NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-11-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

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I'm Rachel Martin, host of Wildcard from NPR. I've spent years interviewing all kinds of people, and I've realized there are ideas that we all think about, but don't talk about very much. So I made a shortcut, a deck of cards with questions that anyone can answer, questions that go deep into the experiences that shape us. Listen to the Wild Card podcast, only from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman.

Israel's military has killed Gaza's most prominent television journalist in the targeted airstrike that also killed four other members of his Al Jazeera crew. As NPR's Ayabatrawi reports, the military says this correspondent was a Hamas cell commander, but critics questioned the timing of the attack just as Israel prepares to take over all of Gaza City. Anas al-Sherif was Al-Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza City, documenting the past 22 months of Israeli attacks on the territory. He continued to do so even after. six of his colleagues at the Arabic broadcaster were killed in the war. El Shadiv continued to report on airstrikes and starvation in Gaza even after Israel accused

him 10 months ago of working to promote Hamas propaganda. Israel named him in a list that included five other Al Jazeera journalists at the time, some of whom were later killed or wounded. The Committee to Protect Journalists called Israel's allegations unsubstantiated and says the military has killed nearly 200 journalists in Gaza. The 28-year-old father of two left a pre-written statement upon his death, saying he never once hesitated to convey the truth. A. Abatrawi, and Pierre News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, is defending that country's newly announced offensive into Gaza. He says Israel has no choice but to complete the defeat of Hamas. Israel, meanwhile, is facing international condemnation to the continuing humanitarian crisis underway in Gaza. At least 11 adults have died there this weekend from malnutrition. Netanyahu says Israel has had no policy to withhold aid. Look, maybe some choose to forget October 7th.

We will not forget what happened. And we will do whatever it takes to defend our country and defend our people, defend our future. We will win the war, whether without the support of others. Gaza and health officials, meanwhile, say many more Palestinians in Gaza will die without access to more aid. Vice President J.D. Vance says that the U.S. will try to reach a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia during Trump's meeting with President Vladimir Putin this week

NPR's Shandalee's Duster has more. Vance says the upcoming Alaska meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin follows months of U.S. officials trying to break a logjam in the war. Vance told Fox News the meeting is, quote, a major breakthrough for American diplomacy. But cautions that Ukraine and Russia may not be content with the deal. We're going to try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and the Russians can live with, where they can live in relative peace where the killing stop. It's not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it.

Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Saturday he supports Trump's efforts to leverage a peace deal, but that Ukraine will not give up any land. Shandalee's Duster, NPR News. Flash flooding canceled the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair on Sunday as heavy rainfall continues in half a dozen Midwest states. You're listening to NPR News. Shipping holiday gifts later this year may cost more than usual. As NPR's Hans-Lawang 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-sist. sustainable. While 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 Zilowong, NPR News, Washington. Police in Greece have seized 595, pounds of cocaine that was hidden in a banana container being shipped from Ecuador.

The drugs are valued at more than $6.5 million. The drugs were intercepted with help from the UK's National Crime Agency. Officers found the cocaine in brick-sized packages. Three men were arrested in connection with the drugs. Justin Rose shot four straight birdies in the final round of the PGA event in Memphis this weekend to force a playoff. He then made two birdies over three holes to beat U.S. Open champion J.J. Spawn. Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, lost a two-shot lead with just three holes left and ended the day tied for third with Scotty Sheffler. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.

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