NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-12-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The White House says it's trying to keep expectations low for a breakthrough during President Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. NPR's Tamara Keith reports the summit in Alaska will be their first face-to-face 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. Leavitt 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. Levitt said there would be a one-on-one component of the Trump Putin summit. Tamer Keith NPR News, the White House.

The Department of Justice has notified George Washington University that it's in violation of federal civil rights law. It's the latest back and forth between the White House and the nation's colleges and universities. NPR's Alyssa Nadwerni reports the DOJ alleges the school, a private university in D.C. was, quote, deliberately indifferent to anti-Semitism on campus. In a letter to George Washington University, the DOJ says Jewish students were intimidated. and fearful during the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus last spring, and that the school took, quote, no meaningful action, unquote, to combat anti-Semitism, resulting in harm to Jewish students and faculty.

A GW spokesperson said the school condemns anti-Semitism and has taken action to hold individuals and organizations accountable. Last month, the DOJ notified the University of California, Los Angeles, that it too had broken federal civil rights law due to anti-Semitism on campus. After that finding, the Trump administration froze $500 million in federal funding to the public university. Alyssa Adwarnie, NPR News. Consumer prices are up a moderate 2.7% compared to a year ago.

NPR Scott Horsley reports that some economists peering into the data see clues pointing to higher inflation ahead. Earlier this month, beginning of August, the president ordered a new round of tariffs, including a 50% levy on goods coming from Brazil, a big coffee producer. So there's probably more tariff-related inflation in the pipeline, although it's not going to send inflation back to the 9% range we

were at back in 2022. We're talking about increases around the margins. Still enough to cause some headaches for the Federal Reserve, though. That's NPR, Scott Horsley, reporting. Stocks traded higher today on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 483 points at the close. The NASDAQ composite, up 296 points, the S&P 500, rose 72 points. This is a NPR. All runways at Mexico City's main airport are back open after flights were suspended for several hours this morning. Tarrantial rains have halted flights there for a second straight day, affecting about 20,000 passengers with cancellations, delays, and rerouting. Tonight and 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 now Greenfield Boyce reports, the moon is expected to put a damper on the show. The Perseids 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. The White House says it plans to announce the recipients of the 48th Kennedy Center honors on Wednesday morning. In a post on social media, President Trump said the event is making a major comeback with, quote, luxury, glamour and entertainment restored after what he called hard times. Trump routinely skipped the annual event during his first term in office. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.