NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-25-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

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Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the shortwave podcast from NPR. Live from NPR news, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump's hosting the new president of South Korea, E.J. Myeong. Hours before the meeting, Trump threatened not to do business with South Korea over concerns about investigations of South Korean units located on a U.S. base eight months after the last South Korean president briefly imposed martial law and was then ousted. Today, South Korea's bid to avoid higher U.S. tariffs is on the agenda. As other world leaders before him had done in their meetings, with Trump, Lee showered the U.S. President with praise today. I believe that making America great again is your goal, and I believe that that is what is

currently taking place in America. President Lee has heard through an interpreter via the Associated Press. Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza today killed at least 21 people, including four journalists, according to the head of the Gaza Health Ministry's Records Department. The Associated Press reports one of its freelancers, 33-year-old Mariam Daka, was among those killed. The AP reports she has a 13-year-old son who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 192 journalists have died in Gaza during the 22-month war between Israel and Hamas, making it one of the deadliest conflicts from members of the media.

A Democratic Senator is demanding a comprehensive review of the Senate. cybersecurity of the federal court system after multiple high-profile breaches in the last five years. He argues that a failure to act could jeopardize U.S. national security. NPR's Jenna McLaughlin reports. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon penned a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John Roberts, urging him to take action to help secure the federal court system. Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, mentioned two separate major breaches of the judiciary case management system. The first occurred in 2020, and the second appeared to happen more recently, though it involved the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the system

discovered years ago. Wyden wrote that the court's current stance on cybersecurity is a severe threat to U.S. national security. That's because its compromise could lead to the exposure of sensitive national security documents, confidential sources, and more. Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News. Scores of federal emergency management agency employees are imploring the administration to restore federal funding, disaster response training, and professionals well qualified to lead FEMA through catastrophic events. The group, many anonymous, sent a letter to Congress today ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on Gulf states. From Washington, this is NPR News. The Maryland man mistakenly deported to his home country of El Salvador earlier this year is now set to be deported to Uganda.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a statement confirming Kilmar or Brego Garcia was back in federal custody and being processed for removal to Africa. This days after Brego Garcia was released from a Tennessee jail to a wait trial on human smuggling charges to which he has pleaded not guilty. Pope Leo the 14th has spoken out in support of refugees from an island in the Indian Ocean archipelago who were evicted from their homes in the 1960s and 70s. They were forced out to make way for the strategic Diego Garcia military base shared by Britain and the United States. NPR's Rue Sherlock reports. Many of the some 2,000 people who were displaced from the island of Chegos have fought for years in British courts for the right to return home. and in May Britain and Mauritius signed a treaty that hands sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius and allows their resettlement, but still ensures the future of the military base.

In an audience with the refugees, Pope Leo praised their long battle for justice and called the decision, quote, an encouraging sign and a powerful symbol on the international stage. He said, all peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, in particular the right to live on their land, and no one can force them into exile. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News. The Dow is down nearly 300 points. This is NPR.