NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-18-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. European and NATO leaders are expected to join Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today. They're arriving this hour ahead of Zelensky. It's unclear if any of them will be in the room when the Ukrainian leader meets with President Trump. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports. Trump is expected to lean on Ukraine to take a deal with Russia that involves giving up territory, but will also likely dangle U.S. security guarantees to prevent another invasion. Trump's special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, said on CNN's state of the union

that the security guarantees are, quote, game-changing. We were able to win the following concession that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection. He's referring to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which says that an attack against one of its members is considered an attack on all. Franco, Ordonias, NPR News. Democratic state lawmakers in Texas have ended their two-week walkout over state Republicans and President Trump's plan to gain five new GOP congressional seats through a redrawn map mid-decade. We say the two conditions for their return have been met. The first special session ended Friday, and California's introduced a map to redistrict its congressional seats.

NPR's Bobby Allen has more on California governor, Gavin Newsom's response. Newsom is backing a plan heading toward California. California voters November that could shake up the state's political landscape. The governor says there will be a special election on November 4th to ask voters approval of redrawing the state's congressional districts to give Democrats five more seats in the House. The controversial push is an attempt to counter Texas's own plan to redraw districts to give Republicans more seats. It's high-stakes partisan maneuvering that could determine who controls the House after the 2026 midterms. But the effort in California is drawing loud criticism, including from former governor,

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is rallying around the phrase terminate gerrymandering. Bobby Allen, NPR News. Several big retailers will be talking this week about their sales and profits for the most recent quarter. NPR Scott Horsley reports the news could carry a signal about the strength of consumer spending, which is the biggest driver of the U.S. economy. Walmart, Home Depot, and Target stores all report their quarterly earnings this week. Investors will be listening for clues about how shoppers are spending money and possible price hikes.

Wholesale prices jumped more than expected last month. Retail sales rose by half a percent. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks on Friday at the annual Jackson Hull Conference of economists and central bankers. The Fed's nearly finished with its long-range policy review, which it does once every five years. Back in 2020, the central bank said it would not raise interest rates preemptively just because of a tight job market. But after several years of inflation, that's above target, the Fed's strategy could shift

to underscore the importance of stable prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. Well, it may still feel like the height of summer, but for some students, it's high time to hit the books. NPR's Amy held reports back to school is now happening well before Labor Day. In Arizona, Katie Levy lamented on TikTok about her high schooler's mid-July start. For regular school. Not summer school. Regular school. That's so not fair.

If fair means the same, it isn't. The Pew Research Center finds substantial regional variations. The Southwest may start weeks before the southeast, where back to school tends to be early August. In the northeast, many go back in September. Reasons for schools bumping up their start dates vary. Many say it maximizes learning. In the San Francisco Bay area, they cite more time for spring standardized testing. And Atlanta officials say it's better to scatter more breaks through.

throughout the year. Amy held and PR News. In Norway, the son of Crown Princess Metaup-Marit is being charged with rape and other violent crimes. Marius Borgoeby is expected to stand in trial next year. A local prosecutor says OIPI faces up to a decade in prison if convicted of the most serious charges. The 28-year-old has no royal title or official duties and he denies the charges. MSNBC will soon be MSNBC. Now, the company says it's changing its name to My Source News Opinion World, and it's also dropping its peacock logo. All Part of Comcast's plan to spin off a new company called Versaunt. It'll include CNBC and other NBC Universal cable channels.

This is NPR News.