NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-22-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Nearly six months after he was mistakenly deported to his home country of El Salvador, Kilmar Abrago Garcia is going back to Maryland. His attorney confirms Abrago Garcia was released today from a Tennessee jail to return to Maryland, where he will await his human smuggling trial. Abrago Garcia pleaded not guilty to those charges. His case raised concerns nationwide about due process, and the administration standoff with judges over immigration enforcement.

A tour bus carrying more than 50 passengers collided with a semi-truck on the New York throughway near Pembroke in upstate New York. Trooper James O'Callaghan with the New York State Police. We have multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments, and multiple injuries. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The collision has shut down all lanes of the New York Thruway at Pembroke, east of Buffalo. NATO Secretary General said during a visit to Ukraine that the U.S. alliance is determined to provide security guarantees that will deter Russia. NPR's Greg Myrie reports this is part of the ongoing effort to work out and end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The NATO chief, Mark Ruta, spoke at a joint news conference after meeting Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. And we are now working together, Ukraine, the Europeans, the United States, to make sure that the security guarantees are of such a level that Vladimir, Vladimir, which Putin, sitting in Moscow, will never ever try to attack Ukraine again. Zelensky says his country needs support on several fronts, weapons for the current war, diplomacy to end the fighting, and security guarantees to prevent future conflict. Ukraine wants to become a NATO member, but that's not realistic at present. Russia, meanwhile, opposes any NATO forces in Ukraine.

Greg Myrie, NPR News, Kyiv. Stock soared today after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a possibility of lower interest rates in the months to come. NPR Scott Horsley reports Powell spoke to a gathering of economists and central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming today. Powell didn't offer any guarantees of a rate cut at the next Fed meeting in September, saying he and his colleagues will continue to monitor incoming data on inflation and the job market. But Powell did say given current economic conditions, lower interest rates may be warranted. That was enough to rally investors who were already betting that a rate cut is likely when Fed policymakers gather in three and a half weeks.

Powell also said President Trump's tariffs are causing some price hikes, but he added it's hard to know how big or long-lasting those increases will be. At the same time, Trump's crackdown on immigration is limiting growth in the workforce. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. The Dow's closed up 846 points or 1.8%. This is NPR News. The Republican National Committee has elected a new chairman. Florida State Senator Joe Gruders. Roble Bally of member of station W.A.B.E. has details.

The election of Joe Gruders reconfirms the president's hold on the GOP. Remember, this is the president's party. We're going to do everything humanly possible. to help him advance his agenda and make sure that he's successful, so he has a full four-year term. While addressing a meeting of the Republican National Committee, the Florida State Senator and newly elected RNC chair noted there are many factions of the Republican Party. But here's the deal. At the end of the day, whatever party does a better job of uniting the factions and bringing everybody together, we all win at the end. Gruters follows Michael Watley, who's leaving to run for

U.S. Senate in North Carolina. For NPR news, I'm Raul Bally in Atlanta. There's a second day of parole hearings for the Menendez brothers in California. Eric and Lyle Menendez have been in prison for more than 30 years for the high-profile murders of their parents in 1989. Steve Futterman reports. On Thursday, Eric Menendez was denied parole. Now it will be the turn of his brother Lyle Menendez. Many of the same topics raised in the first hearing will also come up today. But even though their cases are very similar, they are not identical. The parole board asked numerous questions to Eric Menendez about his many violations while in prison, especially using cell phones without

permission. Parole board member Robert Barton in issuing the denial said cell phone violations may not seem like a big deal, but it shows a disregard for rules. Listen to this podcast, sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.