NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-14-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

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As AI permeates every aspect of our lives, who are the people behind this huge inflection point? What keeps them up at night? I fear that what it means to be human may suddenly not be our own. We've got a special series from NPR's TED Radio Hour. It's called The Prophets of Technology. What they got right, wrong, and where these pioneers think we're headed next. Listen to the TED Radio Hour, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright.

protests in Washington, D.C. last night against the deployment of federal troops on local streets. President Trump says he'll go to Congress to seek a long-term extension of his federal oversight. NPR's Tom Bowman reports National Guard troops are mainly patrolling around the national monuments. President Trump has said that Washington, D.C. is basically a wash in crime, although incidents of violent crime in the nation's capital have dropped sharply in the past two years. But most crimes are not committed around the national monuments. They're being committed in the neighborhoods or along the busy commercial streets. I spoke with two retired National Guard generals who suggested that having guard troops only at

the monuments is really more performative, a public relations move that won't really do much to reduce crime. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska tomorrow to discuss a possible ceasefire. For now, fighting in Ukraine continues. NPR's Greg Mirey says battles are escalating near a key city. A small number of Russian troops pierced Ukraine's defensive lines this week on the main battlefront in the east of the country, near the city of Pachrovsk. Ukraine's military says it's tracking down the Russians who are on foot or in light vehicles. The military says many of the Russians have been killed or captured.

Russia has tried to take Pachrosk for more than a year and now surrounds it on three sides, but has yet to reach the city. This battle reflects broader trends in the war, a large Russian force making incremental gains and suffering huge losses, while smaller Ukrainian units try to hold the line. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Keeve. Israel is to take over the last remaining area in Gaza, not yet. under its control. Polls show most Israelis want the war to end and hostages released. NPR's Emily Fang reports a new anti-war voice has emerged. Israel's own soldiers. Jonathan Cadman is a 45-year-old professor and a reservist medic. When Hamas attacked Israel on

October 7, he volunteered to serve in Gaza. But now as Israel approaches nearly two years of war in Gaza, Cadman is among a growing cohort of soldiers who say they will not go back. He says Israel could have and should have reached a ceasefire deal with Hamas long ago, and he has opposed to far-right elements of Israel's government who are pushing to escalate war. We know that what they want is to reoccupy Gaza and get a settlement there, and I completely disagree with that. He is referring to two ministers who have said repeatedly that they want to annex Gaza, move out Palestinians, and build Jewish settlements there again.

Emily Fang and Pier News Tel Aviv. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. scientists say they've discovered the 2.6 million-year-old teeth ever previously unknown human cousin. NPR's Nate Rod reports. We've all seen the t-shirts or memes of a series of apes standing up straighter and strater and morphing into modern coffee-drinking man and woman. Anthropologists, though, have long known that human evolution was not a linear process, and the new findings published in the journal Nature adds another piece to the puzzle.

The teeth, the researchers believe, belonged to a new species of Australopithecus, an upright walking ape-like species that coexisted with early human ancestors in East Africa. The discovery provides more evidence to researchers say that human evolution was similar to that of other species with many branches and dead ends. Nate Rot, NPR News. Colorado's latest wildfire, the Croceau Fire, is growing quickly. People in the area of Croceau Lake in the northern part of the state are underwent. under mandatory evacuation orders.

Taylor Swift has announced the official release date for her next album. The Life of a Showgirl will drop October 3rd. She shared the track list, too, its 12 new songs, with the last track featuring Sabrina Carpenter. Swift also revealed the album cover. She's bedazzled in jewels and partially submerged in water. Swift talked about her upcoming album on her boyfriend, Travis Kelsey, and his brother Jason's podcast, New Heights. She said, this is the record she's been wanting to make for a very long time.

time. The Life of a Showgirl will be Swift's first album since she gained control over all of her music rights. I'm Kristen Wright, and this is NPR News from Washington.