there have so far been no reported casualties. The strikes were in response to U.S. attacks on Iran earlier Saturday. The U.S. Central Command says 10 targets, including missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar facilities were hit. Paul Salem is with a center for strategic and international studies. He says the attacks will not undo the memorandum. random of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran earlier this month. The MOU itself, I think, in broad strokes, I believe is going to move forward. And the broad strokes really are opening the Straits of Hormuz, albeit under some Iranian control.

The U.S. already largely lifting its blockade on Iran, easing global energy and trade markets, and entering into nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, entering those talks. I think those things are achievable. The death toll from the pair of earthquakes that struck Venezuela Wednesday has now risen to at least 1,430 people. Rescue efforts remain underway to find anyone still alive after being buried under rubble, with much of the searching being done by family members themselves. M.P.R. Fernando Naro has more.

It's the third day after the deadly earthquakes that have devastated northern Venezuela. In one of the hardest hit areas, the coastal state of La Guaira, roads are congested. Convoys of military trucks and civilians are carrying aid workers, shovels, heavy machinery and food supplies. Venezuela's interim president, Delsi Rodriguez, announced that access to La Guaira has been militarized. She said it's an effort to streamline aid into the region. The first 72 hours after a quake are crucial in finding survivors, and local authorities say tens of thousands are still missing. Fernando Narro, NPR News, La Guayra, Venezuela.

The major heat wave that's now hitting Europe this weekend is continuing to move to the east. On Saturday, Germany hit a record high temperature for the second day in a row, and now authorities are urging people across the region to try and save water. Esmond Nicholson has more on our story. According to preliminary readings,

temperatures in Germany have exceeded 106 degrees Fahrenheit again, this time in the eastern half of the country. National Railway operator Deutsche Barn is warning that its infrastructure is struggling with extreme sun exposure and one of Germany's busiest highways near Hamburg shut down after the asphalt buckled in the heat. The shade typically given by the capital's oak trees is out of bounds as authorities struggle to contain a plague of toxic caterpillars. Police in the capital are patrolling the city with two water cannons, usually deployed during riots, to help people cool down. For NPR news, I'm Asmenekelsen in Berlin. And you're listening to NPR News.

The leader of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is criticizing a new deal between Israel and Lebanon that's aimed at ending months of fighting. The deal was signed on Friday and ties Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah. But Name Qasem says that is a very dangerous suggestion, and he said his group will keep fighting until Israel leaves Lebanon. President Trump has nominated a new deputy for the Department of Health and Human Services. As NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin reports, he's already been running daily operations at HHS. Chris Klomp is 45 years old, a health entrepreneur who started in the Trump administration running Medicare. He earned Trump's praise for his work negotiating with drug companies and was promoted in February to the Secretary's office at HHS. Since then, he has been functionally in charge of the $2 trillion agency, as HHS says,

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., travels the country promoting Trump's agenda. On Thursday, Trump posted on social media that he has nominated Klomp to be deputy secretary at HHS. Several members of the Senate Finance Committee, which will have to confirm Klomp, are Republicans who lost their primaries after Trump backed their opponents, which could affect Klomp's chances. Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News. It's going to be a big birthday for Mel Brooks on Sunday. the filmmaker, comedian, actor, and songwriter turns 100.

Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York, and performed in the famed Catskills Borsh Belt before moving to Hollywood, where he worked on the Sid Caesar Show of Shows. He's perhaps best known for many of his movie comedies from Robin Hood Men and Tights to Blazing Saddles. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.