Democratic Party Faces Debt and Disarray, and Wildfires Force Mass Evacuations in Europe

0:01You might need MIDI if you ever hairsprayed your bangs into a waterfall or tried to go for a run with a CD player. If this was you then, you might need MIDI now. Perimenopause can start 10 years before menopause. If you're experiencing symptoms like night sweats, weight gain, or anxiety, speak to the menopause experts at MIDI Health. Book a virtual appointment at joinmidi.com. Midlife needs MIDI. Results may vary. Medications prescribed only if clinically appropriate based on a consultation with a clinician. From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, July 28th.

0:38Here's what we're covering.

0:45In France and Spain, firefighters are racing to contain the largest wildfires ever recorded in those countries. The blazes are ripping through parched forests and are now on the outskirts of Madrid and Bordeaux, blanketing the cities with smoke. In France, more than 200 ,000 people have been displaced from the hardest-hit region there, making it one of the largest peacetime evacuations in the country's history. The fires in France are also threatening a hub of aerospace and defense industries near Bordeaux, with factories housing dangerous materials. Employees have already been evacuated from one site where rocket fuel is packed into boosters for missiles.

1:27So far, most people have been able to escape the fires, France hasn't reported any deaths. Spanish authorities say two people were killed there. So we're hearing as we talk to evacuees these harrowing stories of, you know, people trying to protect their homes with hoses, jumping up onto the roof of their buildings when firefighters aren't there because there's only so many firefighters and they have to dedicate their resources to where the fire is going often. Jason Horowitz is the Times bureau chief in Madrid, where the fires have come as close as 30 miles from the city. The thing that a lot of people are really worried about is that the window on fighting these fires, or the immediate window anyway, on fighting these fires might be closing because temperatures are going to spike again within the next day.

2:13That means that the land will dry, that the fire will move faster. And this is the great fear because these are wildly unpredictable fires. The winds are bringing them places that no one expects. You have individual fires that are almost joining forces and becoming these megafires that are eating vast terrain. So with the raising temperatures, people are increasingly worried.

2:43I think it's a good thing to have the opportunity to sit with our good friend President Trump and to hear what he has in mind. At the White House today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to have a high-stakes meeting with President Trump. His visit to the U.S. is timed so he can also attend the funeral of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who was a staunch supporter of Israel. Netanyahu said that when he meets with Trump, his top priority will be the war with Iran, which hit the six-month mark today. Trump and Netanyahu went into the war together back in February, but they have failed to deliver the goals they set out.

3:21ending Iran's nuclear program and overthrowing the country's regime. And now the two leaders are being pulled in different directions. Trump is staring down midterm elections where his party could take a hit for what polling shows is a deeply unpopular conflict. And Trump said as recently as yesterday that he wants to negotiate with Iran. But according to a former Israeli military intelligence commander, Israeli leaders would rather see a return to all-out war because any peace deal would only strengthen the Iranian regime that Israel wants to topple. He told the Times, quote, Israel doesn't want to hear about an agreement.

4:00Analysts say that during Netanyahu's visit with Trump today, the Israeli leader is likely to make the case for why the U.S. should continue the conflict. Meanwhile, in Iran, leaders there are also confronting the question of whether to continue fighting. There are hardliners who don't want to make any concessions, clashing with pragmatists who think it's in Iran's best interest to strike an agreement. My colleague Farnas Fasihi says that's left many Iranians feeling trapped in the middle as the war takes a toll on their country. Iranians are under tremendous amount of pressure and uncertainty.

4:36And we hear this all the time that the majority of Iranians feel like they are caught in the crossfires of the United States, Israel, and the regime, and they're being squeezed, and nobody's really thinking about their well-being and what they really want. Farnas has more on how people in Iran are feeling right now on today's episode of The Daily.

5:05In the U.S., there are less than 100 days until the midterms. Georgia, New Hampshire, Michigan, Democratic seats, big primary coming up in Michigan. Where several close, heated battles will determine which party will control Congress. The stakes are high, not just for Maine, but nationwide. There is some momentum for Democrats, with inflation and gas prices at the top of voters' minds. But my colleagues have learned that inside the Democratic Party's headquarters, at the Democratic National Committee, things are in turmoil. By far, the most acute issue facing the Democrats right now is money. President Trump has amassed an unprecedented$400 million war chest in a super PAC, and the Republican National Committee has$128.5 million cash on hand.

5:52In comparison, the Democratic National Committee is actually in debt. They have$2 million more in debts than they have cash in the bank. Shane Goldmacher covers politics for The Times. He says the DNC is in such financial straits, it started asking some vendors not to bill the committee until after the November elections. And he says beyond the financial issues, there are deep concerns about the DNC's leadership. The Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin is increasingly isolated, been struggling to make connections with major donors, and his frustrations are showing. There was an episode earlier this month where he threw his phone at the desk of a junior aide inside the party headquarters.

6:37And the incident was in fact reported to the Human Resources Department. And there was a subsequent meeting about his behavior. At this point, with the midterms just around the corner, there are a lot of Democrats that are really urgently hoping that the DNC gets its books and its business in order. and they are afraid that some of these mismanagement and cash punch issues inside the party could hamper Democrats this fall. Shane says that in response to questions, a DNC official said asking vendors to delay billing is, quote, nothing more than standard negotiations. And the DNC chair, Ken Martin, declined a request for comment.

7:23In Louisiana, construction is underway on one of the largest data centers in the world. The facility, being built for the tech giant Meta, could eventually cover roughly six square miles and use seven times as much energy as the entire city of New Orleans. In recent years, massive data centers like this have faced intense pushback from communities around the country over concerns about energy and water use, among other things. But the Times has found that Meta was able to avoid that scrutiny in Louisiana by using secrecy and speed to push the project through. According to dozens of interviews, corporate filings, and other documents, Meta worked behind the scenes for months with energy company executives and Louisiana lawmakers to lock in the new center before it was announced.

8:14There were no public meetings held to discuss the project, and some government employees even signed non-disclosure agreements, which experts say is legal but raises transparency concerns. Beyond that, Louisiana officials allowed the project to go forward without an independent review by the state power commission that would have determined if it was in the public's best interest. That review would have slowed the project down. At the same time, Louisiana gave Meta tax breaks that could be worth as much as$10 billion and hundreds of acres of public land to use for the new construction. In all, the Times found Meta pretty much got everything it wanted.

8:55In response to questions from the Times, a meta-spokeswoman said it was unfair to claim the Louisiana deal was made in secret because it went through, quote, established state and local economic development processes. State officials, meanwhile, say they're proud of the deal, which is expected to generate 1 ,000 permanent jobs and tens of millions of dollars in taxes. Since construction started, some local teachers have already been given$50 ,000 bonuses using money generated by rising tax revenue. For his part, Louisiana's governor was so pleased with the deal that he codified the process with an executive order called Louisiana Lightning Speed, hoping to attract other projects.

9:38Amazon now has plans for a$12 billion data center in the state's northwest corner, And the meta deal could become a blueprint for how other companies try and break ground on new data centers nationwide.

10:00And finally, there's an international rescue mission underway in Canada right now to relocate 30 beluga whales. We'll put them into a cradle. We'll lift them up with a crane because they're big and they're heavy. And shocker, whales are not easy to move. Belugas, if you want to get your mental picture going here, are the white ones, which an aquarium staffer told the Times look a lot like a hot dog and a marshmallow combined. The animals had been living at an aquatic park in Ontario, but it closed to the public a few years ago, and it's taken a long time to figure out how to get the whales out of there safely to new homes.

10:38Now, aquariums across the U.S. and Europe are working to relocate the mammals, which weigh up to 3 ,000 pounds and are 16 feet long. To pull off the move, the whales are nestled into foam and rubber-lined boxes, driven to the airport with a police escort to avoid any stops and starts that could slosh their water around, and then loaded onto chartered cargo jets. Each whale gets at least one handler who monitors them and ladles water over them. And yes, they do get anti-anxiety meds for the trip, because this has to be pretty weird if you're a whale. So far, six of the belugas have been successfully relocated, including to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where staff say they're cautiously optimistic that the whales will be able to thrive in their new home.

11:30Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.