NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-07-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

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As AI permeates every aspect of our lives, who are the people behind this huge inflection point? What keeps them up at night? I fear that what it means to be human may suddenly not be our own. We've got a special series from NPR's TED Radio Hour. It's called The Prophets of Technology. What they got right, wrong, and where these pioneers think we're headed next. Listen to the TED Radio Hour, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingley.

The Israeli security cabinet is meeting today to decide whether to once again expand its military offensive in Gaza, targeting Hamas. NPR's Aibatrawi reports. Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing the possibility of a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip. The U.N. says already nearly 90% of Gaza is under displacement orders with, quote, no safe place for people to go. Netanyahu's office says he's convening the security cabinet to direct the military on how to achieve the objective. objectives of releasing hostages and ensuring that, quote, Gaza will never again threaten Israel. The nearly two-year-long war has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. Poles show Israelis are divided over the war. Many want Israel to occupy Gaza and expel Palestinians from it. Yet there are growing calls in Israel demanding Netanyahu and the war, including

from among hundreds of former generals and top security officials. Ayabatrawi, NPR News. President Trump says there's a very good chance. He will soon meet with Russia. President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss ending the war between the two countries. The president was speaking to reporters yesterday, hours after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow to discuss tomorrow's deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face additional U.S. economic penalties. President Trump says he plans to impose 100 percent tariffs on U.S. imports of microchips and semiconductors. Speaking at the White House yesterday, the president said he'll make an exception for companies that pledged to build their manufacturing operations in the U.S.

The president was speaking at an event where the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, announced his company would invest another $100 billion in the U.S. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is asking the state Supreme Court to remove the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in Austin, Gene Wu. The move stems from Democratic lawmakers in the state house, having traveled outside to. Texas to try to block a vote on a new congressional map drawn up by Republican lawmakers. Lauren McGahey with the Texas Newsroom has more. Attorney General Ken Paxton had already indicated he planned to ask for Chairman Gene Wu's removal if Wu and other Democrats who fled the state to block redistricting efforts had not returned by Friday. But Abbott jumped ahead of Paxton Tuesday afternoon and filed a petition

with the court asking for Wu's immediate removal. The move kicked off a bit of a back and forth between the two Republicans, with Paxton insisting he's the only one with the authority to do this. Abbott rejected Paxton's interpretation, saying the matter has to be settled now. The Texas Supreme Court says it will respond to Abbott's request by Friday. Wu called Abbott's request to remove him a desperate attempt to silence his dissent. I'm Lauren McGahey in Austin. This is NPR News from Washington. Officials at Fort Stewart in Georgia say a U.S. Army Sergeant is in custody and accused of wounding five soldiers at the base yesterday. They say the 28-year-old used a personal handgun in the attack before he was tackled by other soldiers. A motive remains

under investigation. NASA says astronaut Butch Wilmore is retiring after 25 years at the Space Agency. During his career, Wilmore spent more than a year in space and carried out five separate spacewalks. As Mary Anna Bacayow with member station WPLN reports, Wilmore's final mission aboard the International Space Station was extended far beyond the original plan because of problems with Boeing's Starliner Space Vehicle. Wilmore's retirement comes a year after his planned week-long mission turned into a nine-month stay in Earth's orbit. Wilmore returned home to Tennessee in March. At the same time, NASA began facing historic budget cuts.

The Trump administration has reduced the space agency's budget by nearly a quarter, and has plans to reduce it by half. Over the course of his 25 years in NASA's Astronaut Corps, Wilmore has spent nearly 470 days in space, with his most recent mission making up nearly half of that time. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Baca Yao in Nashville. United Airlines says residual flight delays are possible today at airports across the U.S. The airline says a technical issue delayed more than a thousand United flights

nationwide last night. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News, in Washington. These days, there's so much news. It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community. The Consider This Podcast from NPR features our award-winning journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the Truth. Listen to the Consider This Podcast from NPR.