July 4th Heat Wave, Russian Strikes On Ukraine, Future Of Democratic Party

0:02Happy almost birthday, America. Tomorrow, the United States turns 250 years old. And parts of the country may feel like it's 250 degrees. A heat wave from Texas to the East Coast is already forcing cities to cancel parades and fireworks. I'm Michelle Martin. That's A. Martinez. And this is Up First from NPR News. The death toll from Russia's attack on Kiev is climbing. Ukraine's president says more air defenses could have saved lives. And Democrats are hoping to win back the House this fall, but a fight within the party could get in the way. Progressive and Democratic Socialist upsets are energizing voters in blue cities.

0:36The worry is whether that message can win in the places Democrats actually need to take back the majority. Stay with us. We've got news you need to start your day.

0:49This message comes from Mattress Firm. Sleeping hot can make it hard to stay asleep. Mattress Firm's sleep experts are trained to match you with the right cooling mattress for how you actually sleep. Like the Temper Breeze, designed to deliver cooling comfort for hot sleepers all night long. For the great sleep you deserve, visit Mattress Firm and get$500 off Temper Breeze mattresses. They make sleep easy. Restrictions apply. See mattressfirm.com or store for details. This message comes from IXL. iXL's Level Up Diagnostic gives immediate benchmark results along with personalized action plans that link directly to iXL's skill practice.

1:31More at iXL.com slash NPR. This message comes from Capital One with the Venture X Card. Earn unlimited double miles, a$300 annual Capital One travel credit, and access to airport lounges. Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. Details at CapitalOne.com. Today is the eve of the 250th birthday of the United States. Tomorrow, there will be celebrations of Independence Day, large and small, all across the country, many of which are being affected by intense heat. NPR culture correspondent Anastasia Sioukas has been tracking the festivities across the U.S. So what are some of the difficult choices some people have to make about public events?

2:13Well, that heat wave is extending from Texas all the way up and down the East Coast. and officials across much of the country are going to have to make some tough decisions potentially at the last minute. But some places have already decided to cancel or cut back on their festivities, eh? The city of Philadelphia, which of course is central to our independence story, has already decided to substantially cut its annual 4th of July parade route. Many communities in Colorado, like Durango and Vail, have canceled their fireworks displays due to the risk of wildfires. And it's not clear yet what's going to happen in Washington, D.C., where President Trump has, of course, been emphasizing this 250th anniversary.

2:56Yeah, that's the big spot that everyone's looking at because the Great American State Fair is out there on the National Mall and it's going to be out there in blazing heat no matter what. That's right. Yesterday afternoon, Morning Edition producer Lindsay Totti headed out to the mall to check out the state fair. It was 101 degrees and it felt like 114 with the heat index. And for security reasons, metal and glass water bottles aren't allowed, so folks can only bring in or buy plastic ones. And water is priced like at an airport. It's five bucks for a 20 ounce bottle. A lemonade is$10. But there are also hydration stations scattered around where visitors can get free bottles of water and a bit of space to cool down.

3:41All right, well, at least there's that. So what's the plan for the evening in D.C. for the Capitol Fourth concert and fireworks display? That is a good question, and we just don't have a good answer yet. Yesterday, the Capitol Police in D.C. announced they'll be making a call this morning whether or not the public will be allowed to attend the Capitol Fourth event this evening. Today, the forecast is for 102 degrees with the heat index expected to make it feel up to 113. And Washington in the summer is notoriously hot and muggy in any case. You are really reminded that this city was built on a swamp.

4:17A couple of days ago, President Trump said at a public event that he intended to give a, quote, really long speech on the night of the 4th. But it's supposed to be nearly as hot then as it will be during the day. All right. What about some other big 250th anniversary events that are happening elsewhere? Well, as of now, the coast is clear, so to speak, for the arrival of the tall ships here in New York, where I'm based. As of now, we're still expecting about 40 tall ships from around the world and something along the lines of 20 ,000 sailors to be here starting this afternoon. And that is despite scorching temperatures and a heat index of up to 115 degrees.

4:58All right, that's NPR's Anastasia Siulkas. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me.

5:12Rescue workers in Kiev pulled bodies out of an apartment building overnight, a building that was crushed by a Russian missile on Thursday. Officials say 30 people were killed in the volley of missiles and drones in Ukraine's capital. The attack was Russia's response to weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. That's an attempt by Ukraine to weaken the Kremlin's ability to wage war. Joining us now is NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kiev. Joanna, how is Kiev recovering? Well, many here, A, they're still very shaken, especially in southeastern Kiev, where Russian missiles hit this high-rise apartment complex.

5:47And 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 Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to reporters outside the rubble.

6:04He 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. He said Russia's latest attack exposed Ukraine's shortage of interceptors for missiles. Yeah, some NATO leaders meeting in Turkey next week, and the security alliance has been helping Ukraine defend itself. I mean, does Volodymyr Zelenskyy have a message for them? Yes, he has said many times before that Russia is a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Europe as a whole. And in his evening video address last night, Zelenskyy said he wants to secure licenses to produce U.S.-designed Patriot air defense missiles in Ukraine and Europe.

6:50He's saying if NATO still means something to the Allies, Europe must have its own capacity to defend itself from all types of threats, including Russian ballistic missiles. Now, last month, G7 leaders said they would consider granting a license to Ukraine to produce air defense missiles. Is Ukraine developing its own anti-missile system? Yeah, actually, they are. The Ukrainian defense firm Firepoint is testing an anti-ballistic interceptor to destroy Russian missiles. Those interceptors are not ready yet, so there's this gap. Ukraine has already developed interceptors that destroy Russian drones.

7:27And I know, yeah, that Ukraine has also made its own attack drones, including some that can travel more than 1 ,000 miles. So how has Ukraine used those? Yeah, well, for weeks now, Ukraine has launched this systematic campaign of long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Ukrainian drones have even hit Moscow and St. Petersburg and as far away as Siberia. Now, the targets have largely been Russia's oil industry. This is a pillar of the Russian economy. Since this March, this past March, there have been more than 50 reported Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities.

8:04And what's the goal with those drone strikes? So Ukraine says these long-range strikes are targeting what it calls Russia's war machine. It is an attempt to pressure the Kremlin to end the war. The drone strikes have caused widespread gas shortages in Russia, and Russia is also making very little progress on the front line. Ukrainian drone strikes have hit supply routes and logistics centers for Russian troops on the front line and inside Russia. And a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says that the Russian military is actually suffering far higher casualties than Ukrainian forces, a rate of nearly 8 to 1, which is much higher than it was at the beginning of the war.

8:45Zelensky has said many times that he wants to bring the Kremlin's war home to Russians. And Russians are now feeling the pain. That's NPR's Joanna Kakises. Joanna, thanks. You're welcome.

9:04Lawmakers in Congress have gone home for the 4th of July recess. Now, when they return, much of their focus will turn to this fall's midterm elections. This morning, we wanted to focus on the race for the House, where Democrats are hopeful they can win back the majority. But fighting within the party could complicate their plans. NPR political reporter Elena Moore has been following this. So, Elena, primaries can expose tensions inside a party. But it seems for Democrats this year, it feels especially pronounced. Why is that? Well, Democrats have long been struggling with how to re-energize their base.

9:36And in some Democratic primaries this cycle, voters have been engaged. And they're turning out because there's deep frustration with the party establishment and politics as usual. And most recently, we've seen this dynamic play out in some high profile upsets where candidates in Denver and New York City have ousted sitting Democrats that they feel are not far enough to the left. OK, so how do those upsets happen? Well, these are candidates who are running on a core set of issues. In large part, you know, they want the party to adopt ambitious economic policies to address the affordability crisis.

10:11They're also talking a lot about money in politics and criticizing elected Democrats for taking donations from corporate PACs and pro-Israel lobbying groups. And those were key issues for Daria Lisa Avila Chevalier. She's a Democratic socialist from New York who successfully challenged Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the powerful Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the House. And one thing that made that such a big deal is Espaiot was backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. So his loss may underscore that frustration a lot of voters are feeling with the establishment right now. OK, so if it appears to be a winning message and Democrats want to win and need to win, I would assume, why aren't they embracing more of these candidates?

10:53Well, some are. I mean, just yesterday we saw Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorse Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic primary for Senate. We should say El-Sayed is a progressive, not a Democratic socialist, but he's one of several candidates that's being painted as too extreme by Republicans. And now that's an attack that all Democrats are bracing for, because even though Democrats broadly agree on key economic issues, they worry that other positions held by more leftist candidates will muddy their message. Take Avila Chevalier, for example. She holds positions that make some Democrats nervous.

11:28For one, on her campaign website, she advocates for abolishing the, quote, deportation machine. She is also one of several candidates who has faced criticism that their opposition to Israel's war in Gaza borders on anti-Semitism. And those are charges that these candidates deny. All right. So how is all of this affecting the way Democratic leaders are thinking about November and maybe even past that? Well, it's complicated because it's clear that these candidates have tapped into something, A. You know, they're doing a better job engaging voters that Democrats have struggled with, like young voters in these liberal cities.

12:00But at the same time, Democrats also need to win in more moderate places if they want to retake the House. So it's a balancing act. They think focusing on the economy is a winning message, but they don't want voters distracted by other issues. And that's what Republicans are going to try to do. And if Democrats win, there's the question of whether they can all work together. That's NPR political reporter Elena Moore. Thanks a lot. Thanks, A.

12:28That's Up First for Friday, July 3rd. I'm Amy Martinez. And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Louise Clemens, Tina Kraya, Jason Breslow, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Zach Coleman. And our executive producer is Jay Shaler. We hope you'll join us again on Monday.

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