NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-24-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: August 25, 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. Maryland Governor Westmore is speaking out on President Trump's threats to deploy more troops to Democrat-run cities, including Baltimore, to fight crime. And here's Ashley Lopez has more. Moore said on Face the Nation on Sunday that Trump's recent comments that he could dispatch more military personnel, including the National Guard, to Democratic-run cities like Baltimore, is performative and ultimately unsustainable. You cannot continue this type of pace of operations, particularly when it's costing

over a million dollars a day in order to do this. Trump also threatened to pool funding to rebuild Baltimore's Francis Scott Keybridge, which collapsed last year. The president has said he also could deploy troops to Chicago. and New York, he has not announced plans to send military to the various Republican-run cities with high crime rates. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. Meanwhile, some National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. are now carrying their service-issued weapons, which may include pistols or rifles. It's another deadly day in Gaza as the Israeli military continues its push into the besieged

territory. Dozens of Palestinians were killed as Israeli warplains and tanks struck around Gaza's city as part of an offensive to capture it. And peers Jackie Northam reports. Israel considers the densely populated Gaza city to be one of the last major strongholds of Hamas and has been preparing for an assault over the past week, mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists and hammering the outer regions with airstrikes. Israel has been warning Palestinians and health care facilities to evacuate Gaza City ahead of a full-scale attack.

But there are few places to go. There's widespread condemnation of the military offensive both domestically and internationally. Gaza City and other areas are in the grip of a famine, and Israelis' fear and attack on a Hamas stronghold could lead to the deaths of more Israeli hostages held by the militants. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Millions of children born during the global pandemic are starting kindergarten this year, and peers Vanessa Romo reports studies show they might not be ready. 3.6 million children were born in 2020, as the coronavirus ushered in one of the most extraordinary periods in modern history, and experts are still trying to figure out its long-term

effects. Kristen Huff is Head of Measurement at Curriculum Associates, which provides national grade-level testing. Its latest study looked at the 2023-24 school year. Even students who were not in school because they were too young to be in kindergarten during the pandemic are less prepared. Just 81% of five-year-olds are arriving kindergarten-ready and reading. That's down from 89 percent. in 2019. Huff says teachers and students can buck the trend with the right support. Vanessa Romo, NPR News. U.S. Futures contracts are trading lower at this hour. All three major indices down around one-tenth of a percent. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Space X had to call off an attempt to launch its massive starship rocket. As NPR's Nell Greenfield voice reports,

that means space enthusiasts are still waiting for. test flight number 10. Starship is a two-stage space vehicle that stands nearly 400 feet tall. It's a key part of NASA's effort to return astronauts to the surface of the moon, as well as Elon Musk's effort to colonize Mars. But so far this year, Starship rockets have suffered a string of failures in flights. One even blew up on the launch pad during a test. All of that is why this 10th flight has been highly anticipated, and SpaceX did start. loading propellant into the rocket at its Texas launch facility. But soon after, on social media, SpaceX said it was standing down

to allow time to troubleshoot what it called an issue with ground systems. If it can get this issue fixed, the company has additional launch windows in the coming days. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. Several wildfires are burning in the west amid hot, windy weather and dry vegetation, as millions are under a heat dome. In northern California's Napa Valley, a fast-moving wildfire has prompted mandatory evacuations. Cal Fire says the picket fire burned more than 6,500 acres and is 11% contained. The cause is under investigation.

Meanwhile, the flat fire, about 150 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon, has grown to more than 21,000 acres and thousands of homes are under evacuation orders and warnings. 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.

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