NPR News: 09-02-2025 12AM EDT

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens.

Rescuers and volunteers in Ephraim, Afghanistan, are combing through debris in search of earthquake survivors.

The quake killed more than 800 people and left thousands more injured.

Shireen Ibrahim is the director of the International Rescue Committee for Afghanistan.

She describes the devastation.

We are more concerned about the isolated communities in particular locations that are now partially or fully decimated.

So houses, infrastructure, all gone.

Travel time would be about three to five hours and unfortunately prolonged now because of the destruction that we're currently seeing.

Abraham says many Afghans were already dealing with food insecurity and insufficient health care before the quake hit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the U.S.-backed peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine could still bear fruit.

Putin made the remarks at a summit in China, as NPR's Charles Mainz reports from Moscow.

Speaking before leaders from countries including China, India, and Iran, Putin claimed Western meddling in Ukraine and NATO's expansion had forced Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Yet, Putin said understandings reached at his recent summit with President Trump in Alaska had opened the path towards peace.

Trump and his negotiators say the Alaska talks marked a breakthrough, with Putin agreeing to concessions towards Ukraine's future security in exchange for forfeiting land.

Yet the Kremlin has since slow-walked Trump's efforts to organize a summit between Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and dismissed several Western proposals for security guarantees for Ukraine outright.

Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow.

The Democratic National Committee is working on its 2028 presidential primary calendar.

And NPR Stephen Fowler has details.

At the DNC summer meeting in Minneapolis Tuesday, the party's rules and bylaws committee kicked off planning for the next presidential cycle.

DNC Chair Ken Martin.

We will be holding a series of meetings this year.

We're planning for meetings throughout the fall and winter and through the spring to make sure that we have a rigorous, effective, fair calendar and process.

Former President Biden pushed the DNC to shake up the order of early states in 2024, dropping Iowa, New Hampshire, and elevating South Carolina, among other changes.

But don't expect a final proposal on what states hold primaries when until after next year's midterms.

Stephen Fowler, NPR News.

The Trump administration says it is reuniting the Guatemalan children it tried to deport over the weekend.

That's after a federal judge barred the government from deporting an undetermined number of minors for at least 14 days.

The administration says the children are now being reunited with family members, and the Guatemalan government says it suggested that the U.S.

send the children home instead of keeping them in shelters and foster care.

This is NPR.

A House committee investigating the Justice Department handling of Jeffrey Epstein case has withdrawn a subpoena to a former FBI director.

Robert Robert Mueller had been directed to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday for a deposition, but the subpoena was withdrawn after the panel learned of health issues.

Researchers are offering mixed reviews on the benefits of creatine supplements.

NPR's Maria Godoy explains.

Creatine is a compound that supplies energy to our muscles.

The body makes some creatine, and we also get it from animal foods like beef, chicken, and especially fish.

Research shows that when adults take creatine supplements and couple it with resistance training, they can add two to three pounds of lean muscle mass.

As for other potential benefits like improving memory and helping our brains function better when we're sleep deprived, researcher Jose Antonio of Nova Southeastern University in Florida says the evidence there is interesting, but it's not strong.

The way I would frame it is, it definitely won't hurt you.

and it probably will help you.

If you do try creatine supplements, experts say look for ones that are certified by a third party.

Maria Godoy, NPR News.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is threatening to declare what he calls a republic in arms if attacked by the United States.

Those comments coming as the U.S.

increases the number of U.S.

warships in waters of the Caribbean and Pacific, including two guided missile destroyers.

The Trump administration says the move is aimed at combating drug cartels in Latin America.

This is NPR News.

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