NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-19-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

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These days, with all the information coming at you, it can be hard to know what's accurate, what's not, and what's worth your time. Here to help you navigate it all is 1A. Five days a week, the 1A podcast provides a forum for Curia's minds to explore different angles on the biggest headlines and give you a more balanced take on what's happening. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. President Trump says he's started arranging a face-to-face meeting between himself, Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This comes after the White House hosted an all-day meeting between Trump Zelensky and the leaders of Europe

where they discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and their attempts to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict. Trump insists that during his one-on-one summit Friday in Alaska with Putin, the groundwork was laid for additional peace talks. The Alaska Summit reinforced my belief that while difficult pieces within reach, and I believe that 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. At the White House meeting, President Zelensky emphasized the need for U.S. involvement in the security guarantees for Ukraine.

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, says the Justice Department will comply with the subpoena for files related to Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Deidre Walsh reports the deadline is tomorrow. The oversight panel voted last month to subpoena the unredacted Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The disgraced financier and convicted sex offender was charged with sex trafficking in 2019. The committee set an August 19th deadline, but Comer says, DOJ has agreed to begin sending documents starting this Friday. He noted there are many records and it will take some time to send them all. Names of victims and child sex abuse material will be redacted. The panel held a closed-door interview with former Attorney General Bill Barr and

subpoenaed others, including former President Clinton for interviews. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for parts of North Carolina's outer banks as Hurricane Aaron makes its way towards the coast. Shurice Pickett of Member Station WUNC has more. Evacuation orders are in place for Hatteras and Okrakoog Islands in Dair and Hyde counties, where officials are urging residents to leave starting Tuesday morning. While Hurricane Aaron is not expected to make direct landfall, the storm system could increase in size. The National Weather Service says Aaron could bring several days of heavy surf and high winds as well as wash out parts of the main highway on the outer banks.

Coastal flooding is expected to begin as early as Tuesday and last through Thursday. That means beaches in the area are closed, too, at the height of tourism season. For NPR News, I'm Cherise Piggott in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The conservative network Newsmax will pay Dominion voting system $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit Dominion filed against Newsmac over pushing false claims. The 2020 election was stolen. In 2023, Fox News paid $787 million. in a similar claim. You're listening to NPR News.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is closing down, forcing major budget cuts at PBS, and that has many documentary filmmakers scrambling to find other ways to fund and distribute their work. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports streamers are one potential avenue. Streamers Tobey and YouTube told NPR they would love to host more documentaries by indie filmmakers on their platforms. Carrie Lazzano is the president, and CEO of ITVS, one of the country's biggest co-producers of indie documentaries. She says it's tough for most indie films to gain visibility in the profit-driven streaming marketplace because they aren't necessarily made for mass audiences.

Independent documentary has, by and large, always been a non-profit enterprise. So documentarians say they are also leaning into more traditional funding sources, such as corporations, foundations and individual donors. Chloe Veltman, NPR News. Republican governors from three states, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee are sending additional National Guard troops to patrol Washington. The governors say they were responding to requests from the Trump administration, and it breaks to 1,100 the number of military members joining federal police patrolling the Capitol. So far, six states have said they will send troops to D.C. Meanwhile, Washington D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser Monday pushed back on the idea being pushed by President

Trump that D.C. is facing a public safety emergency. She said the effort is more about immigration enforcement. Justice Department figures show crime in Washington, D.C. is now at a 30-year low. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs applies. Bye.