NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-17-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: August 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky visited at European Union headquarters in Brussels today for a virtual meeting of some of the countries, willing to provide his country a potential peacekeeping force when the war ends. Terry Schultz reports, despite President Trump's about face on the necessity of his ceasefire, before peace negotiations can begin,

Zelensky is insisting on it. Ukrainian President Zelensky says it would be impossible for him to talk about peace while under attack from Russia. It's necessary to ceasefire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Zelensky was hosted by European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, who tried to bridge the divide on that question between Trump's position and Zelenskies.

Whether we call it a ceasefire or a peace deal, stop the killing. The Coalition of the Willing, countries which may agree to provide military protection for Ukraine at some stage, was meeting to prepare a plan on security backups for Ukraine before Zelensky, von der Leyen, and other European leaders headed off to meet Trump on Monday. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. did make progress last week in Alaska

when President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There were things that were identified in those talks that we just had a couple days ago that made some progress in some directions. Now, obviously, in order for us to get a peace agreement, Ukraine has to be a part of it. They have to be included. They have to be involved. That's why the president called them on the phone. Immediately after we got on the airplane within an hour, he talked to him for long periods of time. Rubio was interviewed on ABCs this week. He said that ultimately, if these efforts don't work out,

there will have to be additional consequences to Russia. Demonstrations are being held across Israel today, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas. The families called for a nationwide strike. Some protesters, block streets and highways, including the main route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Police say that dozens of protesters were arrested. The D.C. National Guard says its troops deployed on city streets may be armed. Previously, the Pentagon said patrolling troops were not carrying lethal weapons. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. More than 800 soldiers and airmen have been deployed

into the nation's capital as of Saturday. The D.C. National Guard says troops have kept to areas surrounding federal lands and monuments assisting other federal agencies. As of Sunday morning, the troops were not yet armed, according to Army senior master sergeant Craig Clapper. But Clapper says guard members may be armed consistent with their mission and training. Meanwhile, the Republican governor of West Virginia deployed 350 National Guard troops to D.C. President Trump declared a crime emergency in D.C. taking partial control of the local police. Violent crime in D.C. hit its lowest level in more than 30 years in 2024. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

You're listening to NPR News. New York Police are looking for those responsible for a mass shooting at a club in Brooklyn early this morning. Three people were killed and nine others were wounded. Officials say multiple shooters were involved. Police recovered at least 42 shell casings. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooting is an anomaly that this year the city has seen gun violence at a record low. Air Canada says flights are set to resume after flight attendants were ordered back to work. As Dan Carpenchuk reports, the airline says it will take several days before operations return to normal. The Canada Industrial Relations Board directed the airline

to have flight attendants back to work by Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, with the strike less than 12 hours old, Canada's jobs minister ordered an end to the strike in lockout and forced binding arbitration to end the dispute. Patty Heidu said the potential negative impact of the strike on Canadians and the economy was too great. The 10,000 flight attendants walked out after talks on a new contract failed. The main issue, wages. The union is accused Ottawa of caving in to Air Canada's demands. The strike caused travel chaos as customers scrambled to find alternative airlines. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. Voters are going to the polls in Bolivia today in presidential and congressional elections.

The movement towards socialism party could lose power for the first time in almost 20 years. The economy is a major issue with Bolivia experiencing the highest inflation in 40 years. If no one presidential candidate wins the majority of votes, a runoff election will be held in October. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News, in Washington.