NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-22-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

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It's that time of gear again. Planet Money Summer School is back. This semester with help from professors, policy experts, and yes, even a Nobel laureate, we're diving into how government and the economy mixed and asking the big questions like, what role should government play in our economy? Does government intervention help or hurt and how big should the government be? That's on Planet Money Summer School from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Madengly. A report out today says Gaza is in famine amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The finding is from a group of UN-backed experts who say more than a half million people in northern Gaza are facing catastrophic food shortages.

President Trump says he's pleased with the results thus far of his decision to place Washington, D.C. police under federal control and to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops in an effort to reduce crime in the nation's capital. We've had some incredible results. The results have come out, and it's like a different place. It's like a different city. The president was speaking yesterday as he visited with federal agents and guard members at an operation center in Washington. More than 600 people have been arrested in D.C. since the president made the move. Washington's mayor, Muriel Bowser, is among those who said the action was unnecessary, citing drops and crime rates there. A federal judge in Miami is ordering the shutdown of an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, referred to as alligator Alcatraz by the president and state officials. NPR's Greg Allen says Environmental Group sued to block the facility.

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit saying that the hasty construction of the detention center without public input or an environmental impact statement violated federal law. Florida and the Trump administration argued that because it was built by the state, federal law didn't apply. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams disagreed, noting that the camp was built at the request of the administration and that all immigration enforcement activities at the camp are under federal control. Quoting an earlier court decision, she said, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it's a duck. Williams ordered all activities at the site to shut down within 60 days. Florida says it's appealing her decision. Greg Allen in PR News, Miami. A New York-based think tank says more than 200,000.

and people in the U.S. are considered to be stateless. NPR's Jacqueline Diaz explains. Being stateless means there is no country that recognizes you as a citizen, as with certain minorities in Myanmar and Kuwait. It's a little-known subset of immigrants in the U.S., but according to the Centers for Migration Studies, the community numbers around 218,000. The U.S. has no legal framework to recognize stateless individuals, leaving them in limbo. According to Laura Bingham, with Temple University, this leaves them especially vulnerable under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. We don't have a status determination. There's no protection. You're effectively the most vulnerable undocumented person. With no country to send them to, Bingham says stateless people face increased risk of prolonged detention if arrested.

Jacqueline Diaz, NPR News. This is NPR News from Washington. Voters in California will decide in November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill yesterday that calls for a special election to decide the issue. Democrats in the California legislature approved of the redistricting effort in response to Republican lawmakers in Texas trying to do the same. A new congressional map in Texas has been approved by the State House. Final approval in the State Senate is also expected. Wall Street will be watching today's speech by 50.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He'll be addressing economists and central bankers at a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, this will be Powell's final address to the annual gathering as leader of the Fed. Hal's speech comes as the Federal Reserve is under mounting pressure from the White House to lower interest rates. Investors will be listening for any clues the Fed chairman may offer about what he and his colleagues might do at their next rate-setting meeting in September. With inflation still elevated and signs of weeks, in the job market, though, Powell may simply say they're keeping their options open. Powell will also discuss the Fed's longer-range balancing act as it tries to promote both

stable prices and maximum employment. It's been five years since the Fed's last big strategy review. Since then, policymakers have gotten a painful reminder of how scarring it can be when inflation gets out of control. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. President Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed in recent months for holding interest straight, steady. Wall Street futures are higher this morning. Dow Futures are up 103 points. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News, in Washington. These days, there's so much news. It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community. The Consider this podcast from NPR features our award-winning

journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth. Listen to the Consider This Podcast from NPR.