NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-24-2025 9PM 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. President Trump says he may send the National Guard to Chicago next after deploying members to the streets of Washington, D.C. to help reduce crime. But as impairs Joe Hernandez as reports, Illinois officials say they don't need the National Guard, and they're calling Trump's plan illegal. Illinois's Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, says Trump's threat to send in the National Guard isn't about safety, but rather a, quote, test of the limits of his power and a trial run for a police state. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, said on MSNBC, that it would be

a flagrant violation of the Constitution. The city of Chicago does not need a military occupation. Trump said Friday that Chicago was, quote, a mess and that the administration would focus its efforts there next. Trump sent guard members and federal officers onto the streets of the nation's capital in an effort he said was to combat crime and root out homelessness. But officials in both D.C. and Chicago say violent crime in their cities has actually been decreasing recently. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. South Korean President E.J. Myeong says he will be in Washington, D.C. tomorrow for a something. with President Trump. And here's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul that Lee took office in June after his predecessor was impeached for declaring martial law.

In Washington, South Korean President E.J. Myeong will try to hammer out details of a trade deal reached last month. It includes a pledge for South Korea to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs. The U.S. has been talking about modernizing its alliance with South Korea, which includes focusing less on deterring North Korea and more on countering China. Most South Korean presidents visit the U.S. first, but E. will be coming from Tokyo, where he met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan and South Korea are both U.S. allies who depend on exports to the U.S. and host large numbers of American troops, and E. apparently wanted to coordinate with Ishiba before meeting Trump.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Climate disasters like hurricanes and wildfires threaten thousands of facilities that produce medical drugs across the U.S., according to a new study. And here's Alejandra Burunda reports. Last year, flooding from Hurricane Helene shut down a manufactured facility in North Carolina that produces about 60% of the country's IV fluid bags. It was a wake-up call for many in the medical field.

Now, a team of Harvard researchers asked how many drug-producing facilities existed in a county that had experienced a climate disaster in the last five years. It turns out there were thousands. Most hadn't experienced disruptions, at least not as dramatic as the IV facility during Haleen. But the study, which is published in the journal JAMA,

warns continued climate change and the disasters it brings will inevitably put the U.S. drug supply chain at risk. Alejandro Burunda, NPR News. This is NPR News. Golfer Tommy Fleetwood won the FedEx Cup, claiming his first PGA Tour championship today at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The Englishman beat out 29 other players for that cup,

and the $10 million purse. In parts of rural Kenya, roughly 40 of every 1,000 babies die before they turn one year old. But as impairs Jonathan Lambert reports, new research suggests simply giving households extra money could cut that death rate by half. From 2014 to 2017, a nonprofit give directly gave $1,000 to over 10,000 of the most cash-strapped households across Western Kenya. A team of researchers followed those households and found that cash made a big difference for those that had kids. Not only did infant mortality drop by nearly half, but 45 percent fewer children died before they turned five. The benefits were highest among households who got cash right around the time of birth and who lived within 30 minutes of a health care facility. Those reductions are about in line with more established interventions like anti-malarial drugs or vaccines.

Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. At the weekend box office, the horror film Weapons took the top spot with an estimated $15 million in ticket sales. So far, it's made $199 million globally. In second place, Disney's remake Freakyer Friday with Lindsay Lohen and Jamie Lee Curtis once again with $9 million. And in third place, The Fantastic Four First Steps, with $5 million. 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.

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