NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-03-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: August 4, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all on the web at theschmidt.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Janene Hurst. The Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's reached out to the International Red Cross asking for help in getting food and medical care to the hostages held in Gaza. Videos released by Hamas show two Israeli hostages in horrific physical and psychological condition sparking bigger than usual protests calling for an end to the war. NPR's Itai Stern has more. Tens of thousands gathered in a public plaza in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war and the return of the 50

hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. One of the videos shows an emaciated hostage saying Hamas is forcing him to dig his own grave. Steve Witkoff, President Trump's envoy to the Middle East, met with the families of the hostages this weekend. Protester Gilly Dekel says the war must end now. I hope that the world, the nations, the presidents, the leaders of the world will apply much more pressure on Israel. They need to be extreme. Because she says Israel's extreme government will not stop on its own. It's our turn. NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Former special counsel Jack Smith is under federal investigation. And Piers Luke Garrett reports the probe comes just days after a GOP senator formally requested a Hatch Act investigation into Smith. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel confirms to NPR that it is investigating Jack Smith, who previously led a federal investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump and brought two criminal indictments against him. Smith resigned weeks before Trump's second inauguration. Federal officials are investigating Smith for breaking the Hatch Act, which prohibits certain political activities by government officials. Last week, Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton requested this investigation for what he called unprecedented

interference in the 2024 election. No specific evidence of wrongdoing has been shared publicly and Smith could not be immediately reached for comment. The US Office of Special Counsel has no prosecuting power and can only discipline current federal employees. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. In Montana, the manhunt for the gunman who shot and killed four people at a bar Friday continues. Police are now offering a $7,400 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect, 45-year-old Army veteran Michael Brown. He's believed to be armed and dangerous in the mountains in the western part of the state. Montana's Attorney General Austin Knudsen says he could return to the

area. We want to find this guy. This is a dangerous individual who has committed an absolutely heinous crime against this community and these victims. Several law enforcement agencies have joined in the search for Brown. His family says he struggled with mental illness for years. There is no word on a motive. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A volcano has erupted in Russia's Far East for the first time in centuries. As NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports, it might be related to a massive earthquake that shook

the region last week. The Krasnoyanikov volcano is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula. It's been dormant for at least 400 years according to Russian geologists, but early Sunday morning it began spewing a massive cloud of ash. Video from Russia's TASS news agency showed the cloud shooting skyward, where it triggered an alert for planes flying in the region. The eruption took place less than a week after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake shook the ocean off the coast of Kamchatka.

Harold Tobin is a seismologist at the University of Washington. It is definitely an interesting coincidence or not coincidence. He says it's unlikely the quake caused the eruption, but if the volcano was nearly It is definitely an interesting coincidence or not coincidence. He says it's unlikely the quake caused the eruption, but if the volcano was nearly ready to erupt, it's possible the seismic waves shook something loose. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. Around 3,200 unionized workers who assemble Boeing fighter jets in the St. Louis area rejected the latest contract offer, saying they will strike tomorrow. Boeing says it's prepared for

the strike and disappointed. Workers rejected a 40% wage increase. Boeing's Defense Division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new US Air Force fighter jet the F-47A after winning the contract this year. U.S. futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.