NPR News Now - NPR News: 07-24-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Trump is set to visit the Federal Reserve this afternoon. This comes amidst a campaign from the president and his allies to badger Fed Chair Jerome Powell about interest rates and a major renovation of the Fed's Washington, D.C. building. NPR's Tamara Keith has more. Trump has repeatedly charged that the Fed chair is too late in lowering interest rates. And then there's the renovation, which Trump allies suggest could be grounds for firing Powell. Here was Trump earlier this week.

No, we're not planning on doing anything. We're very concerned. He's doing a little renovation for 2.5 billion of the Fed. It is over budget. And it's a shame, but the biggest cost overrun is the cost overrun for interest rates because we should be paying three points lower. The Fed chair, whose term ends next year, says he has no intention of quitting. This visit amps up Trump's pressure campaign, which threatens the Fed's independence. Tamara Keith, NPR News.

Venezuela says that one of the 10 Americans returned to the U.S. last week in a prisoner exchange is a convicted murderer. says that one of the 10 Americans returned to the U.S. last week in a prisoner exchange is a convicted murderer. As NPR's Carrie Khan reports, Venezuelan officials say many of the released Americans still have criminal cases pending there. Venezuelan public records show that one of the 10 Americans released last week as part of a prisoner swap was serving a 30-year sentence for a triple homicide in Spain. Danud Janit Ortiz, a 54-year-old dual American Venezuelan citizen, was arrested in 2016, but Venezuela refused to extradite him to Spain.

Instead, he was tried in Venezuela and last year convicted. More than 250 Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. and sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador were exchanged for the Americans. A photo of the 10 arriving back in Texas last week included Hany Ortiz. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time the freed Americans were all wrongfully detained. A State Department official declined to comment, citing privacy. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

A Texas committee focused on floods has heard from several state agencies about their needs during natural disasters. The panel of state lawmakers was created in the wake of last month's flooding in central Texas. We have more from the Texas newsroom's Blaise Ganey. Several recommendations were tossed around during the more than eight-hour-long hearing. One recommendation from Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd was to start only allowing credentialed, professionally certified emergency managers, which in smaller

counties can often be in an appointed position. We've got some great local emergency managers out there, but there's no baseline standardization for how they got to where they are. The next meeting will be held in Kerrville, the area hardest hit by the storm. I'm Blaise Ganey in Austin. Stocks are mixed on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials are down 117 points. The Nasdaq is up more than 60.

This is NPR. A House subcommittee has voted to subpoena the Justice Department for files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump's supporters have criticized his administration for what they see as backtracking on promises to release more information about the Epstein case. The internal watchdog for the U.S. Postal Service has issued a report. It says that USPS failed to meet most of its own performance goals for processing and delivering mail on time during last year's December holiday season.

NPR's Hansi Lo Wong has more. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve is the busiest time of year for the US Postal Service, which is the financial supporter of NPR. The USPS Inspector General's Office has found during last year's peak mailing season, the Postal Service did not meet many of its own goals for making deliveries on time, including for priority and first-class mail. And that's even after USPS lowered its goals from the previous year. The Inspector General's report says USPS was not prepared to handle the increase in

packages sent during last December's holiday season. New regional processing centers and changes to how USPS moves mail, which are part of its controversial reorganization plan, also contributed to delays. To cut costs, this month the Postal Service rolled out more changes to delivery times, which may further slow down mail sent from some rural communities. Hansi Luang, NPR News. Fighting is broken out in Southeast Asia between Thailand and Cambodia. Thai officials say at least 11 people have been killed at a disputed border

between the countries. Most of the victims are civilians. Cambodia is blaming Thailand for a military incursion at the border that it says was unprovoked. I'm Korva Kuhl subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.