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

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The White House is trying to keep expectations low for a breakthrough during President Trump's meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. NPR's Tamara Keith reports the summit in Alaska would be their first meeting since 2019. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says Russia's President Putin was the one to extend an invitation for the meeting. And while Trump initially expressed some hope that a peace deal could be possible, Levit said that is unlikely, given that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, won't be there. This is a listening exercise for the president. Look, only one party that's involved in this war is going to be present. And so this is for the president to go and to get a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end. Leavitt said there would be a one-on-one component of the Trump-Puton summit.

Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House. The federal takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department could last longer than 30 days. At today's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said the administration would re-evaluate and reassess after the end of a 30-day period. President Trump says he's putting police under federal oversight and putting hundreds of National Guard troops on the streets to address what he calls a surge in crime. But his NPR's Brian Mann reports local and federal data show a nearly 30 percent decline in violent crime in the city last year. Trump is talking about criminals. And in this case, that often means teenagers, many of them black. Washington has struggled at times with violence caused by young men and boys and some girls riding ATVs, motorcycles, and four-wheelers. Trump spoke about them at length yesterday.

The city's Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith says before yesterday's federal takeover of Metropolitan Police by Trump, The city had juvenile curfews and other policies that were working. Again, crime is down here. NPR, as Brian Mann reporting, inflation remained elevated last month in the U.S. NPR, Scott Horsley, reports on the latest cost-of-living report from the Labor Department. Consumer prices in July were up 2.7% from a year ago, roughly in line with what forecasters had expected. Falling gasoline prices helped to keep the overall cost of living from rising more.

So-called core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose to 3.1%. The effects of President Trump's worldwide tariffs are visible in the rising price of imported goods, such as furniture and toys. Additional tariffs ordered this month could push prices higher still. Nevertheless, investors are betting the Federal Reserve will see an opening to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point when policymakers meet next month. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. Major market indices have ended the day higher 1% to 1.3%. You're listening to NPR News. President Trump's extending a trade truce with China and additional 90 days.

How that truce expired overnight is planned, though world's two biggest economies would have resumed a trade war involving tit-for-tat tariff hikes. YouTube is set to begin testing an AI-powered age verification system in the U.S. week. The new programs intended to tell adults and minors apart based on their viewing habits when they're logged in. Users flagged as underage would face limited video recommendations and other restrictions. Tonight into tomorrow morning is the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower, which usually gives people a chance to see shooting stars in the night sky. But as NPR's Nell, Greenfield Boyce tells us the moon is expected to put a damper on the show. The Perseid is probably the most popular meteor shower of the year. It happens when the earth plows through a

bunch of debris left behind by a large comet. Tiny bits hit the atmosphere and send streaks of light across the sky. Normally under dark skies, you can see dozens of meteors per hour, but this time around the moon is 84% full, so only the brightest meteors will be visible. Your best shot to see them is in the pre-dawn hours in a place that's away from artificial lights. Give your eyes 15 to 30, minutes to adjust to the dark, no peeking at your phone, and look at the sky in the opposite direction from the moon. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. Last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average close up 483 points to end the day at 44,458. It's NPR.