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Episode Date: July 3, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. A dangerous heat wave is gripping much of the central and eastern U.S. ahead of the holiday weekend. Forecasters say heat index values could climb as high as 115 degrees in some areas. The hot weather is also driving up demand for electricity, putting added strain on power grids in some regions. The FBI is directing more than 250 of its weather. employees to join its investigation of the 2020 election in Georgia's most populous county. Melissa Fato from member station WABE reports a memo obtained by the Associated Press calls the case a top priority for the agency. Fulton County has been a key part of President Donald Trump's unfounded claims that 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. The memo does not describe details

of the investigation. People familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity, to discuss internal decision-making confirmed with the AP. It's related to the probe into the 2020 election in Georgia. The FBI field office in Atlanta declined a request for comment. The Bureau raided a Fulton County elections office in January, where hundreds of boxes of elections records and ballots were seized. The county has sued to get its records back, but in May a judge decided the federal government could keep them.

For NPR News, I'm Melissa Fato in Atlanta. Russia carried out another wave of drone and missile attention. on Kyiv, killing at least 30 people in the Ukrainian capital. The city is trying to recover, as NPR's Joanna Kikis reports. They're still very shaken, especially in southeastern Kiev, where Russian missiles hit this high-rise apartment complex. And if you walk outside this complex, you will see right next to a kindergarten where one of the missiles left this giant crater, an apartment building collapsed,

and Ukrainian President Volodymyra Zelensky spoke to reporters outside the rubble. He looked tired and angry, and he said, look, if our allies had delivered the air defense supplies they had promised on time, I think we could have saved more lives and homes. That's NPR's Joanna Kikisis reporting from Keith. Search crews are still looking for survivors more than a week after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. Time is running out, but rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from the rubble of a bubble of a collapsed building yesterday. Los Angeles County Deputy Chief Chris Allender helped lead the International Rescue effort. We worked side by side with Chile and our Florida partners that are here as a heavy team as well. So it was a big collaborative effort. And luckily, it was a positive

outcome. And the spirits and the morale in our camp from our rescuers couldn't be higher. The earthquakes have killed more than 2,500 people. Thousands are still missing. This is NPR. Philadelphia currently has more versions of the Declaration of Independence on display than any other city. Peter Crimmons from M.M.E.Y.Y. explains why someone would want to see multiple versions of the same document. There are 15 historic copies of the Declaration of Independence across five institutions in Philadelphia. That's more than Boston, an important distinction, says historian Emily Sneff. There is 100% a rivalry between Boston and Philadelphia. But why? Look at 15 different copies. Matthew Skick of the Museum of the American Revolution says you can witness the call of independence ripple across America, one print at a time.

How it is being spread. Who are the people involved in it? It's not only fun to know that, but it also gives you a sense of the reality of it. This is the boots on the ground at that time. The copies include the first print in Philadelphia on July 5, 1776, and the first printing in Boston two weeks later. For NPR News, I'm Peter Crimmons in Philadelphia. A former Olympian has been charged with damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer is accused of ripping up newly installed sealant

causing more than $1,000 in damage. Hearn says he reached into the pool to examine the new surface during a 64-mile bike ride, President Trump says federal authorities have made several arrests in connection with vandalism following a nearly $16 million renovation to the pool. This is NPR News in Washington.