NPR News: 08-18-2025 1PM EDT

Summary

NPR News Now – August 18, 2025, 1PM EDT

Host: Lakshmi Sang (NPR)
Duration: ~5 minutes
Episode Theme:
A concise, hourly news update covering high-stakes global diplomacy on Ukraine, U.S. election controversy, major protests in Israel, creative approaches to rat control near Boston, and how the internet shapes the evolution of the English language.

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Key News Segments and Insights

1. High-Level Meeting at the White House on Ukraine War

[00:18–01:03]

• Summary:
  European and NATO leaders are at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meeting with President Trump in a significant diplomatic push to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

• Details:

  • Notable Attendees: Leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the head of NATO, and president of the European Commission.
  • Context: The international group assembled quickly after Trump’s announcement; described as "a major effort to show European unity and solidarity with Ukraine" (Greg Myre).
  • Purpose: Addressing a proposed land swap (which Zelenskyy opposes) and security guarantees against future Russian aggression.

• Quote:

  “Pretty remarkable that all these leaders cleared their schedules and agreed to go to Washington after the Trump Zelensky meeting was announced Saturday. This is a major effort to show European unity and solidarity with Ukraine…”
  — Greg Myre, NPR ([00:33])

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2. Trump’s Push to Eliminate Mail-in Voting and Machines

[01:03–02:12]

• Summary:
  President Trump announced intentions to sign an executive order banning mail-in voting and voting machines for the 2026 midterms—an action election experts say is beyond presidential power.

• Details:

  • Trump claims states act as agents of the federal government in elections and must follow federal directives.
  • Expert Response: Tammy Patrick (Election Center) rejects this, underscoring a lack of federal legal foundation for such presidential authority.

• Quotes:

  “There’s no foundation in any sort of federal law that would probably provide a president the opportunity or authority to, in fact, dictate how states conduct their elections...”
  — Tammy Patrick, via Ashley Lopez, NPR ([01:51])

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3. Massive Israeli Protest Demanding End to Gaza War

[02:12–03:12]

• Summary:
  Israel witnessed one of its largest protests since the war began, with calls to end fighting in Gaza and secure a hostage deal.

• Details:

  • Scale: Organizers claim hundreds of thousands attended.
  • Tactics: Downtown Tel Aviv roads closed, businesses shut down, demonstrations outside ministers’ homes.
  • Government Response: Netanyahu insists ending the war before Hamas is defeated would strengthen the group.
  • Diplomacy: Current negotiations for a ceasefire are at a standstill; Qatar and Egypt are brokering new proposals.

• Quote:

  “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said calls to end the war now before Hamas is defeated will only strengthen Hamas.”
  — Daniel Estrin, NPR ([02:57])

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4. Creative Rat Control: Birth Control Bait in Massachusetts

[03:12–04:13]

• Summary:
  Somerville and Cambridge, MA, are piloting an anti-fertility bait to control rat populations, moving beyond traditional trapping and poisoning.

• Details:

  • How it Works: The bait targets female rats, temporarily preventing pregnancy.
  • Objective: Not eradication, but population reduction.
  • Voices:
    • Sam Lipson (Cambridge environmental health): “It basically stops the pregnancy before it starts.”
    • Deneen Williams (Community volunteer): Cites the challenge but hopes for progress.

• Quotes:

  “It basically stops the pregnancy before it starts.”
  — Sam Lipson ([03:48])
  “I have no illusion that we can actually outsmart the rats, but if we could just reduce them, that would be good.”
  — Deneen Williams ([04:08])

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5. Internet Slang Enters the Dictionary

[04:24–04:57]

• Summary:
  Cambridge Dictionary adds over 6,000 new words—including “skibidi” and “dulu”—reflecting the explosive influence of internet culture on English.

• Details:

  • “Skibidi”: Slang from a viral YouTube series, can mean "bad" or "cool."
  • Colin McIntosh: Highlights the pace at which such online-born words enter mainstream usage.

• Quote:

  “Internet culture is changing the English language. Enter skibidi, a nonsensical slang coined by the creator of an animated YouTube series...”
  — Lakshmi Sang, NPR ([04:24])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Pretty remarkable that all these leaders cleared their schedules… a major effort to show European unity and solidarity with Ukraine…”
  — Greg Myre ([00:33])

• “There’s no foundation in any sort of federal law that would probably provide a president the opportunity or authority to, in fact, dictate how states conduct their elections…”
  — Tammy Patrick, via Ashley Lopez ([01:51])

• “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said calls to end the war now before Hamas is defeated will only strengthen Hamas.”
  — Daniel Estrin ([02:57])

• “It basically stops the pregnancy before it starts.”
  — Sam Lipson ([03:48])

• “I have no illusion that we can actually outsmart the rats, but if we could just reduce them, that would be good.”
  — Deneen Williams ([04:08])

• “Internet culture is changing the English language. Enter skibidi…”
  — Lakshmi Sang ([04:24])

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Important Timestamps

• Ukraine Crisis & White House Meeting: [00:18–01:03]
• Trump on Voting, Legal Responses: [01:03–02:12]
• Israel Protest and Gaza War Stalemate: [02:12–03:12]
• Novel Rat Control Measures: [03:12–04:13]
• New Words in the Dictionary: [04:24–04:57]

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Tone: Direct, factual, and concise, mixing urgent headlines with a few instances of dry or resigned humor (especially in the rat control segment).
Perfect For: Staying rapidly updated on world events, policy, innovation, and culture in just five minutes.

Transcript

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[Lakshmi Sang]

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Sang. European and NATO leaders are joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White house this hour. NPR's Greg Myre reports on the high stakes meeting President Trump's hosting in a bid to end the Russia, Ukraine war.

[Greg Myre]

Zelensky will have quite the entourage many top political figures in Europe, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy, the head of NATO, the president of the European Commission. Pretty remarkable that all these leaders cleared their schedules and agreed to go to Washington after the Trump Zelensky meeting was announced Saturday. This is a major effort to show European unity and solidarity with Ukraine, where at this crucial moment is Trump makes this concentrated effort to find a solution to the war.

[Lakshmi Sang]

NPR's Greg Myhre. After Zelensky was excluded from last Friday's summit between the US And Russia, European leaders want to weigh in on Trump's suggestions of a land swap, which Zelenskyy opposes and security guarantees that Russia will not invade again. President Trump has posted on social media that he plans to sign an executive order to eliminate mail in voting and voting machines ahead of next year's midterms. Election experts, however, say this is not something that a president has the power to do. Here's NPR's Ashley Lopez.

[Ashley Lopez]

TRUMP said in a statement that states are merely an agent for the federal government when it comes to tabulating votes. He also said states must run their elections however the federal government tells them to. But Tammy Patrick with the Election center, which is the national association of Election Officials, says that's actually not how this works. There's no foundation in any sort of federal law that would probably provide a president the opportunity or authority to, in fact dictate how states conduct their elections, she said. That includes deciding what methods of voting states can use as well as how those votes are counted. Ashley Lopez, NPR News.

[Lakshmi Sang]

Yesterday, Israelis staged one of their biggest protests in nearly two years of war. Organizers say hundreds of thousands of people rallied to end the Gaza war and reach a hostage deal with HAMAS and the NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.

[Daniel Estrin]

Protest organizers released aerial footage of masses filling downtown Tel Aviv at the end of Sunday's day of demonstrations. They said hundreds of thousands of people rallied, shutting down roads across Israel and protesting outside the homes of government ministers. Many businesses closed, too. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said calls to end the war now before Hamas is defeated will only strengthen Hamas. Negotiations for a ceasefire broke down weeks ago. Now Qatar and Egypt are working on a new proposal. Israel is demanding the release of all of the hostages Hamas is holding. The previous proposal spoke of releasing only half the hostages for a temporary ceasefire. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

[Lakshmi Sang]

From Washington, this is NPR News. To a lot of people, rats are nuisances. They can carry disease and wreck property. Now city officials near Boston are trying a different approach to shrink the rat population in their region. Ari Daniel reports. They're trying a method of birth control.

[Ari Daniel]

Rats outwit our traps, and attempts at poisoning can backfire. So the cities of Somerville and Cambridge are introducing bait that contains an anti fertility chemical that targets female rats.

[Sam Lipson]

So it basically stops the pregnancy before it starts.

[Ari Daniel]

Sam Lipson is the senior director of environmental health in Cambridge, and he's overseeing a field trial of the chemical. The birth control doesn't lead to permanent infertility. The goal is not total eradication. Deneen Williams is a community volunteer with the trial.

[Deneen Williams]

I have no illusion that we can actually outsmart the rats, but if we could just reduce them, that would be good.

[Ari Daniel]

If it works, the cities will likely adopt the approach as part of their broader rat control strategy. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.

[Lakshmi Sang]

Words like skibidi and dulu can make the next game of Scrabble now they're among more than 6,000 new words the Cambridge Dictionary has added. Colin McIntosh, the lexical program manager for the world's largest online dictionary, says in Internet culture is changing the English language. Enter skibidi, a nonsensical slang coined by the creator of an animated YouTube series that can mean bad or cool. This is NPR News.

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