NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-27-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

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These days, there's so much news. It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community. The Consider This Podcast from NPR features our award-winning journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth. Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Trump is reiterating his push to fire a Federal Reserve governor. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump once again accused Lisa Cook of making false statements on home mortgage applications. She seems to have had an infraction and she can't have an infraction, especially that infraction, because she's in charge of, if you think about it, mortgages and we need people that are 100% above board.

Cook is refusing to step down. NPR Scott Horsley reports her attorney. are preparing to file a lawsuit to block Trump from firing her. 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 to get the Fed to sharply lower interest rates. That's NPR, Scott Horsley reporting.

Critics warn the removal of Lisa Cook could undermine the central bank's independence, which is key to its ability to manage inflation. Many residents in Washington, D.C., say they welcome more law enforcement, but distrust President Trump's motives. NPR's Frank Langford reports the administration's crackdown on crime in the city is entering its third week. Nancy Barnes was delighted to learn last week that federal agents had arrested a rogue ATV driver on the city streets. I'm all for this arrest. Next, I hope there will be arrests for scooters and motorcycles on sidewalks. I have almost been hit countless times outside my home, and I'm sick. of it. At the same time, Barnes says there's no justification for sending in the National Guard.

Diana Fitzgerald, who works in early childhood education, agrees. I don't think it has anything to do with crime in the city. I just think it's to make him look tough. Fitzgerald's referring to President Trump, who claims the federal crackdown is so successful there's no crime in the city, which is false. Frank Langford NPR News, Washington. SpaceX says yesterday's test flight of its massive starship rocket was a success. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce report, Starship took off from the company Starbase in Texas after a series of failed attempts. The silver and black two-stage rocket, which stands about 400 feet tall, blasted off from the SpaceX facility in South Texas. Once the upper stage reached space, a payload bay door opened and a device similar to a big Pez dispenser ejected eight dummy satellite.

then the spacecraft returned to Earth and made a controlled descent down into the Indian Ocean as planned. The last three flights saw the upper stage explode or disintegrate, and the last time around, the payload bay door wouldn't open. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Cracker barrel, that southern-styled staple of American road trips, is changing its logo again. Mariana Bagayow from Member Station, WPLN reports the company short-lived, streamlined logo is gone after backlash from fans and the White House. The old man and barrel that have represented Cracker Barrel for decades were initially

scrapped from the restaurant's new logo for a more modern minimalist design. What followed could be a case study in the perils of rebranding and cultural polarization. The move was met with falling stocks and public outcry, particularly from MAGA supporters who called the change woke. President Donald Trump weighed in asking Cracker Barrel to bring back the old design. And now Cracker Barrel has confirmed that its beloved old timer and his barrel will be back. The fried chicken and biscuits never left. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Baca Yao in Nashville. Taylor Swift can now add fiancé to her long list of titles.

The pop icon and Kansas City Chief's tight end, Travis Kelsey, are taking it to the next level. After two years of dating, the two are officially engaged. Fans have been speculating for months, decoding lyrics, analyzing jewelry, and playing amateur detective. With her heiress tour behind her, her Swift's next big production might be walking down the aisle. This is NPR News in Washington.