NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-26-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

NPR News: 08-26-2025 11PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. In a cabinet meeting today that lasted more than three hours, President Trump highlighted his crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., among many other topics. And as NPR's Tamara Keith reports, he was also showered with praise by cabinet secretaries. Trump boasted that bringing in thousands of National Guard troops and federal agents has made the nation's capital safe and said he wants any murders committed in the district to be punished by the death penalty. Trump also repeated a line he has used several times lately, saying people would be okay with a dictator. If he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants. I'm not a dictator, by the way, but he can be whatever he wants. I think it's going to be a big, a big, big subject for the midterms, and I think the Republicans are going to do really well. This set a record as Trump's longest event ever.

Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House. Trump administration officials have made a risky copy. of millions of Americans' social security numbers. That's according to a new whistleblower complaint. NPR's Jeff Brumfield says the copy was made, even though red flags were raised. The Social Security Administration's chief data officer says Trump appointees copied the agency's entire numerical identification system database to a private cloud environment. The database contains social security numbers of over 300 million Americans, along with other details, including place of birth and parents' names.

Andrea Meza is an attorney with the nonprofit government accountability project, which represents the whistleblower. It's a lot of really personal data on millions and millions of Americans. Cybersecurity staff within the Social Security Administration warned the move was high risk, but the copy was made anyway. The agency says the copy is in a place, quote, walled off from the internet. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News, Washington. Silicon Valley is putting more than $100 million behind an effort to defeat artificial intelligence regulations. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, that effort comes as states debate a host of new AI rules. A network of political action committees known as Leading the Future will begin fanning out across states, including New York, California, and Ohio.

While Congress has not enacted any AI laws, states have been busy at work. The group fighting back includes tech leaders from the firm Adreason Horowitz and executives at OpenAI. They plan to argue in digital ads and to state lawmakers that AI regulations could hurt innovation and give China an edge in AI development. The tech execs are pushing back against what they see as AI doomers, who they say fear societal upheaval. But AI critics say while places like Europe reign in AI, the U.S. is making a mistake by taking a largely hands-off approach. Bobby Allen and PR News. Stocks closed up across the board today. LaDao Jones industrial average closed up 135 points. You're listening to NPR News.

In Africa, Botswana's president has declared a national public health emergency because of a chronic shortage of medicines. Botswana is a major diamond producer. And as Kate Bartlett reports, the country has been hit hard by problems in the diamond markets. President Dumaboko said the Southern African nation's medical supply chain had failed due to unspecified financial challenges and clinics are short of medicine. and other supplies. He announced $18 million in emergency funding for the health sector and said the army would help with distribution. Economists say the health crisis comes as government coffers are empty because of a downturn in the global diamond market, which has been hit by the rise

of lab-grown stones. Botswana is the world's largest diamond producer by value. The Trump administration has also cut some of the funding that was going to Botswana's health sector. For NPR news, in Johannesburg. Pakistan has evacuated tens of thousands of people after neighboring India released water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers. The move came one day after India warned Pakistan about possible flooding. The region has been facing major flooding following weeks of heavy monsoon rains. In Pakistan's northwest, more than 300 people were killed earlier this month by flash floods. SpaceX's Starship rocket completed a successful test flight today. The two-stage rocket lifted off from a facility in Texas this evening. The mission involved eight dummy satellites.

It was the 10th test for the 400-foot-long rocket that breaks a streak of failures that have plagued the spaceship so far this year. I'm Dale Wilman. NPR News. 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. T's and Cs apply.