NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-10-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: August 10, 2025

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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 Prophets 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 Giles Snyder.

in Israel last night. Protesters waving flags and pictures of hostages turned out in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities and what are being called the largest protests in months. Demonstrators are opposed to the decision by Israel's security cabinet to approve a plan for a military takeover of Gaza City. They called for the remaining hostages held by Hamas to be freed and for an end to the 22-month-old war. Israel also facing criticism from some European allies over the new Gaza plan, which the full Israeli cabinet could approve as soon as today.

UN Security Council is expected to meet an emergency session today to discuss Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City in order to defeat Hamas. Linda Fasullo reports a session was requested by numerous Security Council members. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the Israeli Security Cabinet plan as a dangerous escalation that risks deepening catastrophic humanitarian consequences for Palestinians and could endanger the lives of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. And Russia, China, Arab and many Western nations, including Britain, France, Canada, Italy, and Australia oppose the Israeli decision. Meanwhile, President Trump has said that an expansion

of an Israeli military operation in Gaza is really up to Israel and recently accused Hamas of not wanting to make a ceasefire deal. The U.S. is expected to block any Security Council action at the meeting. For NPR News, Linda Fasulow in New York. Ukraine's European allies issued a statement overnight, saying they support President Trump's plan to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but they say pressure on Moscow needs to be maintained. The statement was issued after a meeting hosted outside London by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Vice President J.D. Vance was saying. Shipping holiday gifts later this year may cost more than usual.

NPR's Hansi-Lobong reports the U.S. Postal Service is proposing a temporary increase to some of its shipping prices to help stabilize its finances. The proposed price hikes of close to 6% for certain shipping services would last from early October to mid-January, if approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The U.S. Postal Service, which is a financial support of NPR, says these temporary increases are part of its reorganization plan to become more financially sustainable. USPS is a federal government agency, it generally receives no tax dollars to keep delivering six days a week to every address in the country. With fewer people and businesses using the mail service compared to decades ago, another way USPS is trying to sustain itself is by increasing stamp prices. Last month, a first class forever stamp went up to 78 cents, a 7% increase. The Postal Regulatory Commission has proposed limiting future stamp price hikes to once a year. On Zil Wang,

NPR News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News. Officials in Atlantic Canada have declared a state of emergency because of wildfires burning in the region. Strong winds and hot conditions in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador have fueled the Kingston Fire Premier John Hogan, urging residents to be prepared to evacuate. Dozens of large wildfires are burning in the U.S., including the canyon fire in Southern California. Firefighters say they've made significant progress this weekend and have that fire about half contained. President Trump has nominated State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce to serve as an ex-depity ambassador to the United Nations. Bruce has been at the State Department since Trump regained the White House in January.

She is a former Fox News contributor and commentator. For the first time, a woman has worked as an umpire for a Major League Baseball regular season game. From Georgia Public Broadcasting, Peter Bello reports that Jim Powell worked a double-header Saturday between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. Powell says she's been dreaming of this day since 2015 when she tried out for a scholarship to umpire school. Since then, she's worked more than 1,200 minor league games and some major league spring training games. She says at Truest Park in Atlanta today, her dream came true. It was pretty amazing when we took the field, and it seemed like quite a few people. It started clapping and saying my name and stuff, so that was pretty intense and very, very emotional.

The black umpire's hat she wore during her first game is now high. headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. For NPR News, I'm Peter Bielo in Atlanta. And I'm Giles Snyder. You're listening to NPR News from 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.