NPR News: 08-20-2025 3AM EDT

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan.

President Trump is offering assurances that U.S.

troops won't be sent to Ukraine to defend that country from Russia.

He also says Ukraine should give up plans to both join NATO and regain Crimea's peninsula from Russia.

NPR's Phil Myri reports another area of contention in possible peace talks concerns the fate of the industrial region of Donbas in the eastern part of Ukraine and the prime battlefield since the war started.

Russia took a big part of the Donbas in the initial invasion in 2014 and more at the start of the 2022 invasion.

And Russia wants this entire region It's just across the border from Russia.

There are lots of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers.

They tend to have more ties to Russia and, in some cases, more sympathy with Russia.

And it was an important industrial and mining area, though the regional economy has largely been shattered by the war.

Russia's President Putin wants any settlement to include giving Russia full control of Donpos.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walt says he will push for his state to go first in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary system.

system.

Clay Masters from Minnesota Public Radio says National Democrats will talk about it next week.

Democrats who picked the order of states in their party's presidential primary shuffled the calendar ahead of 2024, knocking Iowa out of the early pack and putting South Carolina in front.

Governor Wall says he's going to push for Minnesota.

It doesn't need to be the same every year.

I think you move states up through this process, especially states that consistently show high voter turnout and high engagement

and a continuously diversifying state like Minnesota is.

So yeah, I'm going to make the case.

The DNC is now chaired by Minnesota's former state party chair Ken Martin and Walls was the party's vice presidential candidate last year.

For NPR News, I'm Clay Masters in St.

Paul.

Hurricane Erin remains on a course to pass between the mid-Atlantic states in Bermuda today and tonight.

Erin is 500 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with winds of 100 miles per hour.

NPR's John Stempen reports the National Hurricane Center has posted tropical storm warnings and watches for the Mid-Atlantic.

Tropical storm force winds are expected in the outer banks this afternoon into tonight.

The Hurricane Center says Aaron is getting better organized with a slow strengthening through tomorrow.

Up to two inches of rain might fall in the outer banks.

A storm surge of up to four feet is expected from Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina.

According to Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan, East Coast ocean swimmers need to be concerned.

All the way from Florida up through New England, it's not going to be safe to get into the ocean.

High to moderate risk of rip currents everywhere along the U.S.

East Coast, pretty much.

Rip currents could remain over the next several days.

John Stempen, NPR News.

You're listening to NPR.

North Korea has forcefully rejected efforts by South Korea's new president to lower tensions and resume dialogue.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul the snub comes days before a summit meeting between the U.S.

and the South Korean officials in Washington.

Since taking office in June, President E.J.

Myung has promised to respect the North's political system, removed loudspeakers blaring propaganda into the North, and promised to restore a 2018 military tension-reducing agreement.

But leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, said he is not the sort of man who will change history.

And South Korea cannot become a diplomatic partner of the North.

She added that the South knows perfectly well well that there's no going back to the days of friendlier relations.

Kim Yo-jong has acknowledged personal ties between her brother and President Trump, leaving open the possibility of future talks with the U.S.

if it drops what Pyongyang considers its hostile attitude.

Anthony Kuhn in Pyongyu's Soul.

Dallas area-based Nexstar Media says it will buy Tegna for $6.2 billion, bringing together two major players in the local television and news landscape.

Nexstar owns and has licensing partnerships with more than 200 television stations in 116 markets.

It also owns the cable networks News Nation and CW, along with WG on Radio in Chicago.

Tegna owns 64 stations in 51 markets.

If the transaction is approved, Nextar will pay a premium of $22 a share in cash for the outstanding Tegna stock.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

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