NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-28-2026 3PM EDT

Episode Date: August 28, 2026

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Live from NPR news, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The number of people now missing in the aftermath of flash floods in Nepal and Tibet is believed to be as high as 2,500. They include many pilgrims and four nationals. Dozens of Americans are among those missing. Venus Rajnikant Patel is an American who is touring Nepal. His brother, Dennis Patel, says his sibling call the family hours before the floods. When we see the videos of the devastation that has been done, it's very painful, but we are hopeful, we are positive. We are trying.

We are praying for his safe return. Rescuers have been airlifting survivors to safety as they race to keep the death toll from climbing. It currently stands near 600. U.S. military families evacuated from Bahrain because of the war with Iran have been pressing the Navy for answers on their future. Steve Walsh with member station W.HRO in Norfolk, Virginia says the issue was addressed at a recent town hall event. Navy leaders tried to answer questions from over 580 dependents on the call who were evacuated from naval support activity Bahrain shortly after the war began. Vice Admiral Kurt Orinshaw, the head of Fifth Fleet, conceded that the Navy thought this would be a short conflict. We literally have been making this up as we go because nothing is.

concedes to go on this length of time. More than 1,300 family members of service members stationed in Bahrain have been spread across Europe and the U.S. Many are living in hotels. Navy leaders said they want families to pick a more permanent location while the military works out the future of the base. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh. Indigenous leaders are speaking out after President Trump signed an executive order

renaming Lake Ontario, Lake America. Sarah Leasy of member station KOSU reports one tribe in Oklahoma says the name change erases a part of their history. Billy Friend is the chief of the Wyandotte Nation, a tribe now headquartered in northeast Oklahoma. But with history in the Great Lakes region, Friend says the word Ontario predates both Canada and the U.S. And came from his ancestors' language, Wendat. It means the lake is big or beautiful. It's not about politics. It's about history. It's about respecting a tribal name and the people whose language gave that name to the lake. He calls the move another act of forced removal and says he plans to ask Interior Secretary Doug Bergam to reverse the change.

For NPR News, I'm Sarah Leese in Oklahoma City. President Trump presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the first group of astronauts that travel beyond low Earth orbit since 1916. This is NPR News. A massive crowds descended on the national mall for a Defend the Vote March. The Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized the event, which was expected to feature speeches from Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others. They are among those pushing back against GOP-backed election-related restrictions,

including mail-in voting. Last night, a federal judge issued a temporary order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from implementing President Trump's executive order on mail-in ballots before the mid-term elections. The USPS is a financial supporter of NPR. European Soccer's governing body is asking a U.S. federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA. Smey Nicholson reports the UEFA is considering filing legal proceedings against the association's president. The Union of European Football Association says it is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his now abandoned plan to

sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The European soccer governing body accuses Infantino and other FIFA officials of criminal mismanagement under Swiss law. In a statement, UEFA describes Infantino's plans as an attempt to profit from FIFA's most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members and other parties within the football family. UEFA alleges that Infantino designated Thrive Eternal an investment vehicle headed by Joshua Kushner to lead the investor group. For NPR News, I'm Esme Noglson in Berlin. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.