NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-24-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: August 24, 2025

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Americans are living longer than ever before. On the Sunday story from Up First, we look at a growing number of people using these extra years to find new meaning. You get at a point where you start asking, what did you do in your life that was significant? A look at the transformative power of human passion and finding your purpose in the third act of life. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The Justice Department has released hours of audio and a transcript of its interview with Gieland Maxwell. She was the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

As M.P.R.'s Ryan Lucas reports, it's part of the Trump administration's efforts to contain the fallout from its handling of the Epstein files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is President Trump's former personal attorney, interviewed Maxwell last month in Florida. In the transcript from that interview, Maxwell discusses many of the famous people who knew Epstein over the years, including President Trump. Maxwell told Blanche she never saw Trump do anything improper. The prison was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually exploit underage girls. She would like a reduced sentence or a pardon from President Trump.

Shortly after her interview with Blanche, Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison camp. Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. Israel says reports that Palestinians in Gaza are now dealing with famine conditions or lies promoted by Hamas. The IPC, which is the world's leading authority on food crises, announced Friday that the region is now undergoing famine. And that view is shared by other aid organizations. Scott Paul is with Oxfam America. He says his group has been trying to get aid into Gaza for months and has been blocked by Israel. There is an entire system set up, a scale from one to five, to help policymakers understand just how

severe food insecurity is and how close they are to famine. So now we are at famine. Famine isn't meant to be a warning. Famine is failure. Famine means it's already too late to save lives. A new report says the Antarctic ice sheet is at risk of collapse because of rising sea levels. Scott Mayman has more. In a report for the nature publication, the changes have been witnessed by a variety of experts. One of them is Professor Jan Struggnell from Australia's James Cook University, who says hundreds of millions of people in coastal communities will be impacted. Globally, this includes around 750 million people live in low elevation coastal zones. Other more conservative estimates put that number closer to 200 million.

But still, Professor Struggnell says melting Antarctic ice can trigger worldwide events. And what happens in Antarctica really doesn't stay there. She says global action is needed now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For NPR News, I'm Scott Mayman in Canberra, Australia. A number of postal services in countries across Europe are suspending the shipment of most packages to the U.S. Officials say they need clarity over new import duties put in place by the Trump administration. Starting on August 29th, international goods that were previously exempt from U.S. tariffs will be subject to duties on merchandise worth more than $800.

You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration says it has now arrested more than 700 people in Washington, D.C. as part of its effort to crack down on crime in the nation's capital, but as NPR's Meg Anderson reports, arrest data don'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. Sunday's final in the Little League World Series is now set after Nevada beat Connecticut on Saturday, 8-2. Garrett Gallegos pitched five innings and hit a home run in the win. Nevada is looking for its first-ever title. They'll be playing Taiwan, who won the international semifinal with a 1-0 win over Aruba. Taiwan is hoping for its first win since 1996.

Canadian star Brooke Henderson carted an eagle on the par 417th hole on Saturday to take a share of the lead in the LPGA women's open underway near Toronto. shot us 6 under 65 to tie Minji Lee. Lee also shot us 65 in the day. She had two eagles in the back, nine, and chipped in on the 18th to save par. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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