NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-20-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

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On the next due line from NPR, the man who saw a dangerous omission in the U.S. Constitution and took it upon himself to fix it. If something happened to a president who was still alive, the consequences for the country would have been enormous. The 25th Amendment. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Lawmakers in Texas have approved a new congressional map that's aimed at helping Republicans pick up in additional five seats in next year's midterm elections as requested by President Trump. Andrew Schneider from Houston Public Media reports the proposal will next head to the state Senate. Democrats had left the state for two weeks to try to slow the passage. Democratic State Representative John Rosenthal called the entire process, quote, a sham from beginning to end.

If you're losing a game so badly that you feel the need to change the referees and change the rules to help you win, maybe it's time to have a look in the mirror. Republican State Representative Todd Hunter, the author of the redistricting bill, said repeatedly that the aim of the bill was to enable Republicans to maximize Republican political performance, which he said has been allowed by the courts. Democrats countered the bill was racial gerrymandering, which is illegal. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. American farmers are trying to reassure their international customers that they should keep doing business with the United States, despite uncertainty amid President Trump's trade war.

NPR's Kirk Sigler has been talking to wheat farmers in the Pacific Northwest. The wheat harvest is wrapping up in eastern Washington. Almost all of this wheat is exported to Asia. President Trump's tariffs are only on imports, but farmers like Jim Moyer are worried that countries they export to will levy retaliation. retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. or businesses will just go elsewhere due to the politics and instability here. We have the uncertainty of very difficult financial times with the uncertainty of our markets. During a recent trade delegation, Moyer and other Pacific Northwest farmers promoted the high quality of their wheat that's in demand. They told delegates U.S. trade policy may be uncertain, but trade relationships built up over decades are here to stay.

Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Pullman, Washington. President Trump is calling on a member of the central bank's governing board to resign. After allegation, she made false statements on mortgage applications. NPR, Scott Horsley reports Trump is in the midst of a high-pressure campaign to get the Fed to lower interest rates. This comes after Bill Pulte, a Trump loyalist who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leveled charges about a couple of loan applications that could, Cook made back in 2021, a year before she joined the Fed board. Pulte says Cook applied for two different home loans, two weeks apart, one in Michigan,

the other in Georgia, and claimed on each application that the home would be her primary residence. That's NPR, Scott Horsley, reporting. At the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 16 points. This is NPR News. Hurricane Erin is moving toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina, prompting evacuation orders in some areas. Cherie's Piggott of Member Station WUNC reports. Erin is expected to bring a storm surge that could cause potential flooding and dangerous tropical winds to the region. A storm surge warning and a tropical storm warning remain in effect for parts of the coast of North Carolina.

Chief Jack Scarborough, with the local rescue squad in the Outer Banks, says although emerging, officials are ready, the storm surge could potentially limit their ability. While we are ready, we are also concerned that with the impacts we are expected to see, we may not be able to. With two to four feet of storm surge and large breaking waves pushing water inland over the next couple of days, we may not be able to respond. The National Weather Service says the greatest hazards in North Carolina continue to be life-threatening rip currents and ocean overwash. For NPR news, I'm Cherise Piggott in Chapel Hill. It's never too late to start a family.

A pair of 100-year-old tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo just became parents. Mommy arrived back in 1932 and had never laid a single leg. But five years ago, Abrazzo showed up. Now the slowest love story in zoo history has a baby boom with 16 hatchlings. The first four females that hatched in the spring were named Sophia, Blanche, Dorothy and Rose, after the characters in the hit TV show, The Golden Girls. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News in Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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