The Headlines - Fed Governor Tells Trump ‘I Will Not Resign,’ and Israeli Strikes Kill 5 Journalists

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

Plus, a Hitchcock star re-emerges. On Today’s Episode:Trump, in a Move With Little Precedent, Says He Is Firing a Fed Governor, by Tony Romm, Colby Smith and Ben Casselman20 Killed in Gaza Hospital Strikes. Netanyahu Claims ‘Tragic Mishap’, by Isabel Kershner, Aaron Boxerman and Ameera HaroudaAbrego Garcia Detained Again After Government Signaled It Would Re-Deport Him, by Alan Feuer, Jazmine Ulloa and Chris CameronTrump Orders Major Expansion of National Guard’s Role in Law Enforcement, by John Ismay, Helene Cooper and Eric SchmittNorth Korea’s Glossy New Surface: Apps, Beaches and a Fake Starbucks, by Jiawei Wang and Choe Sang-HunKim Novak, 92, Finds a Defiant Life Has Its Own Rewards, by David BelcherTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, August 26th. Here's what we're covering. In an extraordinary and legally dubious move, President Trump announced that he's firing Lisa Cook, one of the Fed's governors, effective immediately. Trump justified the firing by saying that Cook had engaged in, quote, deceitful and potentially criminal conduct, pointing to allegations that she'd falsified records to get a better mortgage rate for herself. By law, the president can fire Fed governors if he can show cause, typically defined as professional neglect or wrongdoing. But Cook hasn't been charged with or convicted of any crime.

And while she said she's willing to answer, quote, any legitimate questions about her financial history, she released a statement saying she will not step down. Over the last few months, Cook has consistently voted not to lower. interest rates, even when the president has demanded that. Economic experts warned that Trump firing her could undermine the independence of the central bank and shake trust in an institution at the heart of the U.S. economy. The showdown between Cook and Trump is now likely to head to the

courts, setting the stage for a landmark legal battle that could define the limits of the president's power. Cook's firing also fits into an emerging pattern of retribution from the administration. In President Trump's America, we're not going to have mortgage fraud. It doesn't matter who you are, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. In the days leading up to the firing, the accusations of fraud against her were amplified on TV and social media by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who has also aggressively targeted other people Trump seized as political enemies. And whether it's the shift case or the Letitia James case or this case or all the other cases that we refer, this Cook one is not going away and she can laugh all she wants.

but the law will catch up with her. Pulte has leveled similar mortgage fraud accusations against Senator Adam Schiff and New York's Attorney General Letitia James. In southern Gaza yesterday, shortly after 10 a.m. The Israeli military launched a strike hitting the facade of Nasser Hospital in Han Yunus, one of the territory's few remaining hospitals.

Footage from the scene shows people rushing to the site, journalists and rescue workers who scrambled into the wreckage. Then, just minutes later, A second Israeli strike hit the same part of the hospital. Smoke and dust were everywhere, and one hospital official told the Times, quote, all we could hear were screams. In all, the strikes killed at least 20 people,

including first responders, patients, medical staff, and five journalists. When military strike the same target twice in quick succession, it's known as a double-tap. Rights groups have condemned that kind of attack, since people who rush to the scene to help often become victims themselves. The Israeli military didn't respond to questions about whether it had intentionally used that tactic, and it hasn't said who or what the strikes were targeting. But in a rare statement of regret, Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a tragic mishap. The military said it will investigate

the strikes, though in a joint letter, Reuters and the Associated Press, who employed journalists killed in the attack, wrote that when the Israeli military has carried out past investigations into its own conduct, they, quote, rarely result in clarity and action. The war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists anywhere in the world, since the beginning of the war almost 200 have been killed, according to the committee to protect journalists. The group has accused Israel of a deliberate effort to kill

and silence reporters. Now, two updates on other stories we've been following. Kilmar Armando Abrago-Garcia, the immigrant the U.S. wrongfully deported to El Salvador this spring, then brought back, is once again in U.S. custody. He was detained after he showed up in an ICE office yesterday in Baltimore for what was supposed to be an immigration check-in.

Clearly, that was false, his lawyer said. A crowd of supporters outside the office began booing and chanting shame after he was taken into custody. The Trump administration previously claimed Abrago Garcia was a violent gang member. Since he was brought back to the U.S., he's been charged with human smuggling. And the government has now indicated it wants to re-deport him, this time to Uganda.

For the moment, a judge has barred that. She made that extremely clear in court, given the Justice Department's history of flouting judicial orders in the case, telling the government that it is, quote, absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Arbrego-Garcia from the continental United States.

And, with more than 2,200 troops now on the ground in D.C., President Trump is paving the way for deployments across the country. Yesterday, he signed an executive order formalizing the creation of specially trained National Guard units in all 50 states that could be mobilized quickly for, quote, ensuring the public safety and order. It would be a major expansion of the National Guard's role in law enforcement. In recent days, Trump has openly talked about sending guard troops to the streets of Chicago and other cities led by Democrats. In North Korea, the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, facing pressure from international sanctions and in need of cash, has turned to an unexpected industry, tourism. The Times got access to footage from a few recent visitors to the authoritarian country, including a Russian woman on vacation, a Swedish runner there for the Pyongyang Marathon, and a Chinese student. What they captured shows how North Korea is trying to recreate all the staples of capitalism,

enticing people to eat, drink, and shop, even while the average North Korean earns as little as $1,000 a year. Footage from a gleaming shopping mall shows a clear copy of Starbucks, just without the logo. And there's a home goods store there with a layout identical to IKEA. The government also opened a brand new beach resort this summer, with staff standing by, to serve guests every need. Dubbed North Korea's Waikiki, the whole complex is decked out. There are sleek new hotel rooms, jet skis to ride, an American beer to drink. There's even a colorful new water park.

Kim was there to celebrate its opening, watching people zip down the slides while he sat just out of the splash zone. For North Korea, part of the hope is that this push will bring in foreign money. One of the visitors said he paid for things in U.S. dollars. But analysts say it also presents a dilemma for Kim. Opening the country to tourists will inevitably bring in news and other outside influences, which could undermine Kim's totalitarian grip on information, a key part of maintaining his power.

And finally, back in the 1950s, Kim Novak was one of the biggest movie stars out there. She was the top box office draw three years running. But I have to go to work. I've got a job. Don't go to your job. She's probably most famous for starring in Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. I just want to be with you as much as I can, Judy. But Novak then stepped away from Hollywood almost entirely for the last 60 years.

Now, this weekend, at 92 years old, she's coming back to the spotlight. She'll be at the Venice Film Festival. to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. A new documentary about her life will also premiere at the festival, and Sidney Sweeney is going to play her in a new movie. The Times talked to Novak recently from her home in Oregon.

Explaining her decision to step away from film, she said, quote, I'm a very independent person who needs to express myself in my way, in my time. I'm willing to compromise, but I'm not willing to be someone I'm not. The director of the Venice Film Festival compared her to Marilyn Monroe,

Where Monroe died tragically at the height of her fame, Novak, quote, stepped away just in time, retreating into private life. Novak told the times that at her age, she normally wouldn't consider going to Venice except for the award. Quote, it's like a door is sort of opening by itself without me even touching it, and I just have to go and see what's behind it. Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, why so many Americans are obsessed with loading up on protein. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.