NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-27-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump held a cabinet meeting Tuesday that was publicly live-streamed. Very little official business was conducted, even though the meeting lasted for more than three hours. Much of the time was spent by Trump saying how well he's doing, and cabinet heads also saying how well Trump is doing. At one point, Trump spoke about crime in U.S. cities and criticized Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for pushing back on a Trump plan to send troops to Chicago. So the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime.

So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator, but I'm not a dictator. I just know how to stop crime. And you would think that Illinois would have such a problem with crime, such a bad governor, he should be calling me and he should be saying, could you send over the troops, please? It's out of control. Violent crime in Chicago, meanwhile, has dropped to pre-pandemic levels. Some violence prevention and counterterrorism experts say decades of worker being dismantled under the Trump administration, including grant programs. NPR's Odette Yosef reports. Over the last nearly 25 years, violence prevention programs in the U.S. have increasingly focused on directing federal grant money to local programs. But under the current administration, there have been changes.

Ryan Greer heads Bedrock, a nonprofit coalition of groups that counter hate-fueled violence. Whether those are nonprofits with anti-Semitism programs in South Carolina or Christian pastors in Texas looking to reduce hate and reduce the likelihood that people engage in ideologically motivated violence, those programs have largely been cut or in the process of being cut by this administration. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from NPR about these reductions in staff and delays in grant disbursement. Odette Yusef, NPR News. Immigrant Advocacy Group is appealing a ruling that weakens federal voting rights protections in seven states for voters with disabilities as well as for those with limited proficiency in English. MPR's Hansi Lawan has our 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. Stocks closed up on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was up 26 points.

They had NASDAQ up 94. Dow Jones up 135 points. This is NPR News. Israel's military says it launched air strikes in a hospital in Gaza on Monday because it targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera. But witnesses and health officials say the first strike killed a cameraman from Reuters News Agency who was doing a live television shot. 20 people died in the strikes, including five journalists. Israel has given no explanation why it hit the hospital twice.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook says she'll sue the Trump administration over Trump's efforts to fire her. Cook's attorney said Tuesday that Trump has no authority to remove someone from the Reserve Board. Trump has been unhappy that the Fed has not yet lowered interest rates during his current term in office. The wildly popular animated Netflix movie about a fictitious all-girl rock bands battle against evil spirits is set to become the streaming services most watched film ever. MPR's Chloe Feldman has a report. Demon Hunter's soundtrack is the first soundtrack ever to generate four simultaneous top 10 hits in the Billboard Hot 100 charts long history.

It's undeniably catchy. Sean Robbins is Fandango's director of movie analytics. With the film's creators in talks about a potential sequel, Robbins says Demon Hunters could become a major franchise. It could be merchandise. It could be theme parks. More soundtracks. Streaming giant Netflix even took the unusual step this past weekend of screening the film in nearly 1,800 movie theaters around the country.

Chloe Valtman and NPR News. And I'm Dale Wilman. You're listening to 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. T's and Cs apply.