NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-23-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: August 23, 2025

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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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. Texas's congressional redistricting plan is now in the hands of Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott is expected to sign the bill after final passage by the state Senate overnight. The new congressional maps demanded by President Trump meant to help Republicans add five seats to their slim majority in the U.S. House.

The Texas newsrooms, Blaise Ganey reports that most of what's taking place now, is setting up the eventual court battle that will determine if the maps take effect. Texas Democrats have focused their debate on whether the map. were drawn with race and mind. They believe it must have been because the new districts managed to give the Republican Party an advantage to flip five Democratic seats, many of which lie in the state's most minority-heavy areas. Republican state Senator Phil King sponsored the proposal. He says he didn't draw the maps himself but talked with his legal team in the bill, House Bill 4, met his requirements. I believe HB4 meets critically important goals of

legality of political performance for Republicans and of improved compactness. The courts will have the last words on the map's legality. For the Texas newsroom, I'm Blaise Ganey in Austin. Congressional redistricting in Texas has touched off a tip-per-tat with some Democratic states, most notably in California. President Trump and Chipmaker Intel says the company, the U.S. government, rather, is taking a 10 percent stake in the company. That stake worth about $11 billion, and P.R.S. John Ruich reports on the unusual deal that marks an escalation in efforts to bring cutting-edge chipmaking back to the United States. Trump dialed up pressure on Intel CEO Lip Bhutan this month, saying he should resign after

reports surfaced about his connections to Chinese companies. A few days later, Tan visited the White House. Trump says he came in wanting to keep his job and agreed to let the U.S. government take a 10% stake in the Santa Clara, California-based company. Intel says the government will not have board representation or other governance rights. The government's also agreed to vote with the company's board on matters that require shareholder approval with limited exceptions. On social media, Trump called it a great deal for America and Intel and says building leading-edge semiconductors and chips, which is what Intel does, is fundamental to the future of our nation. John Rewich, NPR News, Washington. A deadly crash of a tour bus in New York State remains under investigation. State

police major, Andre Ray, says no charges have been filed. And while, Operator impairment has been ruled out. Ray says other driver-related causes are being investigated. At this point, and again, it's still under investigation. It's believed the operator became distracted, lost control, overcorrected, and ended up on the right shoulder there. The tour bus was returning to New York City from Niagara Falls when it flipped over on interstate. 95 people were killed, dozen sent to hospitals. This is NPR. Lyle Menendez has been denied parole. The decision in California came a day after his younger brother Eric was blocked from being freed. The two have spent more than 30 years in prison for murdering their parents in 1989. Both claimed abuse by their father. The son of Brazil's former far-right president says new charges leveled against his father and him are all fabricated and politically motivated. Those charges include obstruction of justice. Eduardo Bolsonaro tells MPR, that the two are just defenders of democracy and are being politically persecuted.

Here's NPR's Kerry Kahn. Brazil's federal police say the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, received as much as $5 million in one year from what they call unknown origins. Some of that money was sent abroad to his son. Eduardo, a politician now living in Dallas, tells NPR nothing was illegal and the money was from donations. He says officials are punishing him for opposing Brazil's current leftist leader. I deny all of that. What I'm doing is denouncing the human rights that are happening in our country. President Trump has levied 50% tariffs against Brazil.

He says because of the treatment of ex-president Bolsonaro, whose trial will consider a verdict and sentence next month. Kerry Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. Recall, election is being held in Taiwan today. Voters are deciding whether to dismiss seven members of the opposition. It's an attempt to restore control by the Democratic Progressive Party. Party, which lost its majority last year. Voters are also deciding a referendum on nuclear power.

I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington. 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 mix 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.