This NPR "Up First" briefing rounds up several major news stories from 29 July 2026, led by renewed US-Iran hostilities after Iran fired missiles at American forces in the Middle East, all of which were intercepted before US and Saudi forces struck Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The same day, President Trump held separate White House meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with Netanyahu trying to mend strained US-Israel ties while analysts noted neither Israel nor the US has a clear plan to end the wider conflict.

Other stories include Dr Anthony Fauci testifying before a Senate committee on COVID-19's origins, after Senator Rand Paul released over 1,000 pages of Fauci's diary entries he says expose contradictions with Fauci's public statements; the Federal Reserve weighing whether to hold interest rates steady after inflation eased in July; and Iowa's water quality, including the state's second-highest cancer rate in the country, emerging as a key issue in its governor's race. The briefing also touches on record wildfires displacing 220,000 people in France and Spain, FIFA's plan to sell stakes in World Cup tournaments, and the death of artist Betye Saar shortly before her 100th birthday.

– Iran and US exchange strikes; all Iranian missiles intercepted
– Trump meets Netanyahu and Zelenskyy amid unresolved Israel-Iran conflict
– Fauci to testify after Rand Paul releases his COVID-era diaries
– Fed weighs holding interest rates as inflation eases
– Iowa's water quality and cancer rates become election issue