NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-09-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. President Trump has announced he and Russia's president Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday. More than three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Trump says a peace deal could involve swapping of territory. That's something Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says they won't do. Nina Khrushcheva, professor at the New School in New York, says Putin has his own motivations for meeting. He wants to end the war on his terms, and so far, meeting with Trump is part of his terms. So potentially it could get closer to ending the war. Of course, there is another side, which is Vladimir Zelensky, and it's unclear whether he couldn't agree to any terms Trump and Putin can make.

Zelensky, who was not invited to the summit, has said no decision can be made without Ukraine's involvement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has retweeted and praised a video of a question. Christian nationalist pastor who doesn't think women should vote. NPR's Julia Simon reports. The video that Secretary Hegseth retweeted is a CNN interview with Doug Wilson, the leader of an influential Christian nationalist church in Idaho. Wilson's views on the role of women aren't confined to voting. In the CNN interview, Wilson says,

Women are the kind of people that people come out of. In an emailed statement to NPR, Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Pernel says Hegeseth is, quote, a proud member of a church affiliated with a congregation of reformed evangelical churches, which was founded by Pastor Doug Wilson. The secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings. In his retweet of the Wilson interview, the U.S. Secretary of Defense wrote, quote, all of Christ for all of life. Julia Simon and Pierre News. Four astronauts from NASA's Cruton mission have successfully wrapped a near five-month stay at the International Space Station.

SpaceX copies flashed down. Their SpaceX capsule splashed down earlier today in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Their replacements are already aboard the ISS, where they will stay for six months. Despite new higher tariffs, the stock market rallied this week. All indices gaining ground, the NASDAQ ended the week at a record high, as NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Earlier this year, investors dumped stocks every time President Trump tried to raise tariffs, a warning sign that often prompted the president to back down. But this week, investors seem to shrug off the higher import taxes, even as the average tariff on imported products jumped to around 18%. Warnings that the new tariffs will lead to higher prices and slower economic growth did little to dampen the market rally.

For the week, the Dow gained one and a third percent, the S&P 500 index jumped 2.4 percent, and the NASDAQ sword nearly three. 3.9%. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR News. The co-owner of several President Trump-themed burger restaurants in the Houston area is facing deportation proceedings, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Houston Public Media's Kyle McClendigan reports. According to ICE, 28-year-old Roland Biani is an immigrant from Lebanon who overstayed his visa. ICE arrested him in May, and he is currently out on bond awaiting his immigration proceedings. Bianney opened his first Trump burger restaurant in 2020 during the president's first term. Each location features decor, menu items, and merchandise themed around Trump.

An ICE official said the department would enforce immigration laws, quote, regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you may have. Biani's attorney declined to comment. I'm Kyle McClintigan in Houston. A quiet first inning between the Braves and Marlins made Major League Baseball history today. Umpire, Jen Powell, became the first woman to work a regular season game in the league's 150-year history. She's doing a double-header in Atlanta with a third game set for tomorrow. The 48-year-old from New Jersey says umpiring is in her DNA, and she's just focused on getting the calls right. Careful blowing out those candles, today is Smokey Bears' 81st birthday.

It was August 9, 1944. His image was said to have first appeared on a U.S. Forest Service, poster. And for generations, he has been known by the slogan, only you can prevent forest fires. Smokey Bear is considered one of the longest running and most successful public service campaigns in U.S. history. This is NPR News.