Transcript of Primary Election Results, US Missile Stockpiles Running Low, New Flu Vaccine

As we record these words, Michigan's Senate primary is too close to call.

We do have results from other primaries. What do they tell us about the lineups for this fall's elections?

I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News. The world's most powerful military is running short of ammunition. NPR has learned that the Army is low on long-range attack missiles. What does this mean for the war in Iran and possible future conflicts?

Also, the Food and Drug The Biden administration is deciding whether to approve the first flu vaccine using mRNA technology. It was used to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Stay with us, we've got the news you need to start your day. Voters took part in primaries in 5 states yesterday, but in the most closely watched Democratic primary, the results are still coming in.

In Michigan, the progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed has a narrow lead over Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who's described as more moderate. The winner will will advance to compete for a Senate seat that is seen as a must-win if Democrats want to take control of the chamber.

NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith is with us as the results come in. Tam, good morning.

Good morning.

Okay, Michigan Senate primary, we've been talking about it here. It was seen as the ultimate swing state test. Do Democrats go with a moderate or a more progressive person? Where does it stand?

It's a lot closer than many were expecting. As it stands now, El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former public health official, is ahead. But the fact that it is this close with massive sums spent on ads to boost Stevens means that the far left of the Democratic Party is ascendant. But like the left-right progressive moderate ideological spectrum doesn't quite capture it. It's also insiders versus outsiders, play it safe establishment versus candidates who see their role as disrupting the system. And the mood in the country and among Democratic voters is very different from what it was during the first Trump midterm in 2018, when moderate Democrats were seen as the solution. This time, Democratic primary voters blame their own party's establishment for Trump's win.

Well, now Democrats are desperate to win in November. So what do these results mean for that?

No matter who comes out ahead, Democrats are going to have a lot of repair work to do. That primary was so bitter, it left some voters saying they simply couldn't stomach a vote for the other candidate in November. The Republicans selected former Congressman Mike Rogers. He was endorsed by President Trump and cleared the field. Republicans see this as a key pickup opportunity in what could be a difficult year for them. But Rogers is an insider running in a year when the anti-establishment mood is strong, and he'll have to overcome the headwinds created by an unpopular president.

Okay, as we wait for the results in Michigan, what other races are you watching?

Well, Michigan's 7th Congressional District is the only true toss-up House seat in the state. It's a real swing district. Democrats picked William Lawrence. He's the progressive outsider in that race. He argued that playing it safe was the real electability risk, and now that'll be put to the test. But in Washington State, Congresswoman Marie Gluzenkamp-Pérez was able to fend off a progressive challenger.

Tam, I want to ask about one other thing. Israel is an issue for Democrats in primaries, their attitude toward Israel. Outside spending is a big deal, including groups connected to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. What do last night's results tell us about the results of that spending.

Well, as we know, we're still waiting for the result in Michigan, but, uh, the American Democracy Project, which is linked to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, spent $32 million on ads to support Haley Stevens there. That's according to the tracking firm AdImpact. So if she doesn't pull it out, that would be a massive defeat for them. But in Missouri's 1st congressional district, where that AIPAC-linked group was also the biggest ad spender, the AIPAC-favored candidate, Congressman Wesley Bell easily defeated former Congresswoman Cori Bush in a rematch. She has been outspoken in her opposition to Israel. So what we can say for sure is that AIPAC has spent a ton of money on Democratic primaries this cycle, and the results have been mixed at best.

Tam, thanks so much. We'll call you back when we know more about Michigan.

I'll be here.

NPR's Tam Rakeith. U.S. missile stockpiles are running low.

The war with Iran is in its 6th month. NPR has confirmed that the Army has used up most of its long-range attack missiles during the war. That was first reported by Reuters.

NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is covering this story. Kat, good morning.

Hey, good morning, Steve.

OK, what do you know here, and what kind of missiles are we talking about?

So what the U.S. is running out of are precision missiles like PRISMs and ATACMS, according to a U.S. official familiar with the data who was not authorized to speak publicly. And Steve, just to talk you through those acronyms a bit, ATACMS stands for the Army Tactical Missile System. The other missile, the PRISM, stands for Precision Strike Missile. These are all offensive weapons which can be fired from hundreds of miles away, and they play an important role in protecting US service members since it means you don't have to send an American pilot, for example, too close to an enemy target.

I have to pause and just note how impressive it is that the United States has an offensive weapon called an ATACMS.

Right. Yeah.

But having noted that, how precise How serious can you be in saying that the stockpiles are running low?

Well, it's all classified. The Pentagon doesn't give out the numbers of missiles that have been used. We do know that there have been more than 15,000 Iranian targets hit during this war. But many of those have been in the massive U.S. airstrikes that the U.S. was carrying out earlier. Now, we should note that many senior military officials and analysts believe that the U.S. does have sufficient supply of offensive weapons for now, despite those shortages I just mentioned. You know, one of the concerns with running low on these precision missiles is that it takes years to replenish them. So a shortage leaves the U.S. vulnerable in future conflicts too, particularly if China decides to attack Taiwan in the coming year.

Oh, well, there, there you've hit on something, Kat, because it may well be the United States has plenty of missiles for now, but military planners would be asking, what if we need thousands more for a conflict that breaks out next week? That's why they would feel like it's a shortage right now. We're talking about offensive missiles here. What about defensive missiles?

Right. So that is a key question. A report out last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies sheds some light on that. It found that the U.S. stockpile of Patriot interceptors— those are the main tool that the U.S. has to shoot down incoming attack drones and missiles at targets in the Middle East, like U.S. bases— has shrunk by about two-thirds since this war started in Iran. The exact number of Patriots is also classified, but a U.S. official not authorized to discuss sensitive issues told NPR that the figures in that report are pretty accurate. Those missiles missiles also take a good amount of time to replenish, and they're expensive— around $4 million apiece, which is a lot when they're often being used to shoot down Iranian drones, which cost something like $20,000 to $30,000 each.

Wow, what an imbalance. What is the military saying on the record about all this?

Well, not a whole lot, because like I said, all of this information around weapons is classified. The Trump administration has sent a lot of mixed messages when talking publicly about the issue. In June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that reports of depleted stockpiles were, quote, manufactured stories, although he also acknowledged that rebuilding the stockpile could take months or years. And, you know, Steve, there is real urgency here too. Ukraine desperately needs U.S.-made Patriot missiles to defend against Russian attacks. President Volodymyr Zelensky is pleading for other countries to send some of their Patriot missiles to Ukraine, but so far nobody has offered.

NPR's Katlanzorf, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Thank you.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide as soon as today whether to approve a flu vaccine.

It would be the first flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology, and that is leading to some suspense about the approval.

NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now. Rob, good morning.

Good morning, Steve.

What's the vaccine?

It's called M-fluciva, and it was developed by Moderna, the same company that made one of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. And it works the same way. It stimulates the immune system into producing antibodies that can fight off viruses, in this case flu viruses instead of the coronavirus that causes COVID.

Oh yeah, which was the same technology used in a COVID vaccine. How well does this one work?

It seems to work pretty well, Steve. Moderna tested the vaccine in more than 40,000 people and found that number one, it looks It's safe, and number two, it appears to produce stronger protection than traditional flu vaccines in people age 50 and older. Based on that, independent FDA advisors voted unanimously in June to recommend that the FDA approve Emfluziva. I asked Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, what he thinks about the vaccine.

I think this is really a critical step forward in advancing influenza vaccine technology. And I think it's just imperative that the FDA come down with an affirmative decision.

Because while the current flu vaccines work okay, a lot of people still get the flu even if they've been vaccinated, and stronger protection isn't the only advantage of this new mRNA flu vaccine.

Oh, what other advantages are you thinking of?

So mRNA vaccines can be updated much more easily, so like if a new strain suddenly emerges like it did this past season, the vaccines can be reformulated much more quickly to make them more protective. That would be especially important if a really new flu strain evolved, sparking another flu pandemic. mRNA vaccines can also be produced much faster than traditional vaccines.

Here's Michael Osterholm again: Right there, that is a game changer in a major way.

But don't forget, Steve, mRNA technology is very controversial.

Oh, I won't forget. But what is that controversy really about?

So, you know, the vaccine mandates during the pandemic left a lot of people very angry about the COVID shots, and there was a lot of misinformation. Information about the shot's safety. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top Trump administration officials have been extremely hostile to mRNA vaccines. They made it harder to get the COVID shots and slashed hundreds of millions of dollars for research into new mRNA vaccines. Also, the FDA initially refused to even review Emfluziva, only reconsidering after intense blowback. Opponents still hope the FDA won't approve Emfluziva. I talked about this with Dr. Brian Hooker. He's the chief scientific officer at Children's Americans Health Defense. That's an anti-vaccine group once headed by Kennedy. I really believe that this technology is just too new.

There has not been the adequate level of study of the implications for, you know, literally everybody. I just feel like the train is leaving the station and we're not ready yet.

So everyone is waiting to see if the FDA under RFK Jr. Whether follows the recommendation of its advisers and approves this first mRNA flu vaccine or not.

NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Rob, thanks.

You bet, Steve.

And that's Up First for this Wednesday, August 5th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Larry Kaplow, Andrew Sussman, Scott Hensley, H.J. Mai, and Olivia Hampton. It was produced by Ziyad Rachel Fletch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes and Patrick Murray, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Our supervising producer is Michael Lipkin. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

Indeed we do.