NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-22-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

NPR News: 08-22-2025 2PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Jesse Thorne. On Bullseye, we'll talk with Eugenio Derbez. Did you know that he voices donkey in Shrek? In the Spanish language, Shrek. I feel that the donkeys are Mexican, basically. So it sounds more Mexican in Spanish. Derbiz, one of the most famous people in Mexico. It's on Bolzai for Maximumfund.org and NPR. Live from NPR news, I'm Lakshmi Singh. NPR has learned that the FBI searches of former ambassador John Bolton's Washington, D.C. area home and office today are linked to his handling of classified documents. That is according to two sources familiar with the probe who are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Bolton served as a national security advisor in President Trump's first term, but the men had fundamental disagreements over foreign policy and Bolton was ousted.

He remains fiercely critical of President Trump's president. see. President Trump says he hopes Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin can end the war Russia started in Ukraine without his help. This comes after Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lovov, said no meeting with Zelensky is currently planned. Here's NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben. A reporter asked Trump about Lavrov's comment. We're going to see if Putin and Zelensky will be working together, you know, that's like oil and vinegar a little bit. They don't get along too well. for obvious reasons, but we'll see, and then we'll see whether or not I would have to be there.

I'd rather not. I'd rather have them have a meeting and see how they can do. After meeting with Zelensky and other European leaders earlier this week, Trump said he wanted Putin and Zelensky to meet first, followed by a trilateral meeting, including Trump. After a recent meeting with Putin, Trump grew more sympathetic to Russia's desire for a peace negotiation as opposed to an immediate ceasefire. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House. The administration has rescinded long-standing guidance for schools on the rights of students who are learning English.

Here's NPR's Janet Oolong-Gee. Crafters of the Obama-era guidance argued that its purpose was to comply with the Civil Rights Act, that all students shouldn't be discriminated by their national origin and can, quote, have equal access to high-quality education. An ed department spokesperson wrote in a statement to NPR that the now rescinded guidance was overly prescriptive and micromanaging of how states implement English learning programs and that each state should be able to independently decide how to best educate non-English-speaking students. Roughly five million public school students in the United States

don't yet speak English. Janet Ujongli, NPR News. The Texas Senate plans to vote today on a state-house-approved plan to redraw the congressional map. The GOP stands to gain five seats. California Democrats are forging ahead with a redistricting plan of their own. Cap Radio's Laura Fitzgerald has more.

The California's redistricting process is going to look a lot different than how it looks in Texas. Here, we have an independent commission of citizens that redraws political lines instead of politicians. And that's all outlined in our state constitution. So voters here have to decide whether we can bypass that commission through 2030 and let this new map, which has been drawn to the Democratic advantage, take effect. Laura Fitzgerald, reporting, it's NPR News. Almost 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina stunned the country since the disaster scientists have made great strides in forecasting and understanding hurricanes. NPR's Alejandro Burunda reports on their progress and how it might stall. After Katrina, the federal government decided it wanted to make better hurricane forecasts.

So it developed a program called the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project. Efforts focused on making better computer models and getting better observations of the storms themselves. And it worked really well. Gabe Becky is a scientist at Princeton University. That was one of those investments in research that paid off. Forecasts are so much better now. They save the country about $2 billion per hurricane by helping people plan better for the disaster.

That's according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But the Trump administration has cut funding and support for many of the entities involved. And now scientists worry progress could stall. Alejandra Burunda, NPR News. Baby panda shenanigans stirring chuckles in adoration from spectators at the Berlin Zoo, the moment posted on the Uri News website. Meng Hao and Meng Chun, also known as Lenny and Lottie, wrestled with each other as their caretaker celebrated the twins' first birthday today.

The pandas dined on frozen vegetable treats and were honored with a candle made out of bamboo shoots. U.S. stocks are higher this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial average up 879 points or nearly 2%. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Listen to this podcast, sponsor-free on Amazon Music, with a prime membership, or any podcast app, by subscribing to NPR NewsNow Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.