NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-09-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: August 10, 2025

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Support for NPR, and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwaalise, I Kautau. There are reports both in Ukraine and the U.S. suggesting the White House is considering inviting President Volodomir Zelensky to Alaska to join the Friday summit between Trump and Putin. Earlier today, Zelensky said his country has no intention of recognizing Russian control over any part of its territory. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier. Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything.

They are unworkable decisions. That's Zelensky heard through a BBC interpreter. President Trump is requiring colleges and universities to turn over admissions data to the Department of Education. NPR's Corey Turner reports it's meant to reveal if schools are still considering race in admissions after the Supreme Court banned affirmative action. The memo requires colleges to report to the Education Department the race, grades, and test scores, not just of the students they admit, but of all applicants. the idea being so the government can see whom elite schools are turning away. In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, quote, we will not allow institutions to blight the dreams of students

by presuming that their skin color matters more than their hard work. Critics of the move tell NPR the data will be hard to collect, murky at best, and won't reflect the fact that colleges don't just consider academics, but also teacher recommendations, personal essays, sports, and extracurricular activities. Corey Turner, NPR News. In Canada, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is declaring a regional state of emergency

for the province's largest peninsula, just north of Bristol's Hope and Whiteway, where a wildfire is threatening thousands of residents. In the western U.S., extreme heat is contributing to explosive wildfire growth. Officials in rural western Colorado say they have had success building fire lines to protect a nearby ranching community from a wildfire.

Colorado Public Radio's Stena Seek reports. The Lee fire is burning close to the small town of Meeker and is shut down the main highway that leads to it. But crews have been able to beat the fire back from another vital highway and so far keep the town safe. Nearby homes and ranches have been evacuated. The Lee fire is the largest wildfire in the state. And several other blazes are burning across western Colorado, spurred by hot weather, gusty winds, and persistent drought. The governor has declared a state of emergency

and called in the National Guard to help. For NPR News, I'm Stina Sieg, in Grand Junction, Colorado. And you're listening to NPR News from New York. Mexican President Claudia Shahnbaum says she intends to cooperate and collaborate with the Trump administration on addressing drug cartels,

but she ruled out, quote, an invasion by U.S. military on Mexican soil. The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military, she told reporters on Friday during a news conference. The New York Times reported that Trump has signed a directive aimed at using military force on foreign soil against cartels. A Texas real estate magnet was killed by Cape Buffalo during a hunting expedition in South Africa. The safari company that organized the hunt described the incident as, quote, sudden and unprovoked. And Pireszalana Wise reports. Asher Watkins have been tracking the buffalo for a kill when the large horned animals staged

an attack first. The safari company, CVS, said Watkins have been accompanied by one of their trackers and professional hunters. CVS did not say whether the buffalo was later killed, but they described the Dallas native and his family as, quote, longstanding friends and part of the CBS family. Kate Buffalo are considered one of the big five of African game. By the safari company's own description, no species on the planet has a more fearsome reputation than a Cape Buffalo. According to his company biography, Watkins was a lifelong outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and hunting. Alana Wise, NPR News. The animal rights group Peter wrote on its Instagram, trophy hunting must end, riding the Asher Watkins went on a luxury hunting trip

where he stalked a Cape Buffalo. This is NPR.