NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-09-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. From sanctions to a sit-down, after President Trump's Friday deadline for Moscow to end its war in Ukraine passed, he announced he and Russia's president Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday. Trump says ending the war could involve, quote, some swapping of territory. But Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says they will not seed territory, and any summit excluding Kiev will not work. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat from Connecticut, says Trump is being played. Trump is falling for Putin's ploy, delaying and stringing him along and mocking America.

The Kremlin today said Putin and Trump will focus on finding a long-term solution to the war in Ukraine more than three years after Russia invaded. President Trump is directing federal law enforcement to increase its presence on Washington, D.C. Earlier this week, Trump threatened to federalize the nation. Capitol after a former Doge employee was assaulted there. NPR's Luke Garrett has this report. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the nation's capital has been plagued by violent crime for far too long. In a statement, she goes on to say the increase in federal boots on the ground is meant to, in her words, protect innocent citizens. Last week, Trump threatened to take

federal control of the city and posted a photo of a beaten 19-year-old Edward Khorstein, a former Doge employee who'd been assaulted by a group of teens. It remains, clear which federal agencies are being deployed to D.C. and for how long. D.C.'s National Guard has told NPR they are not activated currently to support the president's directive. D.C. police data show violent crime is down 26% here when compared to last year. Luke Garrett. NPR News, Washington. A crew of four is back on Earth after a near five-month stay on the International Space Station. They splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California earlier today.

Central Florida public media's Brendan Byrne has this report. On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home. The crew of two U.S. astronauts, one from Japan and a Russian cosmonaut, made the trip back home in the same capsule that took them to the station back in March. Over the course of an hour, the SpaceX capsule went from over 16,000 miles per hour in orbit, to a gentle 16 under a canopy of parachutes at Splashdown off San Diego. In total, the crew spent 148 days in space, conducted more than 200 science experiments, and perform maintenance on the orbiting lab.

Their replacements arrived at the station a week ago, launching from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. They'll spend about six months aboard the station. For NPR News, I'm Brendan Byrne in Orlando. The stock market rallied this week, despite a new round of higher tariffs. With all the major indices gaining ground and the NASDAQ ending the week at a record high, soaring nearly 3.9%. Investors seeming to shrug off the higher import taxes, even as the average, to around 18%.

This is NPR News. Some social media users are expressing alarm that Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth is promoting Christian nationalist ideas on his social media, while other social media users agreed with the sentiments. Hegseth reposted a CNN video featuring his pastor, Doug Wilson at Christchurch in Moscow, Idaho.

I'd like to see the town, be a Christian town. I'd like to see the state be a Christian town. state, like to see the nation, be a Christian nation, and I like to see the world be a Christian world. All of Christ for all of life, Hegset wrote in his post that accompanied the video, which also includes church leaders saying women should no longer be allowed to vote. The field of America's pastime is about to be updated. Major League Baseball has never, in its 150-year history, had a woman calling balls and strikes during a regular season game. That all changes today. Georgia public Broadcastings, Peter Bielo reports.

48-year-old Jen Powell worked more than 1,200 minor league games before getting the call to the big leagues. Now she's scheduled to work the base paths during a double-header between the Miami Marlins and the Braves at Truest Park in Atlanta. She'll serve behind home plate in the following game. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says she has earned this opportunity, and he's proud of the example she sets for women and young girls who aspire to roles on the field. Baseball is late among professional sports to break this barrier. The NBA's first female ref stepped on to the court in 1997, and the NFL had its first female official in 2012. For NPR News, I'm Peter Bello in Atlanta.

I'm Amy Held in Washington, and you're listening to NPR News.