NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-13-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roran. President Trump and Russian leader Putin are set to meet Friday in Alaska in what is scheduled to be one day of talks to discuss an end to the nearly three-year-old war that Russia began against Ukraine. The White House says Putin asked for the meeting. White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that while Ukraine's president Vladimir Zelensky has not been invited to the meeting, this will give Putin and Trump the opportunity to speak directly to each other.

The goal of this meeting for the president is to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war. And the president said at this podium yesterday when he joined all of you in the room that he hopes in the future there can be a trilateral meeting with these three leaders to finally bring this conflict to an end. The Kremlin has remained largely silent since announcing the summit would take place. The trial over California's National Guard deployment continued Tuesday in a federal court in San Francisco. The court is facing the question of whether President Trump's federalization of the National Guard troops violated the law by using the military for domestic law enforcement. Laura Fitzgerald from Cap Radio reports. Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June, saying they were needed to protect federal agents and buildings amid widespread protests against immigration enforcement in the region. Witnesses for the trial recounted what the troops were doing

on the ground, laying the foundation for attorneys to argue whether or not their actions were for local law enforcement. California asserts their actions were illegal and furthered tensions in LA. Attorneys for the federal government argue the guard troops were needed as backup security for agents facing violent threats. The trial is scheduled to go through Wednesday. For NPR News, I'm Laura Fitzgerald in Berkeley. Mexico has transferred more than two. Two dozen people link to criminal organizations to the U.S. to face prosecution. Nita Krasinski from member station KJZZ reports from Mexico. Mexico's security secretary says on social media that the transfer was made at the request of the U.S. Justice Department,

which committed to not seeking the death penalty. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico says the individuals face charges in U.S. federal courts, including drug trafficking and organized crime. Earlier this year, Mexico handed over nearly 30 other cartel figures in the days before the U.S. delayed a 25% tariff on Mexican goods. Mexico is again approaching a tariff deadline with the U.S. President Trump agreed to delay a 30% tariff for 90 days after a call with Mexico's president late last month. For NPR News, I'm Nina Kravinsky in Hermosio, Mexico. On a 19-to-2 vote, Republicans in the Texas State Senate on Tuesday approved a new GOP-friendly

congressional map that could net the party five seats in next year's midterm elections. You're listening to NPR News. The U.S. budget deficit in July expanded by 20% for the fiscal year compared to the same period a year ago, this according to the Treasury Department data released on Tuesday. The increase comes even as the Treasury Department took in $21 billion in revenue from President Trump's tariffs. The government's total gross national debt, also pushed above the $37 trillion mark. According to the Associated Press, citing an anonymous

Treasury Department official in order to preview the data before the announcement was made, the deficit is being caused by growing interest payments on the national debt and social security increases. Tonight and tomorrow, it will be a big time for meteor showers, NPR's NPR's Nell Greenfield Boyce reports. 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, at the sky in the opposite direction from the moon. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. On Wall Street, all three of the indexes were up in Tuesday trading. The Dow added 483 points. The NASDAQ up 296. The S&P added 72 points. This is NPR.

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