NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-22-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: August 23, 2025

NPR News: 08-22-2025 9PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, here and now anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.

I from NPR News. I'm Janine Hurst. Kilmar Obrego-Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador and later returned to the U.S., has now been released from criminal custody in Tennessee. Serio Martinez Beltron reports he's returning to Maryland to await trial on federal human smuggling charges. Kilmar Abregor was sent back to his home country of El Salvador in March, despite a court order blocking his deportation there. His lawyer, Sean Hacker, says Abrogo Garcia, was, quote, unlocked. lawfully arrested and deported and then imprisoned, all because of the government's vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the administration's continuing assault

on the rule of law." Abrogo Garcia's case raised basic questions about due process under President Trump's ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration. Upon his return to the U.S. in June, Abrogo Garcia was immediately detained on charges of transporting unauthorized migrants across the U.S. He pleaded not guilty in June. Sergio Martinez Beltran in PR News. The Trump administration says it now is arrested more than 700 people in Washington, D.C. as part of its mission to crack down on crime in the nation's capital.

But as NPR's Meg Anderson reports, arrest data doesn't tell the whole story of public safety in a city. Data from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department indicate that arrests in D.C. have ramped up during Trump's crime initiative compared to previous years. But policing experts cautioned that more arrests do not necessarily translate to more public safety. John Roman is a researcher with Nork at the University of Chicago. You can imagine in situations where you send a lot of officers out into a very small area, they're told what the goals are for that day. And if they're told that, you know, we're making arrests today, they'll make that arrest. NPR has asked for the names of those arrested in D.C. and what they were arrested for.

from both MPD and from the Trump administration. Neither has provided it. Meg Anderson, NPR News. At least five people are dead after their tour bus crashed outside Buffalo, New York. Dozens are injured. From member station Buffalo, Toronto Public Media, Michael Loss reports. The bus was bringing more than 50 people back to New York City after a visit to Niagara Falls when it lost control and rolled over on Interstate 90. Major Andre Ray, commander of New York State Police Troop T, says that while operator impairment is

ruled out, other driver-related causes are being investigated. It's believed the operator became distracted, lost control, over-corrected, and ended up on the right shoulder there. The investigation is still underway. It's too early to state whether or whether or not charges will take place. Dozens were taken to hospitals. Initial reports that a child was among those killed have since been corrected. For NPR News, I'm Michael Loss in Buffalo. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Justice Department today released the first wave of Jeffrey Epstein's files to Congress, the transcript and audio recording of a two-day interview between Epstein accomplice and former girlfriend, Yelan Maxwell, and DOJ attorney Todd Blanche.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, and shortly after that meeting, she was moved to a minimum security prison camp in Texas. That's an unusual. unusual move for someone convicted of such a crime. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial. The Department of Education says George Mason University in Virginia has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. And here's Jordan Owens reports the department claims the university illegally used race in hiring and promotions. On Friday, the Office of Civil Rights stated that George Mason illegally offered to waive their competitive evaluation process if a candidate, quote, advances the institutional

commitment to diversity and inclusion. Since taking office, President Trump has pledged to end diversity equity and inclusion practices, including in college hiring and admissions. The department issued a list of requirements for the university, including the removal of DEI policies and a personal apology from university president Gregory Washington. In a statement, the Virginia school said it takes the matter seriously and will review the proposed resolutions. Jordan Owens, NPR News. All Street hire by the closing bell, the Dow up 846 points. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.

This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply. Bye.