NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-10-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

NPR News: 08-10-2025 8PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From NPR news, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump and Russian President Putin are holding a summit on Russia's war in Ukraine this Friday in Alaska. Trump says he wants to broker an end to the war, but there's been no let up on the battlefield, and Ukraine hasn't been invited to take part. And here's Greg Myrie has more. The summit itself is a big deal for Putin. Trump has been very critical of him recently. now Putin has the chance for a face-to-face meeting to rebuild that relationship and perhaps ward off more sanctions. Now, the Ukrainian concern is that Putin will make some small gesture like a partial or temporary ceasefire that doesn't address any core Ukrainian concerns. Then the Ukrainians will be in the awkward position of rejecting that offer and the Russians will accuse them of not wanting peace.

And here is Greg Marey reporting from Kiev, Ukraine. Vice President Vance told Fox News today the White House is working on a trilateral meeting to include Ukrainian President Zelensky. British health officials are preparing to boost the country's spending on U.S. drugs as a result of President Trump's tariff threats. Vicki Barker has more from London. Two issues have attracted the ire of the Trump administration that the U.K. currently spends about a third of U.S. levels on innovative medicines, and that U.S. firms Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Merck often pay rebates to Britain's National Health Service to essentially cap drug prices, which can leave them a fraction of what Americans pay. The British government already agreed to review its pricing practices as part of its new trade agreement with the U.S.

Now, the Sunday Telegraph reports it also plans to boost spending on new medicines to bring it up to U.S. levels, though it's not clear when that will happen. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. In Western Colorado, firefighters are up against another day of hot, windy weather as they try to protect homes and infrastructure threatened by the Lee fire. And here's Kirk Siegler reports the fire has now grown to more than 100,000 acres. Firefighters have struggled to get much of a containment line dug around the leaf fire because of gusty winds and extremely dry fuels.

The concern continues to be trying to stop it from burning east toward the small ranching and hunting town of Meeker, Colorado. When megafires like this ignite in overgrown forests made even drier by climate change, there aren't a lot of options for containing them until there's cooperation from the weather. There's little change expected in the short-term forecast, so fire managers are focused mainly on protecting structures where it's safe to do so. Meanwhile, some good news is that resources are pouring into the region, thanks in part to it being a relatively quieter than expected summer wildfire season in the West so far. Kirk Ziegler and PR News. The final day of the Wisconsin State Fair was canceled today because of heavy rainfall. That rain in around six Midwestern states led to water rescues, power outages, and road closures. The National Weather Service issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois.

Illinois and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee area was hard hit with up to a foot of rain in some areas, causing the U.S. triathlon to cancel its sprint and paratriathlon national championships in the city where thousands were expected to compete. And forecasters are predicting repeated rounds of heavy rain along with hail, damaging wind, and isolated tornadoes possible. The Union Four Air Canada's flight attendants say they will be mobilizing tomorrow across Canada. Dan Carpentuck reports it comes ahead of a potential strike. A vote to strike was 99.7% in favor. Although the Canadian Union of public employees, airline division, is still in talks with Air Canada, if there is no deal this week,

a strike could come as early as Friday. The union says the national action set from Monday will take place at Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary airports. It's to raise awareness about issues faced by flight attendants, such as working conditions and their role in ensuring safety. The union is asking for higher wages and the elimination of unpaid work hours. Air Canada says it believes it's too early for people to consider changing their travel plans. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. US futures contracts are trading in mixed territory at this hour. Dow futures are up nearly

one-tenth of a percent. Nasdaq futures are down a fraction. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News, in Washington.