NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-16-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: August 16, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. The European Union's top diplomat says Russia has no intention of ending its war in Ukraine anytime soon. Terry Schultz reports on the reaction of European leaders to yesterday's summit between President Trump and Putin. After the summit failed to reach any agreements, EU foreign policy chief Kayakhalis says Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. President Trump called a handful of European leaders following the summit. They issued a statement welcoming Trump's meeting Monday with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, pledging continued unwavering support for Ukraine.

But the statement does not address the fact that despite Trump saying before the summit, that an immediate ceasefire is the priority, as the Europeans wish, then he posted on social media that instead a full peace deal should be the goal, a position more aligned with Putin. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. The Trump administration has agreed to leave the D.C. police chief in charge of the department. It had attempted to put the police under the command of the federal government. Trump has said a federal takeover is needed to deal with roving mobs of wild youth.

The city did see a violent crime spike in 2023, including among juveniles. But violent crime in general is now falling. NPR's Meg Anderson reports. In some neighborhoods, crime is still a big. problem, like parts of Ward 8, where 16-year-old Ali lives. NPR is not using his last name because he worried about retaliation. He says the increased police presence feels intimidating. And it also made me think a lot about what real safety mean and whether it comes from like trust or from force and fear. He said he would welcome more police in his neighborhood

if it felt like they were true community guardians. Meg Anderson and PR News. The first Hurricane of the Atlantic season is strengthening quickly. Aaron was upgraded to a major category four storm, with wind gusts up to 130 miles per hour. NPR's Amy Held reports. Aaron is not forecast to make direct landfall, but the U.S. Coast Guard has closed some ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in anticipation of its outer bands. They could also hit St. Martin and St. Barts this weekend. Rainfall of up to a half foot in parts could lead to flash flooding and landslides. Powered by abnormally warm waters,

Aaron is not nearly done growing, possibly tripling in size by midweek, forecasters say, bringing rough ocean conditions to the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the U.S. East Coast. Climate change is making powerful storms more common. NOAA has forecast a higher than average hurricane season.

It goes until the end of November, peaking around the first week of September. Amy held NPR News. This is NPR News. News in Washington. Officials in Pakistan say more than 300 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains. The floods began Thursday in Indian-controlled Kashmir and spread to Pakistan.

Rescue crews are searching for people still missing. Scientists in Australia have identified a new species of ancient whale, far smaller than its living relatives. Christina Kukula reports. Australian scientists at the Museum's Visuania. Victoria Research Institute described the prehistoric creature as unusual, small like a dolphin, with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls. But they warn its cute appearance is deceiving. It was a dangerous predator with razor-sharp teeth. Teeth and a partial skull were part of a 25 million-year-old

fossil found by a local resident on a beach in the eastern state of Victoria in 2019. It's believed to belong to a juvenile whale with an adult measuring up to 10 feet long. Researchers named the new species Janjiketis Delardi after the beach and amateur fossil hunter who discovered the skull. For NPR News, I'm Christina Kukhalla in Melbourne, Australia. Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Wei says he's been granted asylum in Australia. The former lawmaker left Hong Kong four years ago,

where he faces criminal charges for pro-democracy protests in 2019. Wei said on Facebook that he heard yesterday his petition for asylum has been approved. He said he feels sad in his heart that if it weren't for political persecution, he would never have thought of living in a foreign land. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.