NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-14-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

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On the next due line from NPR, the man who saw a dangerous omission in the U.S. Constitution and took it upon himself to fix it. If something happened to a president who was still alive, the consequences for the country would have been enormous. The 25th Amendment. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Doa Halisa Kautau. President Trump was handed a legal victory, won a federal court of appeals ruled that the administration can suspend billions of dollars that Congress had earmarked for foreign aid spending. And Pierce Fatmatanis 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 fall. 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 more intensified airstrikes in Gaza City, killing at least 123 people on Tuesday alone. That's according to Palestinian hospital officials. And Pierre's Anas Baba reports. The intensity of Israeli airstrikes has escalated, particularly in Gaza City.

Gaza Health Authority 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 the toll from the day before that. The air strikes 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. Anas Baba and PR News, Gaza City. Republican-led states are activating the National Guard to tackle immigration.

As Jenna McMurtry reports, Wyoming's governor announced his state would be among them. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon says he's deploying 15 National Guard members to help immigration and customs enforcement with paperwork and migrant transportation within the month. The governor says the Guard will remain in state and under his control and that they will not have access to ICE databases or the training to make arrests. Wyoming has been firm and consistent in our commitment to helping secure the border. 19 other GOP governors have pledged to also activate the resources of the National Guard to assist. in the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. For NPR News, I'm Jenna McMurtry in Jackson, Wyoming. A state judge in Texas has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to turn over InfoWars assets to a court-appointed receiver

who will then sell off his property to pay the families of the Connecticut children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. This is NPR News from New York City. President Trump says he will host this year's Kennedy Center honors. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports the honorees include singer Gloria Gainer and actor Sylvester Stallone. The other honorees are the rock band Kiss, Broadway actor Michael Crawford, and country star George Strait. All my exes live in Texas. President Trump said he was heavily involved in the selection process, a break. in tradition. The Kennedy Center honors are traditionally selected through a months-long process

with input from the general public, board members, and honorees from previous years. Trump spoke warmly of all the honorees. He called Sylvester Stallone a friend. It's very few, almost if any, people that could have taken a name and made it so incredible, like Rocky, Rambo, Creed. The Kennedy Center Honors Gala will take place on December 7th with a broadcast on CBS at a later date. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington. Days before their Alaska meeting this Friday, President Donald Trump is telling Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin,

that there will be, quote, very severe consequences if he doesn't end his war in Ukraine. The war is now in its fourth year, with total casualties, that's death and injuries, in Russia, estimated to be near or over one million. That's according to CSIS, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The same group said back in June that close to 400,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since the start of the full-scale war.

This is NPR News. Stars, they're just like us. John Legend goes to CBS. Well, that's because he has his own skincare line. It was so exciting to actually go into one of those stores. We had the in-caps. Were you like, I don't want this locked up? John Legend is one of many stories.

is riding this celebrity branding wave. He tells us about it on The Indicator from Planet Money. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.