NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-08-2025 1AM EDT

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

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Material scientist Anna Maria Kuklita is creating tech that replicates skin and simulates touch. A prosthetic hand would feel if the patient is holding a hot cup or a cold bottle of beer. Ideas about our skin and how we use it to interact with the world. That's on NPR's TED Radio Hour. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. President Trump is signaling a growing impatience with his Russian counterpart. Trump was asked whether he plans to impose sanctions on Russia if that nation does not breach a ceasefire with Ukraine by Friday.

It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed. Trump says he would meet with Putin, despite the Kremlin's refusal to hold talks with Ukraine. Israel's security cabinet has approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to take control of Gaza City.

As NPR's Aya Patralby reports, the city is one of the last areas of Gaza that is not yet fully occupied by ground forces. The announcement comes some 23 months into a war that's already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. The city, long the beating heart of Gaza, is home to several of its last partially functioning hospitals and where tens of thousands of displaced people have set up tent encampments. Israeli troops already operate in eastern Gaza City under the cover of near constant airstrikes. It's unclear how the military plans to push further into densely populated areas or where people might be forced to flee to. In announcing the decision Netanyahu's office said that aid would be distributed to civilians

outside of combat zones without elaborating, families of Israeli hostages still held by militants in Gaza are demanding a ceasefire fearing military operations could lead to their deaths. A. Abatrawi, and Pear News. The Artificial Intelligence Company, Open AI, has launched its fifth-generation technology, dubbed GPT-5. CEO Sam Altman says the new model is a significant step toward artificial general intelligence where machines develop cognition. Rival AI company Anthropic released the latest version of its chatbot Claude earlier in the week. Wall Street investors had mixed reaction to President Trump's latest terrorist deadline Thursday, and PR's Maria Aspen has the story. Most of President Trump's sweeping tariffs have now officially kicked in after months of

delays. The new taxes are widely expected to raise prices on almost everything Americans import, which sent investors into a tailspin when Trump first announced his tariffs in April. But by now, Wall Street's reaction is relatively muted. The Dow and S&P 500 are down, but the tech-heavy NASDAQ hit another record high. It was an eventful and political day for big tech companies. Shares in Apple rose more than 3% after Trump said that it could avoid his new tariffs on semiconductors. But at chipmaker Intel, shares dropped more than 3% after Trump called for its CEO to resign. Maria Aspen and PR News, New York. U.S. futures are higher in after-hours trading on Wall Street on Asian market shares are mixed.

This is NPR. The nation's colleges will have to prove they are not using race in their admissions. President Trump assigned a memorandum ordering colleges to share their admissions data, citing concern that personal statements and other proxies are illegally being used to consider race. The Supreme Court outlined affirmative action in higher education two years ago. A gunman ambushed two Pennsylvania state troopers who were responding to a call. The suspect refused. to comply with police and was shot to death. Roger DuPui from member station WVIA reports

that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro praised the officer's heroism. Troopers Joseph Perishinsky and William Jenkins are in stable condition after the incident in Thompson Township. Governor Josh Shapiro visited both troopers. He spoke from the Scranton Hospital where Perishinsky was taken. But I am always strengthened by and lifted up by the heroism and the bravery that these troopers demonstrate in just really, really difficult circumstances. In this entire community, it was that my debt of gratitude. State police, Say Perishinsky placed a tourniquet on Jenkins, and a third trooper evacuated them. For NPR News, I'm Roger Dupuy.

Actor Dean Kane will be sworn in as an honorary officer for immigration and custom enforcement. Kane is best known for starring in a Superman TV spinoff that aired from 1990, to 1997. On Asia-Pacific markets, shares are mixed up this hour, up 2% in Tokyo and down a fraction in Hong Kong. This is NPR News.