NPR News: 07-16-2025 4PM EDT
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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is telling off members of his own base who are still demanding the Justice Department publicize what it's got on the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
I'd rather talk about the success we have with the economy, the best we've ever had and all of the things we've done, including the Middle East. I mean, you see it. Instead, they want to talk about the Epstein hoax.
What is President Trump's stance on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation?
And the sad part is it's people that are really doing the Democrats' work. They're stupid people.
Many conspiracy theorists and conservative influencers are angry that Attorney General Pam Bondi says Epstein did not maintain a client list after she and other top Trump allies had suggested otherwise. Trump made the comments during a photo op with the crown prince of Bahrain. Syrian state media report a ceasefire agreement has been reached in southwest Syria. It is unclear if this will put an end to days of intense fighting. A Syrian war monitor says hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between Syrian government troops and the Druze religious minority. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv, Israel has intervened in the fighting with strikes in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Israel's military says it launched airstrikes on Syrian military headquarters and in an area near the presidential palace. It has also targeted Syrian troops and tanks, trying to prevent Syrian troops from attacking the Druze-majority area of Soweda. An Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters Israel is trying to enforce a demilitarized zone in southern Syria near Israeli-controlled territory. and that it's also intervening to protect the Druze religious minority which straddles Syria and Israel. This comes at a delicate time for Syria and Israel. Syria's new government is struggling to unify the country's diverse sects after a long civil war, and the U.S. has been trying to create ties between Syria and Israel.
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
Four law enforcement officers and a businessman in central Louisiana have been indicted in a scheme to allow foreign nationals to remain in the country by allegedly falsifying crime reports. WRKF's Brooke Thornton reports.
Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle and Forest Hill Police Chief Glenn Dixon are among the five. Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook says we're abusing U visas. Those are visas given to foreign nationals who are either a victim of or witness to a crime so they can remain in the country until the crime is prosecuted.
Each report listed several victims of purported armed robberies in central Louisiana, and the defendants produced false police reports so the purported victims of the robberies could apply for U visas.
Van Hook says individuals paid $5,000 for the false crime reports to remain in the country, and there were hundreds of payments. It's NPR.
At a hearing today, a federal judge in Tennessee may decide whether to release a Maryland man whose case has become a flashpoint of the national battle over President Trump's immigration policies. If Kilmar Abrego-Garcia is released, the administration could try to deport him for a second time since March when he was mistakenly sent to his native El Salvador. Abrego-Garcia was returned to the U.S. last month to face human smuggling charges that he has denied. The National Weather Service warns of dangerous heat from the Pacific Northwest expanding east. Meanwhile, the threat of flash floods from heavy rainfall stretches from the central and eastern U.S. to points south. Climate change is fueling more extreme rainstorms across much of the U.S., which can increase the risk of dangerous flooding.
NPR's Michael Copley reports that is creating a big challenge for the country's infrastructure.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. So as the earth heats up, storms can drop more rain than they did in the past. That's pressuring communities to overhaul things like transportation and stormwater management systems to handle more intense storms.
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