Up First from NPR - Fed Keeps Interest Rates, Texas Redistricting, US Middle East Envoy In Israel

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this week despite demands for lower rates from President Trump, Republicans in Texas released a proposal for a new state congressional map, and the US special envoy to the Middle East is traveling to Israel at a moment when the UN warns Gaza is on the verge of all out famine.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rafael Nam, Ben Swasey, Hannah Bloch, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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WSJ What’s News - Flurry of Trade Deals Boosts Markets

A.M. Edition for July 31. Ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for reciprocal tariffs to kick in, the U.S. confirms deals with South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia, with more expected today. WSJ editors Timothy Martin and Peter Landers explain how these last-minute deals will benefit some of the world’s biggest manufacturing hubs. On the other hand, President Trump casts doubt on a Canada pact, after Ottawa said it plans to recognize a Palestinian state. And, shares of Microsoft and Meta rally in off-hours trading as ad sales and core businesses make up for huge spending on artificial-intelligence. Azhar Sukri hosts. 


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Code Story: Insights from Startup Tech Leaders - S11 Bonus: Tiffany Johnson, NMI

Tiffany Johnson is originally from Texas, but grew up in California. At a young age, she was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, partaking in skydiving, snowboarding, wakeboarding and gymnastics. In school, she fell in love with Econ, Mgmt, and Statistics - and eventually, fell into the payment industry by accident. Outside of tech, she has been married for 20 years with 3 kids. Her kids are all snow skiers, though she doesn't hold that against them as a snowboarder.

A few years ago, Tiffany was contacted about a new opportunity at a decades old company in the payments space. This company wanted to bring to market a solution around embedded finance, specifically for SaaS solutions - and Tiffany was the perfect product leader for the role.

This is Tiffany's creation story at NMI.

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Bay Curious - Julia Morgan: A Thoroughly Bay Area Architect

Julia Morgan, the pioneering female architect, was born in San Francisco, raised in Oakland and educated at UC Berkeley and the the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She designed over 700 buildings, many of them in the Bay Area, and had a huge impact on the field of architecture. We dig into her life and legacy.


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This story was produced by Brandi Howell. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad and everyone on Team KQED.

Headlines From The Times - Tsunami Alerts, Ukraine Strikes, Policy Shifts, Political Choices, & Silicon Valley Shake-Ups

California officials urge caution along the coast after an 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s east coast sparks tsunami advisories and beach closures, even as warnings ease by midday. Meanwhile in Ukraine, Russian missile strikes kill three soldiers and wound 18 at a training base near Kyiv. With recruitment challenges mounting and civilian casualties rising, Ukraine faces mounting pressure as President Trump’s peace talks deadline approaches. We cover the latest updates from the Pacific coastline to the front lines in Eastern Europe. LAPD’s quiet cooperation with federal immigration raids sparks debate over civil rights and local trust. Kamala Harris announces she won’t run for California governor, leaving Democrats searching for a strong contender. The U.S. economy shows solid second quarter growth but faces troubling signs ahead, from shrinking imports to rising inflation. And Apple loses another top AI researcher to Meta, deepening concerns over its competitive future. Stay with us for these stories and more from the LA Times.

The Daily - A ‘Dagger in the Heart’ of Climate Change Regulation

After rolling back a slew of regulations aimed at reversing climate change, and pulling funding for the scientists who monitor it, the Trump administration is now taking its boldest action yet.

It’s eliminating the scientific finding at the heart of the government’s ability to fight climate change in the first place.

Lisa Friedman, who covers climate policy, discusses the history of the finding, what it did and what happens once it’s gone.

Guest: Lisa Friedman, a reporter covering climate policy and politics at The New York Times.

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Ulysse Bellier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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