NPR News: 08-18-2025 6PM EDT

Summary

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NPR News Now – August 18, 2025, 6PM EDT

Host: Windsor Johnston
Duration: 5 minutes
Main Theme: Rapid-fire update on the day’s most important news – global diplomacy, U.S. politics, technology in health care, legal battles over election misinformation, and labor issues in aviation.

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1. Presidential Diplomacy: Trilateral Meeting on Ukraine

[00:25–01:28]

• Key Point: President Trump plans to hold a trilateral summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss peace in Ukraine.

• Tamara Keith reports from the White House, noting cautious optimism among European leaders as Trump outlines a potential peace deal.

• Notable Developments:

  • "President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine." (Tamara Keith, 00:58)
  • Discussion involves the possibility of territory exchanges in regions where Russia has made advances.
  • Trump expresses hope for a trilateral meeting “very soon,” echoed by Zelensky.

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2. Texas House Democrats End Walkout

[01:28–02:16]

• Key Point: Texas Democrats ended a two-week walkout, allowing the GOP to advance a new, Republican-favoring congressional map for next year's midterms.

• Speaker Dustin Burrows (Texas House Speaker) addresses the chamber’s resilience:

  "This body has endured wars, economic depressions and quorum breaks dating back to the very first session. It will withstand this, too. And what will remain is a chamber where the majority has the right to prevail and the minority has the right to be heard." (Dustin Burrows, 01:49)

• Democrats for whom arrest warrants were issued will be escorted by state troopers.

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3. Doctors and AI: Early Dependence Concerns

[02:16–03:12]

• Key Point: New research finds doctors may quickly become dependent on AI systems — possibly at the expense of their own vigilance.

• Study in Poland: Doctors using an AI to highlight polyps during colonoscopies found fewer polyps when AI was turned off.

• Marcim Romancek (Study lead):

  "We are subconsciously waiting for the green box to come out and show us the region where the polyp is, and we are not paying so much attention." (Marcim Romancek, 02:49)

• Other experts caution more study is needed; published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

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4. Defamation Lawsuit: Newsmax Settles with Dominion

[03:12–04:29]

• Key Point: Newsmax settles a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $67 million; the case related to 2020 U.S. election misinformation.
• Settlement avoids a trial where the judge had already ruled Newsmax aired false, defamatory statements.
• Contextual Note: Fox News’s settlement in a similar case was much larger ($787 million in 2023).
• Reporter’s Perspective:
  • “Jurors would have been asked to decide whether Newsmax had acted with actual malice...” (Maddy Laria, 03:42)

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5. Air Canada Flight Attendant Strike Continues

[04:29–05:04]

• Key Point: Despite a back-to-work order by the Canadian government, Air Canada flight attendants remain on strike.
• The union calls the government order “unconstitutional” and claims it's meant to protect profits, not workers.
• Major sticking point: Flight attendants are only paid while the plane is moving—not for time prepping or boarding.

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Memorable Quotes

• “President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine.” (Tamara Keith, 00:58)
• “...the majority has the right to prevail and the minority has the right to be heard.” (Dustin Burrows, 01:49)
• “We are subconsciously waiting for the green box to come out and show us the region where the polyp is...” (Marcim Romancek, 02:49)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Trilateral Ukraine Summit: 00:25–01:28
• Texas House Democrats Return: 01:28–02:16
• AI and Doctors: 02:16–03:12
• Newsmax Settlement: 03:12–04:29
• Air Canada Strike: 04:29–05:04

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For listeners, this episode provided concise, high-impact updates on diplomacy, U.S. politics, health tech, legal accountability for misinformation, and labor disputes — all in NPR’s signature balanced and informative tone.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show Here and Now Anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and wbur.

[Windsor Johnston]

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump says he's hoping to schedule a trilateral meeting with himself and President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. NPR's Tamara Keith reports. Zelensky and European leaders are at the White House today in a follow up to Trump's Alaska summit with Putin.

[Tamara Keith]

At the start of the White House meeting, European leaders expressed cautious optimism as President Trump outlined the contours of a potential peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

In a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. And this is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we're going to be considering that at the table also, like who will do what.

But he added, there would likely need to be a possible exchange of territory where Russia has made gains. Trump said he hoped a trilateral meeting would be possible very soon, and Zelensky echoed that hope. Tamara Keith, NPR News.

[Windsor Johnston]

House Democrats in Texas have ended their two week walkout. The return sets the stage for passage of a new congressional map that favors the GOP in next year's midterm elections. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider has more.

[Andrew Schneider]

Texas speaker of the House Dustin Burrows said the time had come for the chamber to get back to business.

[Dustin Burrows]

This body has endured wars, economic depressions and and quorum breaks dating back to the very first session. It will withstand this, too. And what will remain is a chamber where the majority has the right to prevail and the minority has the right to be heard.

[Andrew Schneider]

That said, Burroughs announced that those Democrats for whom arrest warrants had been issued would only be allowed to leave the chamber in the custody of Department of Public Safety troopers who would ensure their return on Wednesday. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.

[Windsor Johnston]

And new study suggests that doctors may quickly become dependent on artificial intelligence after it's introduced. NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports. Some worry it could affect health outcomes.

[Jeff Brumfield]

The study looked at colonoscopies conducted in Poland. Doctors were given an AI system that draws a green box around a polyp in real time. It worked, but when the AI was switched off, the doctors appeared to flag fewer polyps than they did before they had it. Marcim Romancek led the study. He thinks doctors might be too quick.

[Marcim Romancek]

To rely on AI we are subconsciously waiting for the green box to come out and show us the region where the polyp is, and we are not paying so much attention.

[Jeff Brumfield]

But other researchers say further study is needed to actually determine whether there's a drop in detection. The work appears in the journal Lancet, Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Jeff Brumfiel, NPR News.

[Windsor Johnston]

Stocks traded mixed on Wall street today. The Dow was down 34 points at the close. The NASDAQ Composite up 6. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Another defamation lawsuit related to false claims about the 2020 election has been settled, this time with cable news network Newsmax paying millions without admitting any wrongdoing. Maddy Laria reports from Delaware, where the case had been scheduled to go to trial this fall.

[Maddy Laria]

Newsmax Media has agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $67 million to avoid a six week trial. The judge hearing already ruled that Newsmax had aired false and defamatory claims about election fraud in 2020. Jurors would have been asked to decide whether Newsmax had acted with actual malice. Last year, Newsmax agreed to settle a similar defamation case brought by a different voting systems company, Smartmatic USA, for $40 million. Together, those settlements are but a fraction of the $787 million Fox News agreed to pay Dominion in 2023 to settle a separate defamation lawsuit linked to false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. For NPR News, I'm Mady Laria in Dover, Delaware.

[Windsor Johnston]

Flight attendants remain on strike against Air Canada. The work stoppage comes despite a government order that they go back on the job. The union is calling the order unconstitutional and designed to protect the airline's profit. One of the major sticking points is compensation. Flight attendants are largely paid only when the plane is moving, but not for time spent before and during the boarding process. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

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