NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-12-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

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There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, here and now anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.

Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dua Lai Kautau. President Trump has declared an emergency in Washington, D.C., claiming there is an epidemic of crime. By doing this, the president can now temporarily seize control of the capital's city police department, leaving some locals furious. And Pierre's Brian Mann reports. Trump made the case, as his cabinet officials backed him up on this, that Washington, D.C. is a lawless, deadly place. They said under federal control law enforcement in Washington will be far more aggressive.

They say they're comfortable using military. military troops, if necessary, to target gangs and young offenders. And Trump himself made it clear he's sending a signal with these actions to other major cities around the U.S. led by Democratic mayors. Man adds Trump's narrative is flatly contradicted by local and federal crime data, showing the nation's capital is much safer than it used to be. And it's also contradicted by lived experiences. Ukraine's President Zelensky says Russian leader Vladimir Putin is making preparations

for new military operations and has no intention of ending the four-year-old war. NPR's Greg Mairo reports that many Ukrainians are wary about Friday's summit between Putin and President Trump. The statement came during the Ukrainian leader's nightly address. Putin may be talking about peace, but, says Zelensky, the Russian leader is planning for more war. Ukraine's president said he met with military commanders and concluded that Putin is, quote, certainly not getting ready for a ceasefire or an end to the war.

He added that Putin sees his summit with Trump in Alaska as a personal victory, but does not expect him to change his approach to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange fire in the run-up to the summit. Zelenskyy has not been invited and many Ukrainians worry the country will be presented with a proposal in which it had no input. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Keeve. Judge has rejected the Justice Department's request to release grand jury records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case and that of his convicted accomplice. Maxwell is serving 20 years for helping procure underage girls for Epstein.

And Piers Carrie 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. There is no there 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. She was moved to a less restrictive federal prison after those in her. This is NPR.

The Colombian Senate on Monday honored Miguel Uribe, a lawmaker and presidential hopeful who died from injuries related to gunshot wounds from June when he was delivering a campaign speech at a park. His wife confirmed his death in a social media post writing, Rest in Peace, Love of My Life, I Will Take Care of Our Children, Uribe was 39 years old. Ford says it's retooling a plant in Kentucky to make electric vehicles more affordable. The first will be a mid-sized pickup with the target price of around $30,000, and Pira's Camilla Dominovsky reports. Through the Trump administration, the political tide has turned against EVs. But Ford's CEO Jim Farley has argued that affordable EVs are key to long-term global success. standing inside the sweltering hot Louisville assembly plant, Farley acknowledged that it would be challenging to make a smaller EV in the U.S. and make it profitably, but he said Ford was placing a bet on it. We're taking the fight to our competition, including the Chinese, with teams across the United States.

Ford did not show off the new vehicle. In a nod to history, Farley stood next to an old Model T instead. Camila Dominooski, NPR News, Louisville, Kentucky. European leaders meeting in Brussels have released a statement in support of Ukraine saying, quote, meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. I'm Dwa Lysai Kautau, NPR News in New York. 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.