NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-13-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

NPR News: 08-13-2025 1PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump says he is hoping his summit with his Russian counterpart Friday sets the table for a follow-up that would also involve Russia's rival Ukraine. So far, President Trump has been unable to mediate a ceasefire in the war, but today he says there's a very good chance of a second meeting. The president updated reporters on a wide range of issues at an event who announced this year's Kennedy Center honorees. He's also set to host the event at a time when his administration has faced a string of controversies involving foreign and domestic actions, including most recently a decision to place D.C. law enforcement under federal oversight. But I shouldn't make this political because they made the Academy Awards political and they went down their tubes. So they'll say Trump made it political. But I think if we make it our kind of political, we'll go up, okay?

Let's see if I'm right about that. By the way, this year's Kennedy Center honorees include KISS, Georgia. Street, Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael Crawford. Well, following an emergency virtual meeting between European leaders and Ukrainian president for Lodemir Zelensky and President Trump, Zelensky, said Trump, who will be meeting with Russian President Putin on Friday in Alaska, supports a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine. Here's NPR's Rob Schmitz. At a press conference in Berlin, Zelensky said he told President Trump that before any

negotiation on a path to peace in Ukraine, Russia must first agree to. to a ceasefire and security guarantees. He said Trump voiced his support for this idea. President Trump is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss an end to the war. German Chancellor Friedrichs told reporters he and his European colleagues told Trump, Ukraine is prepared to negotiate on territorial issues, but legal recognition of Russian occupation is not up for debate. Whether Putin agrees to any of this is an open question. Rob Schmitts, then Pierre News, Berlin.

A small town in rural Tennessee will soon be the site of a privately run ICE detention center. Mariana Bacayau of 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. It's NPR. The U.S. government's gross national debt set a new record in topping $37 trillion. The Treasury Department's report released yesterday shows the national debt reached its current level years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Trump administration wants to privatize or eliminate the Energy Star program for efficient appliances. NPR's Jeff Brady reports Congress may decide the fate of the program soon. Americans recognize the blue Energy Star logo, which is awarded to the most efficient

appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates Energy Star has saved Americans over a half trillion dollars in energy costs since 1992. But EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin questioned his own agency's estimates in a May congressional hearing and hinted Energy Star could be privatized. This program is an example of one that can be run outside of the government. And I've actually had multiple entities reach out to EPA over the course of the last few weeks because they want to take over Energy Star. Supporters say Energy Star is popular, and they've launched letter-writing campaigns, urging Congress to keep the program in the government.

Jeff Brady, NPR News. GE Appliances says it plans to move more of its production to the U.S. as part of a more than $3 billion investment. Today, it announced plans to shift its production of, water heaters, refrigerators, and gas ranges out of China and Mexico. The Louisville-based company says it expects to add more than a thousand jobs. It's NPR.