NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-12-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Doha-Li-Caoutau. President Trump says the nation's capital has been overtaken by what he called violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals. But the latest crime data shows a different picture, says NPR criminal justice reporter Meg Adnerson. The crime numbers just are not in line with how the president is talking about the district. The city did see an increase in crime after the pandemic. that happened in a lot of the country. Murders in particular rose sharply in D.C. until the end of 2023. But since then, crime has been falling.

In fact, according to the Justice Department, violent crime in the city hit a 30-year low last year. She adds, all of this is in line with a nationwide trend showing crime is falling across the country. President Trump has extended the temporary truce in his trade war with China. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, Trump signed an executive order pushing the deadline out another 90 days. Earlier this year, a series of retaliatory tariff announcements pushed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods up to 145 percent. Talks de-escalated tensions and brought the tariffs on U.S. imports from China to 30 percent.

Trump said those talks are continuing. We've been dealing very nicely with China, as you probably have heard. They have tremendous tariffs that they're paying to the United States. States of America, and we'll see what happens. They've been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi and myself. The White House says this extension is necessary to facilitate the ongoing discussions with China aimed at resolving trade imbalances and unfair practices. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Georgia Democratic Senator John Assoff says his office has documented more than 500 cases of abuse in immigrant detention centers, including the abuse of

pregnant women and children. Georgia Public Broadcasting's Chase McGee reports. The allegations include what Asoff calls 14 credible accounts of mistreatment of pregnant women in custody and 18 accounts of mistreatment of children. Dr. Marsha Griffin is a pediatrician and executive with the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says no amount of time in detention is safe for a child. You might see a child who was previously potty trained, began to wet the bed, or a child that was beginning to speak in sentences suddenly regressed babbling. In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin caused the allegations, quote, garbage. The statement also says many children in detention received the best health care of their lives. For NPR News, I'm

Chase McGee. Sheila Jordan, a jazz master who had at least 19 albums has died in New York City at the age of 96. This is NPR News from New York. Staff members of Al Jazeera gathered at its headquarters Monday in Doha, Qatar, to remember five of its journalists all killed over the weekend during a targeted Israeli strike aimed at their most prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif. The network said his reporting inside Gaza City had reached millions, but Israel accused al-Sharif of being a Hamas terrorist and quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. Candlelight vigils have been held in Gaza and several European capitals to remember the slain journalist. Southwestern Wisconsin was drenched by heavy rain over the weekend,

causing extensive flooding. It caused area rivers to rise to record levels. Maria Peralta Adilano of member station WUWM reports residents are still recovering from the damage. Jessica Young lives in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee that experienced some of the most severe flooding. Young and her family had just returned home from vacation on Saturday. They were aware of the storm and the forecast, but were not expecting their home to flood with almost three feet of water. I was floored because I opened the blinds and couldn't see like the cars across the streets. The water was halfway up the cars. couldn't see my plants outside.

Half of the basketball hoop was covered. It was like that happens in movies or in other states on the news. Young says water levels were so high in her neighborhood that a boat was able to drive through checking out her neighbors. For NPR News, I'm Maria Peralta Ariano in Milwaukee. And I'm Doa Lysai Kautau, NPR News in New York.