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

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

NPR News: 08-08-2025 5AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Profits 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.

Israel's security cabinet has voted to expand the war against Hamas and Gaza and take control of Gaza City. It's one of the last areas of Gaza not yet occupied by Israeli ground forces. The decision comes 22 months after Hamas militants attack southern Israel, triggering a war that's left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to sign a peace agreement today when they visit President Trump at the White House. NPR's Franco Ordonez says the agreement would end decades of conflict. The two nations, both former republics of the Soviet Union, have been locked in fighting since the 1980s.

U.S. officials have been working for months to try to broker an agreement, and there was a breakthrough earlier this spring when the two sides agreed to the text of a peace agreement. The president posted on social media the, quote, many leaders have tried to end the war with no success until next. now, thanks to Trump. He says the two leaders will join him for an official peace signing ceremony, and each nation will also sign economic agreements with the United States. Franco, Ordonez, and PR News. The White House says it's still working on the details of a meeting between President Trump

and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Trump said he'll do whatever he can to stop the killing and the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump also said a meeting with Putin would not be contingent on Putin also sitting down with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Today is the revised deadline set by Trump for Putin to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine to avoid additional U.S. economic penalties. Tariffs and the wars between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine are expected to be among the topics today when Vice President Vance meets with Britain's Foreign Secretary south of London. Some senior FBI officials who had role investigating President Trump are being forced out. NPR's Carrie Johnson explains.

The highest profile departure at the FBI is Brian Driscoll. He briefly led the Bureau as acting director at a time when the White House demanded a list of investigators who worked on cases related to the Capitol riot. Driscoll ran a group that responded to critical incidents and had won several awards. He wrote colleagues he didn't know why he was being fired. Also on the way out is Stephen Jensen, who led the Washington Field Office at the FBI. The Agents Association says the men carried out their duties with integrity, and they followed the law. The Association says firing FBI investigators without due process makes the country less safe. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

Wall Street Futures are higher this morning. This is NPR News. Officials in New York City say they've identified the remains of of another three people killed in the September 11th terror attacks. They occurred nearly 24 years ago, leaving almost 3,000 people dead in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon. As NPR's Brian Mann reports, scientists credit new DNA analysis techniques for the identifications. City officials named two of the persons newly identified who died in 2001. Ryan Fitzgerald, a young trader in the Twin Towers that day,

and Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, California, a 72-year-old passenger on one of the planes that struck the World Trade Center. Her son, Paul Keating, says years of work by forensic scientists helped his family find closure. That is amazing. They're doing this for us. New York City's chief medical examiner says scientists have now identified remains from roughly 40% of those killed that day in Manhattan. Remains of another adult woman were also identified. Her name is being withheld at the request of four. family members. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. State police in Missouri say it appears a helicopter that crashed into a barge on the Mississippi River yesterday struck power lines before going down.

The crash sparked a fire on the barge, killing two people aboard the aircraft. At the time, police say the crew of the helicopter was doing work on the power lines that crossed the Mississippi near Alton, Illinois. More intense summer heat is expected today across much of the central U.S. from North Texas to Minnesota, triple-digit highs are expected in Dallas and Oklahoma City. 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.