NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-18-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: August 18, 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 Corva Coleman.

President Trump is set to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr, Zelensky to the White House today. But Zelensky is not coming alone. He's being joined by more than half a dozen European leaders who all want to speak with Trump about Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in Alaska. Former NATO's Supreme Commander and retired U.S. General Wesley Clark says Putin is trying to stall efforts to get to a ceasefire. He has then threatened the European not to get engaged. He twisted President Trump's determination to get the ceasefire. And so he's able to keep the military pressure on and extend the talks indefinitely. Trump has now put new pressure on Ukraine's leader to end the war and

possibly give up territory. Those would be difficult conditions for Ukraine to accept. It's not clear what concessions Trump is expecting a Russia's leader. President Trump's militarization of Washington, D.C. is entering its second week with more National Guard troops on the way. Community leaders in the nation's capital say they're trying to do. to maintain calm. NPR's Brian Mann reports. Hundreds more soldiers from Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia are joining the National Guard deployment here to support what Trump describes as an effort to crack down on crime. In a public letter, Mayor Muriel Bowser called the situation a crisis and said residents are facing waves of anxiety as soldiers and mass federal agents patrol the

city. Christian Watkins, a minister at one of D.C.'s predominantly black churches, says local leaders are on the streets trying to prevent clashes between residents. and troops. It is my prayer that the resistance is a peaceful one to bring truth to light that this is manufactured chaos. Republicans who control Congress have backed this deployment, Trump hasn't offered a clear exit strategy. Ryan Mann, NPR News, Washington. Hurricane Aaron remains a major Category 4 storm. Its top sustained winds are 130 miles per hour. Aaron is not predicted to hit the U.S. East Coast, but it is expected to trigger rip currents and dangerous surf all along the eastern seaboard. It's been nearly a year since Hurricane Haleen

hit the Florida Gulf Coast and then traveled inland for hundreds of miles. It triggered damage well north of the coast. From member station WETS, Chad Barrett reports recovery efforts are still ongoing in Tennessee State Parks. Hurricane 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 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. On Wall Street

and pre-market trading, Dow futures are lower. It's NPR. It's still raining heavily across South Asia today. This comes as rescuers in Pakistan are searching for scores of people who went missing in flash flooding. This disaster has already killed at least 277 people in northern Pakistan. In the U.S., it may still feel like high 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 schoolers 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 throughout the year. Amy Held and PR News. Native American and indigenous activists who organize the largest powwow in North America say next year's event will be their last. The last such cultural event known as the Gathering of Nations powwow will be held next April in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organizers said simply, there comes a time. The event

Then features indigenous dancers, musicians, and artists from around the world. It's NPR. 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 about dumpster diving on this show.

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