NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-18-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

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Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the shortwave podcast from NPR. Live from NPR news, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Hi, Stakes Talks on the Russia-Ukraine War. underway at the White House. A short time ago, President's Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine took reporters' questions. President Trump says today could lead to three-way talks with Russian Ukraine.

If everything works out well today, we'll have a trilat. And I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that. They were asked about President Vladimir Putin's demands at last Friday's Russia-U.Summit for the cessation of Ukrainian land as a condition for peace. Zelensky has repeatedly opposed land concessions, although he did not wait into those waters in front of reporters today. I think we show that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the United States of personal health, President Trump, to stop this war to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war. The meeting so far has been notably warmer than last February when their heated Oval Office Exchange abruptly ended with the Ukrainian delegation's unceremonious exit. This time, European and NATO leaders have accompanied Zelensky to the White House. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben has more on that. A gathering of this many European leaders at the White House at such short notice is extraordinary

and shows how concerned these leaders are as Trump attempts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday and said they had made progress towards peace. After a meeting between Zelensky and Trump, they and the European leaders will meet altogether. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reporting. In other news, it's been two years since the Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill. People can buy this without a prescription. Well, a new study shows that this change has been effective in increasing access to contraception. Here's NPR's Katie Riddle. The study is from Oregon Health and Sciences University. It shows a nearly 32 percentage point increase in people who shifted to using the pill from no contraception at all. Dr. Maria Rodriguez is one of the lead authors. I was super excited about them because it showed exactly what I thought and hoped we would see, which is that the over-the-counter pill is reaching individuals that have the greatest structural barriers

to obtaining contraception from the health system. It especially helps those who are uninsured and live in rural areas. Katie Riddle and PR News. Evacuations are in effect for Hatteras Island at Okrakoe Island, And while all areas of North Carolina's Dair County are under a state of emergency, the regions preparing for tropical force winds, dangerous waves, and rip currents from Hurricane Aaron churning in the Caribbean. Hurricane regained strength today. It is not expected, though, to make landfall in the eastern U.S. stocks are trading lower this hour with the Dow down 59 points at 44,886. This is NPR News. Amtrak is returning to the Mississippi coast for the first time in 20 years.

The new service will connect Mobile and New Orleans, years after Hurricane Katrina damaged the tracks. Stephen Besaha of the Gulf States Newsroom took an early ride on the train line. I'm on the train going to New Orleans, and it really is a beautiful ride. I mean, the water looking out the window is sparkling, the Gulf Coast. And each Mississippi stop we've been to, it has exceeded expectations as far as I can. huge crowds and excitement with brass bands, really celebrating the first time this train has gone through here in 20 years since Hurricane Katrina ended the service 20 years ago. That's Stephen Basaha of the Gulf States Newsroom. The leaders of Mexico, Guatemala, and

Belize have agreed to create a massive new nature preserve. NPR's Ada Peralta reports it covers 14 million acres of the Mayan rainforest. The three heads of state signed the agreement in southern Mexico near Kalakmul, an important Mayan archaeological site that sits in the middle of a jungle. Mexico's president, Claudio Shainbaum, said the area represents the second biggest nature preserve in the Americas following the Amazon rainforest. Shainbaum said the expansive jungle is much more than a preserve. Sheimam said the area represents lungs for our planet, home to thousands of animal species, in the heart of, quote, an invaluable cultural legacy that she says must be preserved for the future.

Adapralta, NPR News, Mexico City. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, in Washington. The wisecracking dude with a million side hustles who can't get out of his own way, that's a classic comedy character. On codes which we're wondering, how do you keep it funny when that character is also trying to navigate the U.S. immigration system? I chop it up with the creator and star of the Netflix comedy Mo to find out. Check it out on Code Switch from NPR wherever you get your podcast.