NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-18-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump says he's hoping to schedule a trilateral meeting with himself and President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. NPR's Tamri Keith report Zelenskyy and European leaders are at the White House today in a follow-up to Trump's Alaska summit with Putin. At the start of the White House meeting, European leaders expressed cautious optimism, as President Trump outlined the contours of a potential peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. In a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine, and this is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we're going to be considering that at the table also, like, who will do what? But he added there would likely need to be a possible exchange of territory where Russia has made gains. Trump said he hoped a trilateral meeting would be possible very soon, and Zelensky echoed that hope. Tamara Keith, NPR News. House Democrats in Texas have ended their two-week walkout. The return sets the stage for passage of a new congressional map that favors the GOP and next year's midterm elections.

Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider, has more. Texas speaker of the House Dustin Burroughs said the time had come for the chamber to get back to business. This body has endured wars, economic depressions, and quorum breaks dating back to the very first session. It will withstand this too, and what will remain in is a chamber where the majority has the right to prevail and the minority has the right to be heard. That said, Burroughs announced that those Democrats for whom arrest warrants had been issued would only be allowed to leave the chamber in the custody of Department of Public Safety Troopers who would ensure their return on Wednesday. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.

And new studies suggest that doctors may quickly become dependent on artificial intelligence after it's introduced. NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports, some worry, it could affect health outcomes. The study looked at colonoscopies conducted in Poland. Doctors were given an AI system that draws a green box around a polyp in real time. It worked, but when the AI was switched off, the doctors appeared to flag fewer polyps than they did before they had it. Marchim Romanchak led the study. He thinks doctors might be too quick to rely on AI. We are subconsciously waiting for the green box to come out and show us the region or the polyps,

and we are not paying so much attention. But other researchers say further study is needed to actually determine whether there's a drop in detection. The work appears in the journal Lancetorology and Hepatology. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. Stocks traded mixed on Wall Street today. The Dow was down 34 points at the close. The NASDA Composite up six. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Another defamation lawsuit related to false claims about the 2020 election has been settled. This time with cable news network Newsmax, paying millions without admitting any wrongdoing. Maddie Laria reports from Delaware, where the case. had been scheduled to go to trial this fall. Newsmax media has agreed to pay Dominion voting systems $67 million to avoid a six-week trial. The judge hearing the case already ruled that Newsmax had aired false and defamatory claims about election fraud in 2020. Jurors would have been asked to decide whether Newsmax had acted with actual malice. Last year, Newsmax agreed to settle a similar defamation case brought by a different voting systems company, Smartmatic USA, for

$40 million. Together, those settlements are but a fraction of the $787 million Fox News agreed to pay Dominion in 2023 to settle a separate defamation lawsuit linked to broadcasting false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. For NPR News, I'm Maddie Laria in Dover, Delaware. Flight attendants remain on strike against Air Canada. The work stoppage comes despite a government order that they go back on the job. The union is calling the order unconstitutional and designed to protect the airline's profit. One of the major sticking points is compensation. Flight attendants are largely paid only when the plane is moving,

but not for time spent before and during the boarding process. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.