NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-26-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. In a cabinet meeting that lasted more than three hours, President Trump highlighted his crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., among many other topics. 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 district. 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. Democratic leaders are looking to derail President Trump's threats to send National Guard troops to other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and others call the threat a political move and accused Trump of ignoring cities with worst crime rates that have Republican leaders. Trump administration officials have made a risky copy of millions of American Social Security numbers. That's according to a new whistleblower complaint. NPR's Jeff Brumfield says a 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. A new survey finds the life satisfaction level for the Gen Z population has dropped to its lowest in

the past three years. NPR's Janet Ujung Lee reports that this drop was primarily driven by Gen Z adults rather than current students. According to the recently released Gallup Walton Family Foundation poll, less than half of Gen Z believe their lives are, quote, thriving. That means they feel positive about their lives right now and believe it'll stay that way for the next five years. The survey shows this response from Gen Z adults is driven by the lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which they say cause social anxieties for some, as well as current economic uncertainties of the job market and rising living costs. Janet Ujongli and P.R. News.

And you're listening to NPR News. The National Endowment of the Arts has canceled its creative writing fellowship for decades a program as supported writers who would go on to become big names in literature. But NPR's Andrew Limbong reports the N.EA has told applicants for next year's grants that the program has been canceled. Alice Walker, Michael Cunningham, Louise Urdrick, these are just a few names of authors who won an N.E.A. Creative Writing Fellowship. The program began in 1966 to support. America's literary creativity. In 2026, the program would have awarded 35 writers up to $50,000 each. That is until last week, when authors began posting on social media and email they got from

the NEA stating that the fellowship has been canceled. Under the Trump administration, millions of dollars in grant funding towards literary endeavors have been canceled, ostensibly in favor of projects celebrating America's upcoming 250th anniversary. The president has also proposed getting rid of the NEA entirely. Andrew Limbong and Pear News. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook says she will sue the Trump administration over its attempt to fire her. Cook's lawyer issued a statement today after Trump last night cited allegations of mortgage fraud for her removal. Cook is the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor. She has said that she will not step down. Despite concerns about the Fed's independence, Wall Street closed higher today. The S&P 500 rose four-tenths of a percent.

to end the day at 6,465 points. And NASDAQ also gained four-tenths, and the Dow Jones Industrial average rose three-tenths to 45,0.418. I'm Trial Snyder. This is him.