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

Episode Date: August 17, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the Limelson Foundation. Working to harness the power of invention and innovation to accelerate climate action and improve lives around the world. Learn more at limelson.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Demonstrators around the country protested Saturday against Trump administration policies. They also showed support for Texas Democratic lawmakers who are refusing to vote on a Republican and back plan to redraw congressional districts. Political analysts say Republicans could gain five seats before next year's critical midterm elections. In Chicago, Illinois State Senator Selena Villanueva

said she's supporting Texas lawmakers, some of whom who have been in Illinois, refusing to return to Texas. Every instance in our nation's history, it has been the people of this country that have risen up against tyranny, against oppression, against those forces that seek to repress us and oppress us. And we will not let that continue to happen. On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to redistrict congressional voting lines in that state that couldn't have Democrats five seats. He said it is a countermeasure to the action taking place in Texas. The State Department says all visitor visas for people from Gaza are being stopped in order to conduct a full review of procedures used to issue a small number of medical visas. NPR's Anva Batrani reports

the announcement comes after a post on X by a Trump supporter who called the evacuees a national security threat. In her post on ex, Laura Lumer reposts a video by a group called Heel Palestine, showing children from Gaza arriving to the U.S. for medical treatment. Supporters cheer on their arrival. Lumer writes in the post, why are any Islamic invaders coming into the U.S. under the Trump admin. In subsequent posts, she says she hopes all people from Gaza who came for medical care during the war are deported and that Muslim countries should be taking them in. Heel Palestine has helped some children from Gaza who've lost their limbs in Israeli attacks

received prosthetics and treatment in the U.S. It's a fraction of what the World Health Organization says are more than 10,000 Palestinians in need of urgent medical treatment outside Gaza. Aya Betrawi, Empire News. Flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 300 people. NPR's Daya Hadad reports. Many casualties came from a district called Bunner in a hilly area. Residents there described to local media how gushing rain and boulders smashed through their villages, wiping away homes. They said the only survivors were women who were collecting

firewood in the hills and children away at schools. The heavy rains washed away roads and bridges, complicating rescue efforts in some areas. Environmentalists have expressed fury with the government because they appear to have given little warning, even as climate change makes the monsoon's rains more erratic and extreme. Authorities say they now expect more flooding, even hundreds of miles downstream. Pakistan last experienced major flooding in 2022. Dear Hedid, NPR News, Mumbai. And you're listening to NPR.

The Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion is underway in Cincinnati. Tana Wine Gardner of Member Station, WVXU reports it's one of the longest running such events in the country. Civil rights activist Dorothy Haight created the National Black Family Reunion in 1986, a multi-day festival with parades, concerts, job fairs, and other events that celebrate black families and culture. Regional events quickly followed in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Executive Director Tracy Artists says it's important to shine a light on strong black families. Families allow our communities to thrive, our schools to thrive and our churches to thrive. So the black family is a very, very, very important group in the city of Cincinnati and nationally.

Artists says spending time together makes all families stronger and stronger families lead to stronger communities and a stronger country. For NPR News, I'm Tana Wengertner in Cincinnati. Canada's government is forcing air Canada and its 10,000 striking flight. attendance into arbitration, bringing an end to a 12-hour strike that shut the airline down during the peak summer travel season. Union leaders say the government is rewarding the company for a refusal to negotiate. The airlines said the impact of the brief walkout could take more than a week to fully restart its operations. The existing contract will stay in effect while Canada's Industrial Relations Board selects an arbitrator who will sit down with both

management and labor between Friday and Sunday air Canada canceled or suspended 966 flights. You're listening to NPR. Support 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.