NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-17-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: August 17, 2025

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I'm Rachel Martin, host of Wildcard from NPR. I've spent years interviewing all kinds of people, and I've realized there are ideas that we all think about, but don't talk about very much. So I made a shortcut, a deck of cards with questions that anyone can answer, questions that go deep into the experiences that shape us. Listen to the Wild Card podcast only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiyvone. Russian President Vladimir Putin is back in Moscow and offering additional comments on Friday's summit meeting in Alaska with President Trump. NPR's Charles Mainz has details.

In a televised meeting with top officials, Putin said his visit to the U.S. had been timely and useful. Putin said the talks allowed him to explain to Trump the true origins of the war in Ukraine, adding that Russia was now closer to a peace deal. Russian officials have widely praised the Kremlin leader's performance in Alaska, where they claimed Trump welcoming Putin in a red carpet ceremony as proof the West political isolation of Moscow is over. Moreover, Trump has since announced he's dropping a demand for an immediate ceasefire, instead embracing a wider peace framework favored by Moscow.

Trump hosts Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House Monday. Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow. The White House is dismissing as insignificant an NPR exclusive that sensitive papers with U.S. State Department identification were found at a public printer at a hotel in Anchorage the morning of the Trump Putin meeting. The papers included a menu and a meeting schedule.

In Israel, a one-day general strike is getting underway in protest of the government's plan to seize control of Gaza City. The stoppage, which is backed by the opposition, was called by the families of hostages and others. They say expanding the war puts those held by Hamas at greater risk. The BBC's Emir Nadir reports.

Today, thousands of Israelis are expected not to attend work and join protests led by hostage families. A number of universities and municipalities have voiced their support of the strike. A week after Israel's controversial announcement that it will invade Gaza's largest city, thousands of Palestinians are already fleeing its southern neighborhoods, having suffered days of heavy bombardment. The Israeli military says from today it will begin allowing tents to be brought in again by aid agencies.

It's expected that Israel wants to forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps in the south. The BBC is Amir Nader. Air Canada says it plans to resume flights today after the Canadian government forced Air Canada and its flight attendance unions into arbitration. A work stoppage disrupted plants for more than 100,000 passengers. That was plenty frustrating for Canadian Amelia Plastina and her family, including her elderly grandparents. Spent six hours trying to get help from Air Canada with no resolve. Every time we called the line would either fail or we'd get disconnected. When we did get through, the only answer that we would receive is we don't know anything.

The work dispute is over wages and pay Air Canada operates about 700 flights a day. Trade will be topic A when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visits Mexico next month. According to senior Canadian officials, Carney and Mexican President Claudia Schaunbaum are looking at diversifying trade as certain sectors, including steel, aluminum, and autos are facing heavy U.S. tariffs. This is NPR News. Hurricane Aaron has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Kekos Islands as winds and heavy rains hit the Virgin Islands in Puerto Rico.

This is the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025. Aaron had reached Category 5 before weakening. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reports Aaron has maximum sustained winds of 125 miles an hour. Britain's National Health Service reportedly plans to pay diet and exercise apps that help patients to lose weight. Vicki Barker reports from London. The NHS has begun prescribing such weight-loss drugs as Mungaro to obese patients, but only if they're accompanied by diet and exercise programs, which are increasingly offered online. Now, the Times of London reports participating diet and lifestyle apps will be paid commissions based on how long,

and how well patients stick with their programs and whether weight loss goals are reached. An executive at one participating company told the times they're happy to be held to that rubric since studies have shown the weight loss apps can be twice as effective as in-person support with patients losing an average of 13 pounds after three years. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. Pope Leo spent the final Sunday of his vacation at Castel Gondolfo with several dozen homeless and poor people and church volunteers who helped them. He celebrated a special mass, followed by lunch with them at the estate, including

lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and rose veal. I'm Louise Skiyvone, NPR News, Washington. There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, here and now any time. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show.

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