NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-21-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Hurst. Israel's military is mobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered military officials to speed up preparations to take control of Gaza City. And here's Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. Israel's military says it's calling up 60,000 new reservist soldiers to report for duty beginning in September. That will bring the total number of mobilized reservists to 120,000. thousand. It's part of the military's plans to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza City, encircle the city, and send soldiers to battle Hamas inside the city. It's one of

the last major areas Israel has not yet taken over in Gaza. Israel considers it a Hamas stronghold. Israel is considering a ceasefire deal Hamas endorsed on Monday to release half of the hostages in Gaza. Daniel Estrin NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump says he plans to to ride along tonight with the police and National Guard forces. M.P.R. Franco, Ordonez, has more on Trump's latest show of his commitment to wiping out what he calls rampant crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C. President Trump said in an interview on a conservative talk radio show, the Todd Starns show, that he plans to go on patrol with the D.C. police and national guard forces in the nation's capital. I'm going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police, with the, with the police, with the, and with the military, of course. So we're going to do a job.

The White House did not have any immediate confirmation or comment on Trump's plans. Trump earlier this month invoked emergency powers to try and take control the Metropolitan Police Department. He also deployed National Guard soldiers and sent hundreds of federal law enforcement officials into the city. Franco, Ordojonez, NPR News, the White House. The California State House has passed a bill to redraw it. the state's congressional lines. It's a retaliatory plan, with Democrats eyeing a handful of currently Republican seats to offset the GOP's attempt to pick up more seats in Texas. The state Senate is expected to pass it. Once California's governor signs it, it can go before voters this

November. For member station KQED, Guy Marzerati has more. Democrats in California are hoping to flip five House districts held by Republicans to match the five-seats-G-O-P law-making. in Texas are eyeing with their own redistricting plan. California's current district lines are drawn by a voter-created commission, so Democrats will need voter approval to pass the plan. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzorati in San Jose. And the Texas State Senate meets tonight to vote on the redistricting plan passed by that state house that's likely to give Republicans five more seats in the midterms.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack in Western Ukraine overnight, slamming into an American electronics factory, causing extensive damage and leaving more than a dozen people injured. It's one of Russia's biggest airstrikes with more than 570 drones and 40 missiles, injecting further uncertainty into the U.S.-led efforts to end the three-year-old war that Russia started. Ukrainian President Zelensky has condemned this latest attack and is urging stronger international press. pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions. Conservative evangelical Christian leader James Dobson has died. He was 89 years old. As M.PERS Jason DeRose reports, he founded the influential media organization, Focus on the Family.

James Dobson created Focus on the Family in 1977 and through its syndicated radio program helped bring the culture wars to the mainstream. Dobson's shows focused on opposing abortion rights and challenging sex education. and evolution being taught in public schools. A particular area of emphasis was his opposition to LGBTQ plus rights, including same-sex marriage and adoptions by same-sex couples. In 2004, Dobson founded a lobbying organization called the Family Policy Institute. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all ministers in the Church of the Nazarene,

but James Dobson himself wasn't officially a minister. Rather, he trained as a psychologist. Jason DeRose, NPR News. All straight lower by the closing bell, the Dowdown 152 points, NASDAQ down 72. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.