NPR News Now - NPR News: 07-09-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Search operations stretch for miles in the flood ravaged Hill Country region of Texas. More than 160 people are believed to be missing from the Fourth of July weekend flash floods. Local authorities are being peppered as well with questions about whether flood warnings could have gone out sooner. At a news conference today, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Letha promised transparency. Those questions are gonna be answered. I believe those questions need to be answered

to the family of the mislead ones, to the public. You know, to the people that put me in this office, those need to be, and I want that answer, and we're gonna get that answer. And I know that's gonna be asked over and over. Please understand that. You know, we don't have, we're not running, we're not gonna hide from anything.

That's gonna be checked into. At least 115 deaths are now reported statewide. More than two dozen campers and counselors at an all-girl summer camp were found dead after the flooding. Houston Public Media's Dominic Anthony Walsh reports a Texas department that inspected Camp Mystic says the quality of its emergency plans were the responsibility of the camp. The Riverside Camp was required by state law to maintain an emergency plan. The Texas Department of State Health Services says its inspectors only certified that the plan includes mandatory

elements such as evacuation routes and emergency shelters, and that the camp is responsible for its development. The statement to Houston Public Media comes after the Associated Press reported state inspectors signed off on the camp's emergency plan just two days before the flooding. Camp Mystic did not respond to requests for comment. I'm Dominic Anthony Walsh in Houston. Russia unleashed more than 700 drones on Ukraine overnight, hours after President Trump promised Kiev more defense weapons.

Ukrainian officials described it as a heavy assault of the war. The CEO of Elon Musk's social media platform, X, says she's stepping down. Linda Jacarino did not say why she was leaving, but as NPR's John Rewich tells us, her departure comes at a time of change for the platform. Jacarino has a background in advertising and was brought in two years ago at a time when advertisers were fleeing following Musk's purchase of the platform formerly known as Twitter. In an announcement posted on X, Jacarino did not explain why she was leaving, though she said she was proud of the X team and the business' turnaround.

Her departure comes just days after GROC, the site's AI chatbot, began spewing racist and anti-Semitic content. That followed an update ordered by Musk that included instructions not to shy away from politically incorrect claims, quote, as long as they are well substantiated. Since leaving his role in the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, Musk has been turning his attention back to his companies. John Ruch, NPR News. US stocks end the day high with the Dow closing up 217 points or nearly half a percent. This is NPR News. T-Mobile has notified the Trump administration that it's ending its diversity, equity, and

inclusion programs, quote, not just in name, but in substance, end quote. The wireless carrier is seeking regulatory approval for two major deals. A new kind of painkiller offers patients hope for an alternative to opioids, which come with a risk of addiction. But NPR's Cindy Lepkin tells us not everyone is able to get it. The Food and Drug Administration approved a new non-opioid drug earlier this year. It's a pill called Genavix, and it's for severe acute pain. Genavix works by blocking pain signals from where someone hurts. It was studied in patients after surgery, but insurance coverage has

been slow. Dr. Jessica Burgess is a surgeon at Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Surgeons were very excited about the option to have a non-opioid pain medicine for our patients. Unfortunately, I have yet to meet a surgeon that's been able to prescribe it. About 38% of people currently have insurance that covers it, according to the healthcare analytics firm, MMIT. Other doctors NPR spoke to said coverage

has been steadily improving. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. Hip-hop tycoon Sean Combs is due to be sentenced this October. He faces a possibility of as long as 20 years in prison for his recent conviction on two prostitution-related counts. However, a New York jury acquitted him of the most serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.