NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-13-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump was handed a legal victory today. A federal court of appeals ruled the administration can suspend billions of dollars that Congress had earmark for foreign aid spending. NPR's Fatmatanist reports. On his very first day in office in January, President Trump froze all foreign aid spending for programs that tackle disease and poverty overseas. A group of international aid groups that were recipients of foreign aid grants sued the administration. And in March, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against

the funding freeze, saying that the administration had unlawfully frozen funds that were allocated by Congress. But now that ruling's been overturned. In a two to one vote, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the plaintiffs did not have the legal standing to bring a lawsuit. Fat Matanis, NPR News. Israel has launched a series of intensified airstrikes in Gaza's city. NPR's Anasbaba reports the attacks come after Israel said would launch a new campaign to take control of Gaza's main urban hub.

The intensity of Israeli air strikes has escalated. particularly in gaza city gaza health authorities said 88 people were killed just in gaza city on tuesday that's more than twice the number reported the previous day from the area and nearly four times that toll from the day before that the airstrikes hit residential homes killing women children and journalists meanwhile palestinians seeking aid and food continued to be killed by israeli gunfire this week a colliation of 28 countries including the united kingdom japan and several european nations issued a joint statement urging Israel to halt its military operation in Gaza City, citing concerns over civilian casualties and violation of international humanitarian law.

An Aspaba and PR News, Gaza City. An American media executive who runs his Spanish-language newspaper was welcome back to the United States on Tuesday. Scott Massione from member station WIPR reports the man was wrongfully detained in Venezuela. Eric Orra Bio made his way back to Maryland following a deal reached last month. He's the founder of Latin opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper in the United States. A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators worked with the hostage advocacy group Foley Foundation to release a handful of U.S. citizens who were wrongly detained. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen was one of the politicians working on the negotiations. His only offense was being an American

citizen in Venezuela, where he was detained by the Maduro regime. and imprisoned. Or Bio has dual citizenship with Venezuela and the United States. For NPR News, I'm Scott Masioni in Baltimore. At the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 463 points. This is NPR News. Tropical storm, Erin, continues to gain strength in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to be a Category 3 hurricane by the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm is on track to pass just north of St. Mark. the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The storm will probably take a path that misses the Bahamas and the United States, but could threaten Bermuda and the Canadian Maritimes next week. Amazon is once again expanding into grocery delivery, adding same-day orders of perishable foods at hundreds of cities around the country. MPR's Alina Selyuk reports this sets up new competition for Walmart and food meal delivery services. Amazon has spent years trying to take a bite out of the grocery market that's dominated by Walmart. Now it's touting its, quote, most significant grocery expansion to date,

saying it plans to do same-day delivery in 2,300 cities by the end of the year. This will include produce, dairy, meat, and bakery, as well as frozen items, all of which have required much work to set up storage and warehousing. And note that Amazon is among NPR's financial supporters. The company is also lowering the barriers for participation, no longer requiring a separate subscription to get grocery delivery. And Amazon is opening the door for people without prime memberships for a fee of $13 per order. Alina SELU, NPR News. Stocks traded higher today on Wall Street.

The Dow up 463 points at the close. The NASDAQ composite also traded higher up 31. The SMP rose 20 points. I'm Windsor Johnson, NPR News, in Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.