NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-26-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Three, two, one. After two delays, SpaceX's huge starship rocket has blasted off in the company's headquarters in South Texas. The launchmarked starship's 10th test flight, the rocket is key to Elon Muskill to send humans to Mars. President Trump's attempt to fire the first black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board is getting pushed back. Trump last night, citing allegations. of mortgage fraud against Lisa Cook, but NPR Scott Horsley says Cook is planning a legal fight. Cook and her attorney, Abby Lowell, plan to file a lawsuit as early as tomorrow to have this

firing set aside. Under the law, the Fed is supposed to operate independently from the White House and Fed governors can only be fired for serious misconduct. Peter Conti Brown, who's a Fed historian at the University of Pennsylvania, believes the allegation of mortgage fraud here is just a pretext. He says this is really about Trump's campaign paying to get the Fed to sharply lower interest rates. Despite concerns about the Fed's independence, all three major U.S. stock markets closed higher today. An immigrant advocacy group is appealing a ruling that weakens federal voting rights protections in seven states for voters with disabilities and those with limited proficiency in English. And Pierce-Honzi-Lawong reports.

The Immigrant Advocacy Group, Arkansas United, sued over a law in the southern state that bans a person from helping more than six voters cast their balance. Part of the voting rights act known as Section 208 generally allows voters who need help because of a disability or inability to read or write to get help from a person of their choice. A judge ruled the Arkansas law violated the Voting Rights Act. But after Republican state officials appealed, a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled private groups like Arkansas United and individuals do not have the right to sue under this section of the Voting Rights Act. Only the U.S. Attorney General can sue. Arkansas United is now asking the full Eighth Circuit to review that ruling. The Supreme Court may

soon take up a similar case. On Zila Wong, NPR News. Silicon Valley is putting more than $100 million behind an effort to defeat artificial intelligence regulations. NPR's Bobby Allen reports it 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. And you're listening to NPR News. The Israeli military says the Palestinian journalists who were killed in yesterday's strike on southern Gaza's largest hospital were not targeted. The military issued a statement today saying the back-to-back strikes were aimed at what the military believed was a surveillance camera that Hamas was using to monitor Israeli forces. International leaders and rights groups are condemning the attack. In southern Africa, Botswana's president has declared a national public health emergency, citing a chronic shortage of medicines. Botswana is a major diamond producer, and Kate Bartler reports it's been hit hard by a global downturn in the diamond market.

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, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. A social media backlash has led Cracker Barrel to reverse itself. The restaurant change says it's scrapping the new simplified logo had unveiled last week. It featured only the Cracker Barrel name. Cracker Barrel now says it's going back to the old timer logo that included the depiction of a man in overalls leaning against a barrel. I'm Jail Snyder, 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

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