NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-13-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

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It's that time of gear again. Planet Money Summer School is back. This semester with help from professors, policy experts, and yes, even a Nobel laureate, we're diving into how government and the economy mixed and asking the big questions like, what role should government play in our economy? Does government intervention help or hurt and how big should the government be? That's on Planet Money Summer School from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. The White House is beginning. beginning a review of Smithsonian Museums. In a letter, it requests detailed plans for exhibits, grant funding materials, and internal memos. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports the White House says

it's assessing tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals. Addressed to Smithsonian's secretary Lonnie Bunch and signed by White House officials Lindsay Halligan, Vince Haley and Russell Vote, the letter says the review is needed to, quote, Celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions. The museums listed for review include the National Museums of American History, Natural History and African American History and Culture. The process will include an analysis of everything from exhibition texts and social media content to the curatorial process and exhibition planning. The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chloe Valtman, NPR News.

National Guard troops have arrived in Washington, D.C. Guard members and armored vehicles appeared near the Washington Monument and other locations. Many residents feel control over D.C.'s police department is unnecessary given declining violent crime rates in Washington. Alex Coma from member station WAMU reports. Attorney General Pam Bondi met with city officials yesterday. Bondi described the meeting with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and police chief Pamela Smith as productive and emphasized that she would seek to work closely with D.C. police. stressed that she remains in charge of operational decisions for the department. Let us not have any controversy with that, okay, because I know people want to build upon

and create division. We're here to work together with our federal partners, and that's what we're going to do. The White House says it sent hundreds of federal officers, agents, and National Guard troops into D.C. For NPR News, I'm Alex Koma in Washington, D.C. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking a judge to jail, former Congressman Beto O'Rourke. Paxton accuses him of illegally fundraising to help state Democratic lawmakers who are staying out of Texas. They're stalling legislation that creates a new congressional map to help Republicans win. Texas Public Radio's Dan Katz reports. In a filing on Monday, Paxton said O'Rourke violated a temporary injunction that was issued by a Tarrin County judge

when he repeatedly solicited donations at a Fort Worth rally and on social media. Paxson asked the judge to imprison O'Rourke while the case plays out in court and to find him $500,000, dollars per infraction. O'Rourke's attorneys filed a response saying Paxton took his statements out of context and that the temporary injunction did not bar him completely from fundraising just for non-political purposes. O'Rourke's attorneys say they will file an ethics complaint against Paxton. I'm Dan Katz in San Antonio. President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of

several NATO countries are holding a virtual summit on the Russia-Ukraine war today. Ahead of Trump's talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday. is NPR. The Treasury Department reports the national debt has set a new record, surpassing $37 trillion. The debt grew faster than expected, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office says President Trump's spending and tax cut bill will add $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Tropical Storm Erin is on track to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the season. The storm is moving quickly about about 1,500 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.

Aaron will likely become a hurricane late Thursday. George C. White, founder of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, has died at the age of 89. While White was not a household name, the organization he founded was behind more than a thousand plays and musicals, many quite popular. Jeff London has this appreciation. A Connecticut native in Yale graduate, George C. White, a director himself, had the vision in 1964 to create a kind of summer camp on the Long Island Sound for playwrights, composers, and lyricists to develop their work in a safe environment. Among the authors who worked there were

August Wilson, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, Wendy Wasserstein, and Beth Henley. Musicals from Avenue Q to In The Heights to In The Heights were developed in the barn on the property. What was chairman of the O'Neill Center, which picked up two Tony Awards, for 37 years. He retired in 2000 and was inducted in the Theater Hall of Fame in 2011. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. This is NPR News in Washington. Support free.