NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-23-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: August 24, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst. The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar-Abrego-Garcia to Uganda next week, according to his lawyers court filing this weekend. And here's Kamila Dominovsky reports Abrago-Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador earlier this year, was released from federal custody yesterday. In an admitted mistake, federal officials sent Abregio Garcia to a notorious Salvador in prison. On his return, the government charged him with human smuggling, which he denies. Abrogo Garcia, who has not been convicted of any crime, left a Tennessee jail on Friday to return to his family in Maryland.

The Department of Homeland Security responded to the release with a statement calling him a monster. Abrago-Garcia's lawyers say that prosecutors have offered to deport him to Costa Rica if he pleads guilty to the charges. Now, immigration officials say he will face deportation to Uganda, a choice the lawyers call coercive. Camila Dominovsky, NPR News. Work is nearing completion on a project to replace the grass in the iconic White House Rose Garden with stone. MPIRS Tamara Keith reports it's just the latest renovation Trump has undertaken since returning to. office. Trump said the grass had to go because it got too soggy for fine footwear. The lawn has been replaced with white stone, but the rose bushes remain around the perimeter. There are new

patio tables with yellow and white striped umbrellas that bear a striking resemblance to those at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. On a warm, sunny afternoon, Trump was blasting the Beatles from the Rose Garden's new outdoor speaker system. He can play DJ from his iPad, just like in Florida. The project's $1.9 million price tag is being covered by private donations to the trust for the National Mall. Tamara Keith, NPR News. More than 1,200 emergency personnel are responding to a Northern California wildfire that's been burning since Thursday. From member station KQED in San Francisco, Juan Carlos Lerner,

has more. The picket fire has burned through a sparsely populated section of Napa County that was ravaged by the glass fire five years ago. Local officials issued new evacuation orders as the fire spread east between Friday and Saturday. Jason Clay is a public information officer for Cal Fire's Sonoma Lake Napa unit. That's one of the objectives of today is to work on fortifying the control lines that around that side to keep it out of those areas.

As of Saturday evening, the blaze was only 7% of. contained and had burned over 4,600 acres. Clay says full containment could take weeks. For NPR News, I'm Juan Carlos Lada in San Francisco. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Supreme Court's ruling this week, allowing the National Institutes of Health, to pause nearly $800 million in funding for hundreds of research grants, was seen as a setback for many in the research community. From Member Station GBAH, Craig LaMault reports the High Court also left in place a lower court ruling that the grants were improperly terminated.

The grants have been terminated because they focused on topics like diversity, transgender issues, health equity, and other areas of research the Trump administration doesn't support. In June, a federal judge ordered the NIH to start paying those grants again. But the Supreme Court said Thursday that as an appeal moves forward, they can put those payments on pause. Jesse Rossman of the ACLU is representing the plaintiffs. We think that that decision is a setback for public health, but we will continue to pursue any and every option available to us to make sure that the unlawfully terminated grants continue to be restored. The Supreme Court let stand the lower courts ruling

that the Trump administration used an unlawful justification for terminating the grants. The case now goes back to the lower courts. For NPR News, I'm Craig Lamolt in Boston. Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is erupting once. again for the 31st time since December, shooting an arc of lava high into the air and across a section of its crater floor Friday. It's one of the world's most active volcanoes. Scientists say it's the fourth time in some 200 years that Kilauea shot lava fountains into the air in repeated episodes. Park officials say they're expecting a lot of visitors to see it. I'm Janine

Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from 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.