NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-19-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: August 19, 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 Kourva Coleman. President Trump says he has started planning for a meeting, between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky

to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump met the Ukrainian leader at the White House yesterday, and then he met with European leaders who joined them later. And Paris Charles Mainz reports from Moscow, Putin spoke with Trump yesterday in the midst of these meetings. Late last night, Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov confirmed Putin and Trump had talked for some 40 minutes. And Ushakov said, and I'll quote here, the possibility of raising the level of direct contacts between Moscow and Kiev was discussed. Zelensky said Russia had called for a one-on-one meeting with Putin and Zelensky before a follow-on meeting. They would include Trump as well.

And Zelensky had accepted it. He said that only on the level of leaders could the most painful and important issues be discussed. And P.R. Charles Main's reporting. This morning, Trump told Fox News that he hopes Putin will be, quote, good. Trump says if Putin is not, it will be a rough situation. The country of Jordan is bringing back. compulsory military service. As NPR's Jane Arraff reports, the move comes amid worries that Jordan's neighbor, Israel, will try to expand across the region. Jordan abolished compulsory service in 1991.

The plan announced Monday, we'll start with 18-year-old men doing three months of training. The Israeli right-wing extremist behavior is a direct attack on the security of the region. communications minister Muhammad Mamani told reporters in announcing details of the plan. Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, but it has long feared that the Israeli government will expel more Palestinians to the kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week expressed support for a greater Israel, a concept that would envision Israel taking over Jordan and other countries. Jane Arraf, NPR News, Amman.

A judge in Oregon is allowing a Saudi human rights activist to proceed with a lawsuit. The suit is against former executives employed by a surveillance technology company in the United Arab Emirates. NPO's Jenna McLaughlin reports this is one of the first cases of its kind. Saudi activist Lujan al-Hathlul is well known for her advocacy for women's rights, including to drive. She says spying software installed on her phone led in part to her imprisonment and torture in Saudi Arabia, where she remains under a travel ban. That's the subject of a lawsuit against three former executives for the Emirati Technology Company, Dark Matter Group.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants employed their backgrounds in U.S. intelligence to compromise El Haasloull's personal phone, including while she was in the United States. U.S. District Judge Karen Imurgut has ruled that the case can proceed. In her ruling, the judge concludes the defendants likely knew El Haslul was in the U.S., but targeted her phone anyway. Jenna McLaughlin reporting, is NPR. A group of large non-profit foundations says they're joining forces to support local public

radio and television stations. This follows a decision by Congress and President Trump this summer to eliminate all federal funding for the corporation for public broadcasting. The agency provided funds to public radio and TV stations. Officials with the Knight Foundation say the consortium will commit nearly $37 million to provide immediate relief to public media, media stations that are at risk of closure. Some members of this consortium are also financial supporters of NPR. In parts of rural Kenya, roughly 40 of every 1,000 babies die before they turn a year old. But as NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, new research suggests simply giving households extra money could cut that death rate by half. From 2014 to 2017, the nonprofit

give directly gave $1,000 to over $10,000 of the most cash-strapers. households across western Kenya. A team of researchers followed those households and found that cash made a big difference for those that had kids. Not only did infant mortality drop by nearly half, but 45% fewer children died before they turned five. The benefits were highest among households who got cash right around the time of birth, and who lived within 30 minutes of a health care facility. Those reductions are about in line with more established interventions like anti-malarial drugs or vaccines. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

Forecasters say Hurricane Aaron has been downgraded to a category two storm. Top sustained winds are 110 miles per hour. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News. 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. Check out here and now anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.