U.S., Venezuela strike oil deal. And, the staggering hidden toll of U.S. heat deaths

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Today's top stories

The Trump administration announced a new U.S. partnership with the Venezuelan government to develop a significant portion of Venezuela's oil reserves. An official, who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the deal, said that the U.S. government is forming a joint venture with a private Venezuelan company. According to the administration, the U.S. will receive 55% of the oil produced from this venture, which is estimated at approximately 65 billion barrels. President Trump says this deal will help lower gas prices, but energy experts are skeptical. Here's what you need to know.

A man walks past a mural featuring oil pumps and wells in Caracas, Venezuela, as the country faces the prospect of the U.S. reimposing oil sanctions. Matias Delacroix/AP hide caption

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Matias Delacroix/AP

A man walks past a mural featuring oil pumps and wells in Caracas, Venezuela, as the country faces the prospect of the U.S. reimposing oil sanctions.

Matias Delacroix/AP

• 🎧 The deal comes as Venezuela's democratic future faces uncertainty after the U.S. captured former leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. The Trump administration had outlined a three-stage strategy for Venezuela that started with stabilization and economic revival before moving to new elections, but Ordoñez says this deal throws these plans into question. Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez has touted the deal. Ordoñez says there's no question that Venezuela needs investment in its oil industry and that the U.S. would benefit from greater access to Venezuelan oil, but there could be political costs. Some in Venezuela and South Florida have pushed back on the deal, saying that the U.S. is undermining Venezuela's sovereignty and legitimizing an unelected government, Ordoñez says.

The U.S. and Iran have exchanged fire again for the first time in a month. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard said that a U.S. drone attack killed some of its troops on Larak Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. bases in Jordan. The U.S. military said in a statement that it struck the Iranian launch sites after observing Iranian forces preparing to deploy sea mines into the key waterway. The U.S. military finished clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes just last week, according to U.S. Central Command.

• 🎧 It's too early to tell whether this incident will turn into a full-blown, days-long exchange of attacks, NPR's Hadeel-Al Shalchi says. Iran's Ministry of Affairs said that the country will "not hesitate to exercise the inherent right of self-defense." The U.S. responded by saying its strikes were not an act of aggression, but "limited and precise" actions aimed at preventing Iranian forces from laying additional mines.

The House of Representatives returns today for one week, and it has one main goal: Fund the government. Funding is set to lapse at the end of September, but this week's vote could serve as a stopgap until December, preventing a shutdown during the midterm elections. The Senate has already passed the measure, so this House vote is the final step.

• 🎧 Trump's second term has already seen two record-setting federal government shutdowns, NPR's Eric McDaniel says. In a White House Statement, Trump strongly opposed another one. As the midterms loom, McDaniel says Republicans are in a tough spot. Many Americans are upset about the cost of living, which makes it hard for Republicans to tout their legislative achievements from last year, such as changes to tax rules on tips.

At least 15 people are missing after a severe flood in the Grand Canyon on Saturday. The Arizona Department of Public Safety and the National Park Service evacuated at least 62 individuals from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab trail to the South Rim, according to a release from the NPS. The flooding destroyed the Black Bridge and Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River, as well as nearly all the footbridges crossing Bright Angel Creek. Multiple trails have also been closed due to the damage. (via KJZZ)

Life advice

Trying for a baby can be an exciting moment in life, but it can also be challenging. Many factors come into play when trying to conceive, including medical history, genetics, hormone balance and even just pure luck. Though it can often feel like rolling the dice, there are some lifestyle changes men and women can make to help support fertility. If you're on your parenthood journey, check out this comic-style guide for seven evidence-backed ways to get you started.

• 👶 Include high-protein foods and plenty of leafy green vegetables in your diet to help stabilize your blood sugar, which plays an important role in hormone balance. Keep your plate low in carbohydrates.
• 👶 Aim for 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity each week. It can enhance sperm volume and increase blood flow to the reproductive organs.
• 👶 Start taking prenatal vitamins a few months before you plan to get pregnant. These can help provide the nutrients you need when pregnancy occurs.
• 👶 Men, keep in mind that wearing overly tight underwear, prolonged exposure to heat or experiencing repeated testicular trauma can result in a low sperm count.

For more advice on what you can do to help with getting pregnant, listen to this episode of NPR's Life Kit and check out the guide for moms and moms-to-be. Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

Behind the story

by Alejandra Borunda, climate and health reporter on NPR's National Team

Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR

When I started reporting on the ways climate change is affecting human health, sources repeatedly told me the same thing: no one actually knows the scale of the problem. Official estimates vastly undercount lives lost to heat, wildfire smoke and flooding, making climate's toll easy to ignore.

That leads to an obvious question. How many people is climate change hurting and killing?

I was a climate scientist before I came back to journalism, so a question like this is catnip to me. My instinct was to try to answer it with rigorous, careful science — and, of course, report from the ground, learning from the people who were living through the consequences.

So that's what we did. Alongside research scientists from Boston University, we spent two years developing a model that estimates how many deaths across the U.S. are influenced by heat each year. Our exclusive analysis found a staggering hidden toll: Heat kills nearly 5 times more people than official numbers show.

Then, I went into the field to ground-truth our findings and to learn why so many people were dying — and how their deaths could go uncounted. I spent time with people in their stiflingly hot mobile homes in Arizona; finding pockets of shade to rest in with unhoused people in California; and talking with outdoor workers in Washington state.

Now, we're sharing that reporting with you. In today's story, we have included maps that let you search for your county and state to see how many lives heat has taken near the place you live.

Heat isn't just uncomfortable. As our investigation shows, it can kill. Yet, as Quinn Adams, our collaborator from Boston University, says, it's all too easy to discount.

"Most people do not see themselves as vulnerable to heat. They're like, Oh, that's someone else. It's not me," she says. But when it's not taken seriously, suddenly, "it actually is you." Please stay safe this summer and all those to come.

3 things to know before you go

Richard Segovia stands in front of his house on 25th and York streets, known as the Latin Rock House, in San Francisco on April 7, 2026. The home is covered in a large mural honoring dozens of musicians tied to the Mission District's Latin rock scene, which Segovia has helped preserve for decades. Beth LaBerge/KQED hide caption

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Beth LaBerge/KQED

1. San Francisco lawmakers have declared the "Latin Rock House" a historic landmark. The house is painted with Latin rock artists and honors the history of the city's oldest and most dramatically gentrified neighborhoods.
2. Almost half of traders, portfolio managers and strategists in a recent Bloomberg poll support wearing shorts to work, but men in Silicon Valley are turning away from the look of the scruffy tech genius in shorts and flip-flops.
3. NASA's $4.3-billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched yesterday on a mission to explore the nature of dark matter and other mysteries of the universe.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.