NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-03-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: August 3, 2025

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JANENE HURST Live from NPR News, I'm Janene Hurst. The Trump administration says the new tariffs placed on dozens of countries last week will go into effect as scheduled this week. The announcement had sent stock prices sharply lower. And here's Luke Garrett has more. LUKE GARRETT The tariffs range from 10 to 40 percent on certain countries that haven't made a trade deal with the U.S. and comes after the White House twice delayed mandating the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced in April. On NBC, Kristen Welker asked top White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett if drops in the stock market will

cause Trump to roll back these broad tariffs. I would rule it out because these are the final deals. Other countries like South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Japan negotiated their own deals and tariff rates. Hassett says he expects these to hold, but didn't rule out changes. The president will decide what the president decides, but the president likes those deals. The reciprocal tariffs go into effect Thursday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Israel's best-known living writer David Grossman is calling his country's war in Gaza a genocide.

He made the comments to an Italian newspaper. And Pierce Emily Fang has more. A longtime peace advocate, Grossman has known personal tragedy himself. In 2006, his 20-year-old son was killed while serving in Israel's military in a war with Lebanon. Grossman has won the International Booker Prize and top Israeli and European literary awards. And now he says with a quote, broken heart that Israel's war in Gaza with Hamas, one

that has led to more than 60,000 Palestinian deaths and mass starvation in Gaza, is a genocide. He is in the minority in Israel. In a survey last month of Jewish and Arab Israelis by Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, more than 60% said they were not distressed by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. After Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Grossman called for peace with Arab countries. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Hazy skies hung over parts of the Midwest and Northeastern U.S. today, caused by hundreds of wildfires in Canada. The smoke affected air quality in several states. And Pierce-Kristin Wright has more.

Air pollution reached concerning levels across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota over the weekend. Parts of Illinois and Indiana are also under air quality alerts. And people in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are being advised to limit time outside. The National Weather Service's Bob Oruvek says winds pushing polluted air from Canada could last for a while. That pattern maintains itself going forward through this week.

So it doesn't really appear to be any big break. There may be a day or so where there's a temporary break to it. But overall, it looks like there is potential for additional smoke to be transported southeastward into the United States. Canada's government reports more than 700 active fires and its second worst wildfire season on record. Kristin Wright, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The U.S. National Women's Swimming Team set a new world record at the World Championship competition in Singapore today. NPR's Joe Hernandez reports this comes days after the team said members were recuperating from a stomach bug. Four swimmers from the U.S. broke the world record in the women's 4x100 medley relay with a time of 3 minutes and 49.34 seconds. Kate Douglas, Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh, and Tori Husk nabbed the record on the final day of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. They beat the record previously

set by Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris last year by less than half a second. Last week, USA Swimming announced it was treating some members of the team for acute gastroenteritis, which had caused several swimmers to miss events at the competition. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. At the weekend box office, Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four, first steps, held onto the top spot in its second weekend with an estimated $40 million in ticket sales. The superhero film, the last major blockbuster of the summer, has made nearly $370 million worldwide. In second place, The Bad Guys debuted with $22 million. In third place, another debut, Paramount's slapstick comedy sequel, The Naked Gun, bringing in an estimated $17 million in ticket sales.

In fourth place, James Gunn's Superman, with $13 million. And in fifth place, Jurassic World Rebirth, bringing in $8 million. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.