NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-11-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is placing Washington, D.C.,'s police department under federal control, and he's ordering the deployment of roughly 800 National Guard members. NPR's Brian Mann reports Trump is formally declaring a public safety emergency in the district and indicated he might do the same in other major Democratic-led cities where he says local leaders are failing to bring violent crimes down. President Trump really laid out a narrative that Washington, Washington, D.C., the nation's capital is a kind of war zone plagued by crime. He compared what's

happening in the city to other developing world capitals around the world. And he really said that it would take a kind of force, a kind of pressure like we've seen on the southern border to restore order. That's where the National Guard and this takeover, at least temporarily of the Washington, D.C. police comes in. It's important to say this doesn't match the data. U.S. Department of Justice statistics and city statistics show crime dropping rapidly in Washington, D.C., not just with violent crime, but with other kinds of crime as well. NPR's Brian Mann reporting. President Trump is preparing for a summit this Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

They're expected to talk about the prospects of a U.S. mediated ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but as NPR's Frank Ordonez tells us, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will not be at the talks in Alaska. President Trump really... President Trump says he expects to know whether he can reach a deal with Putin within two minutes of sitting down with him. I think one of two things is going to happen. It could be a good meeting and we'll go a step further. We'll get it done.

I'd like to see a ceasefire very, very quickly. Very quick. I'd like to see it immediately. The other possibility? Now I may leave and say good luck. And that'll be the end. I may say this is not going to be settled. Trump says he can't reach a deal by himself and that after speaking with Putin, he'll reach out to Zelen.

as well as European leaders to discuss next steps. Franco, Ordonez. NPR News, the White House. A federal judge is rejecting the Justice Department's request to release grand jury records in the case of Gilane Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports. Judge Paul Engelmeyer says the entire premise of the Justice Department that the grand jury records would bring to light new information is, quote, demonstrably false.

No, they're there, the judge wrote. He says the secret grand jury materials contain no new information about the crimes of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein or of Maxwell, his former girlfriend. The judge says the papers don't identify any other person as having sexual contact with a minor. Maxwell's appealing her conviction last month. She sat down for interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. That's NPR's Carrie Johnson reporting. You're listening to NPR News. Authorities in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County say the U.S. Steel Plant explosion near Pittsburgh today killed one person and injured multiple others. The spokesperson says two people are still unaccounted for.

The Allegheny County Health Department says it's monitoring air quality near the industrial site explosion. It is advising residents within a mile of the plant to remain indoors and keep their doors and windows closed. In Japan, torrential rains have injured several people. Some individuals are still unaccounted for. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Tokyo that authorities advise millions of residents to evacuate their homes. A huge low-pressure system has hung over Japan's main islands for several days, with the heaviest rainfall hitting southwestern Kushoe Island. Television footage showed surging floodwaters, submerging streets,

and sweeping away vehicles and trees. Several people were reported missing after being swept away by mudslides or falling into swollen rivers. Bullet train services were suspended just as many Japanese are traveling ahead of this week's traditional Obon Festival. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged residents to be vigilant as the government steps up disaster response and search and rescue operations. The rains are expected to last into Tuesday as the weather system moves north and east. Anthony Kuhn in PR News, Tokyo. U.S. stocks are trading lower this hour with a Dow now down 186 points at 43,9888. The S&P's lost six points for NASDAQ is off 20. This is NPR.