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Workers at several national parks in the Mountain West are voting to join labor unions amid a broader organizing wave among agency staff over the past year. Employees at Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Rocky Mountain Park are among the 317 workers who voted to unionize, according to a June announcement from the National Treasury Employees Union. Eleven workers voted against it.

To say gas prices have been unpredictable this year would be an understatement. On Thursday morning, drivers across the U.S. were spending an average of $3.85 per gallon of regular unleaded, according to AAA. The average cost of a gallon this year peaked in May at $4.56, and plunged as low as $2.79 in January, the organization reported.

Updated July 10, 2026 at 6:35 AM MDT MADRID — One of Spain's deadliest wildfires on record killed 12 people overnight into Friday, authorities said, as soaring temperatures grip much of the country. Several victims of the fire in the southern province of Almeria, a popular holiday destination, were found inside burnt-out vehicles and were thought to have died while trying to flee the flames.

This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org. The future of Colorado's Medicaid program is getting an in-depth look and that could lead to reforms. That’s the job of the Colorado Commission on Medicaid, which met on Monday. Its arduous task? Come up with strategies to manage rising Medicaid costs and prepare for sweeping new federal policies.

Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. After two days of intense strikes, fighting between the U.S. and Iran appears to have paused. The U.S. says it hit 170 targets in Iran. Iran says it targeted U.S. military bases in the Gulf.

The National Capital Planning Commission greenlit preliminary site and building plans after hours of public pushback. It wants more details before what could be its final review in September.

Prosecutors allege that Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Charlie Kirk's assassination, admitted to the murder in messages read aloud to the courtroom Thursday.

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with retired four-star general Joseph Votel about U.S. bases in the Middle East in the midst of the Iran War.

The exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran appeared to have stopped overnight Thursday as Iran buried its Supreme Leader.

Farzana, 40, is a midwife who covers 10 villages in Moqor district of Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Until recently, worried mothers often sent her photos of newborns with rashes, swelling or skin infections so she could decide who needed help most urgently. But since the Taliban began enforcing a ban on smartphones that took effect in June, Farzana says she has stopped using her smartphone out of fear.