NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-19-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

NPR News: 08-19-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. The FBI is adding Missouri's Attorney General to its ranks. As St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum reports, Andrew Bailey comes to the investigative agency after a controversial tenure. Bailey is resigning in September to become the FBI's co-deputy director alongside Dan Bongino. After getting appointed as Missouri's Attorney General in 2022, Bailey attracted Native nationwide controversy after he unsuccessfully sought to bar transgender adults from accessing gender-affirming care. He's also sought to preserve Missouri's abortion restrictions after voters there passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. Bailey is joining the FBI amid a firestorm over its handling of files related to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum and St. Louis. President Trump says he 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 Monday 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 insisted that during his one-on-one summit Friday in Alaska with Putin, the groundwork was laid for additional 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 security guarantees for Ukraine. After Congress cut its funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last month, The CPB now says it will no longer be able to manage a three-year grant program to provide warnings ahead of natural disasters. This also includes money for communities across the country, including many rural areas. NPR's Awana Archie has more. CPB partners with local public media stations and phone carriers to make emergency communications more effective and widely accessible. CPB says if communities don't get the grant money, they won't be able to buy vital equipment that, sends out alerts during emergencies. It also says, unless FEMA can distribute money out on its own,

the stations won't get it. In 2022, Congress approved more than $100 million for the program over three years. The Corporation of Public Broadcasting has previously partnered with FEMA to administer the funds. But now, CPB is shutting down after Congress voted last month to strip CPB of federal funds. Ayanna Archie, NPR News. Stacks were mixed Monday on Wall Street, and you're listening to NPR News. In its latest report, the National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Aaron is turning northwesterly in the Atlantic Ocean at seven miles per hour, and its maximum sustained winds have slowed slightly to 120 miles per hour. Along the East Coast, a storm surge warning is

in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina. Officials say as Aaron moves towards the north part of the Atlantic, there's the possibility of life-threatening inundation from rising water for the next 48 hours. Air Canada has again suspended plans to resume flights today as a unionized flight attendants refuse to comply with a federal back-to-work order. From Toronto, Dan Carpenchuk reports the union for about 10,000 attendance says the only place now is to go back to the bargaining table. Air Canada is asking travelers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking with another airline. The airline hoped to resume flights this evening after canceling yesterday's operations, but the flight attendants are defying the

federal back-to-work order for the second day. The Industrial Relations Board has declared the strike illegal and has ordered the union to send its members back to work. Prime Minister Mark Carney says it's important that the flight attendants are compensated equitably at all times and fairly at all times. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. The U.S. Coast Guard and other officials are at the site of the former Key Bridge in Baltimore. This after a cargo ship carrying coal exploded sending a fireball into the air. No injuries are reported the fire has been contained. The ship remained to float and is being removed from the Patapsco River. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News. Support for NPR.