NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-17-2025 7AM 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 Skiyavoni. Local opposition continues unabated as the Trump administration attempts to take over policing in the District of Columbia. Bruce Givens of Maryland was in the city of Washington protesting this weekend. I am out here because Trump is a fascist. He is taking over our country. He's literally shredding the Constitution.

And PR's Brian Mann has more on the story. Some policing experts say they're alarmed by Trump's chaotic bid to assume control of Washington's street cops. Rosa Brooks is a former Washington, D.C. Reserve Police officer who teaches at Georgetown Law School. I think it's actually quite dangerous, right? Whenever you have lots and lots of armed people and lack of clarity about who's in charge, you have a really risky situation. Brooks is also troubled by Trump's statement that he wants this intervention repeated in other American cities. That's quite scary. The idea of troops on the street stopping you because you committed a traffic violation, it's unprecedented. Brian Mann, NPR News, Washington. British Prime Minister Sekeir Starmor is co-chairing a video call with European allies today

one day before President Zelensky's visit to the White House. Vicki Barker has more. Sunday's video call was to be co-hosted with Keir Starmers, French and German counterparts. Disheartened by Trump's abandoning his demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The leaders were discussing how to protect a peace deal that doesn't reward Russia for its aggression. In public, Starmer has praised President Trump, saying the Anchorage Summit, quote, brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. Britain's press has been less diplomatic. Trump supports Putin land grab is the telegraph's headline, while the Sunday

mail quotes former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in calling Anchorage, quote, the most vomit-inducing Summit in Diplomatic History. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. The State Department says it is stopping all visas for people from Gaza to conduct a review of its process used for humanitarian medical visas. NPR's Ritu Chartergey reports. The State Department announced on X that it's conducting a, quote, full and thorough review, close quote, of the process for medical humanitarian visas.

These visas have been granted to injured children from Gaza and their family members to receive medical care in the U.S. Edward Ahmed Mijl is with the Council on American Islamic Relations. It is sheer cruelty. It is literally going to put the lives of more children at risk. The State Department did not immediately respond to an interview request, and it's unclear how many of such visas it's granted in recent months, but on X, it described the number as small. Reto Chattagy and PR News. NPR. Hurricane Aaron opened with Category 5 intensity this weekend, but it is now weakened to

category three. The storm's outer bands are pelting the Virgin Islands in Puerto Rico with wind and heavy rain. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caco's Islands. Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, recovery efforts are still ongoing at some Tennessee state parks. Chad Barrett with Member Station WETS has more. Haleen caused the temporary closure of four Tennessee state parks. All except for David Crockett

Birthplace State Park have at least partially reopened to the public. Chelsea Walters is a mounted patrol park ranger at the park. We are definitely in the middle of recovery still. It's not over yet. We are still working on silt and mud removal. Two state parks in northeast Tennessee continue their efforts in fully clearing trails and reopening some still closed campgrounds. For NPR news, I'm Chad Barrett in Johnson City, Tennessee. already say heavy flooding has killed at least 300 people. Rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from homes that were flattened by heavy rains and landslides with forecasts of more rain expected in the coming days. One witness described seeing floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders

and tons of rocks crashing down. Pakistan's meteorological department forecast continued heavy rain and potentially more monsoon activity in the coming week. Small-scale solar panels about the size of a door are expected to gain in popularity in the U.S. now that solar credits are changing in the GOP tax bill. The panels are known as plug-in or balcony solar. I'm Luis Giovanni and PR News. 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 anytime. 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.

talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out here and now anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.