NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-13-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Christian Wright. The 48th Kennedy Center honorees will be announced this morning. President Trump is expected at the Kennedy Center. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports the honors are considered prestigious lifetime achievement awards in the arts. Traditionally, artistic excellence has been the main criterion for the awards. Past honorees include Stevens Bealberg, Quincy Jones, and Rita Moreno. Honorees are usually living artists when they receive the award. Trump has floated the names Babe Ruth and, and Elvis Presley as possible recipients. Trump posted that, quote, tremendous work is being done to prepare for the honors. But the Kennedy Center's staff was caught off guard by the announcement, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions. They're worried they won't have enough time to sell tickets and sponsorships. The Kennedy Center Honors has

traditionally been the performing arts venues biggest fundraiser. Elizabeth Blair and PR News, Washington. The White House is ordering a review of the Smithsonian Museums. In a statement, the Smithsonian says its work is grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate factual representations of history. The State Department's annual human rights report is critical of the right situation in three African countries where the U.S. is sending deportees, Eswetini, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg. In Eswartini, where the U.S. last month sent five foreign nationals it described as criminals,

the State Department noted concerns over, quote, unlawful killings and torture. In Rwanda, which is set to take into 250 migrants expelled from the U.S., the report found evidence of, quote, serious abuses in a conflict, an arbitrary arrest and detention, saying impunity for officials was also a concern. In South Sudan, where the Trump administration deported eight men after a war, a legal battle, the report found, quote, disappearances, trafficking in persons, and forced labor. For NPR news, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. Stocks open higher this morning, extending Tuesday's rally. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow

jumped about 367 points in early trading. Both the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ closed out the previous session at record highs. Despite a jump in core inflation last month, investors are betting the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate in September. GE appliances plans to build more refrigerators, stoves, and water heaters in the U.S. The company says it's shifting some production out of Mexico and China and investing more than $3 billion in domestic factories. The Treasury Department says it collected $28 billion in tariff revenue last month, an early fourfold increase from July of last year. The government's still running a big deficit, however, and this week the accumulated federal debt

top $37 trillion. Scott Horsley and Pairn News, Washington, This is NPR. A small town in rural Tennessee will soon be the site of a privately run ICE detention center. Mariana Bacayal from member station WPLN reports the town of Mason approved the contract at a tense meeting last night. A 600-bed prison in the town of Mason has sat empty for nearly four years, but it will soon be filled with ICE detainees from across the mid-south. In a contentious town hall meeting, the mayor stressed the economic opportunities for cash-strapped Mason. Resident Civil Miller Watkins said she doesn't see all money as good money. This particular detention center would be less than 20 minutes from my son's high school.

And when he graduates, this is not the job I want him to be able to have. The detention center will be privately run by Corse Civic, a for-profit prison operator, which is under investigation by the DOJ. For NPR news, I'm Mariana Baca Yao in Nashville. An emergency virtual summit on the Ukraine-Russia war is underway. Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky is in Berlin with Germany's chancellor for in-person and virtual talks with European leaders and President Trump. A press conference from Berlin is expected this hour.

Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin are meeting for talks in Alaska this Friday. Trump has suggested the two countries may need to swap territories under the terms of a peace agreement. A Russian foreign ministry official today seemed to tamp down that idea. The White House is downplaying chances of a big breakthrough in Anchorage to end the war. I'm Kristen Wright, and this is NPR News from Washington.