Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman.
U.S. envoy's Steve Woodcoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian president Vladimir Putin at
the Kremlin Saturday.
“It was a new effort to try and find an end or rushes war with Ukraine, as NPR's Charles”
Maine tells us for Moscow. "The re-engagement on Ukraine now comes as some things are changing with Russia's war. Keep in mind CIA director John Ratcliffe was recently in Moscow for brief visit with his Russian counterparts in the intelligence community. Presumably Ukraine was part of those discussions, so it could be there's a new diplomatic
window here, but the prevailing view is that the U.S. has concerned this conflict is about to escalate even further than it already has." The on-foys will be in Kiev on Sunday for meetings with that country's president, both sides, say they will halt airstrikes on each other while the on-voys travel in the region. The Trump administration has a new official to oversee U.S. foreign assistance.
It's a department that's seen one of the biggest shifts in policy during President Trump's second term as in Piersvapatanis reports. The State Department has appointed Andrew Vaprak as its new undersecretary for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom. Vaprak is a career officer in the U.S. foreign service who had postings in Cameroon, Canada,
Iraq, and Thailand.
“His most recent position was leading the State Department's population refugees in migration”
department.
He's been critical of a more generous foreign aid approach, particularly two-nighted nation
agencies and has pushed for more restrictions on immigration. In recent months, the administration has been spending more money to fund humanitarian response around the world, though not nearly as much as the U.S. did before Trump took office in 2025. Vaprak-Mitanis and PR News.
The maker of the smart rings called aura is preparing to go public in what could be a blockbuster IPO. The company's first financial disclosures show a massive trove of personal data at a very loyal base of subscribers who are willing to pay a monthly fee. And PR Zelina Celia has more on that story.
The aura ring has been writing the wellness trend to sell 3.6 billion rings in the past year. That's according to the company's new disclosures ahead of the public listing on the NASDAQ.
“aura's pitch is that it tracks over 50 metrics, like the heart rates, stress levels, sleep”
patterns. It also sells a subscription for about $6 a month to be able to see most of that data. The company's filing says aura has, quote, "amassed one of the largest and highest quality
longitudinal biometric data sets and consumer health, representing nearly 42 billion hours
of physiological data." aura says it's revenue doubled from 2024 to 2025 and seems on track to do that again this year. Alina Celia and PR News. Anti-immigration protesters blocked the British port of Doveress Saturday morning, hundreds
of mass people stalled traffic as they shouted "stop the boats." Travelers and cargo vehicles heading to France were unable to reach the fairies the protests were cleared by midday. You're listening to NPR News. If you're headed for a final summer beach visit this Labor Day weekend, it'll be good if you know where it's okay to set up your beach chairs, and umbrella.
As NPR's Deborah Elliott reports, a battle is heating up along a popular Gulf of Mexico destination in the Florida Panhandle over who gets to use the beach and where. South Walton County, Florida's shoreline of white sand and emerald green water is a flash point and a protracted legal battle over personal property lines and beachgoers' rights. Day-rouse coal is with Florida beaches for all.
A group pushing a constitutional amendment to allow public beach access. Our beaches should be public, they should be shared as they have for eons. But homeowners say that in crutches on their property rights. Eric Wilhelm has a Gulf Front House in Santa Rosa Beach. To are you, you know, whether or not I consider your property as like saying, "I want to
consider your backyard." Rapid development has created a land squeeze here and elsewhere in Florida. Debbie Elliott NPR News, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Mike Huckabee says Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is an act of tear. U.S. ambassador to Israel met Saturday with Palestinian Americans who have been shaken
by months of attacks. Last week Israel's prime minister also condemned what he called the actions of a handful of rioters. Explosives were dropped from a drone into a military compound in Northeastern Columbia this week and officials say at least three soldiers were killed and four others were wounded
in the attack. Local officials say the rebel group National Liberation Army is responsible for the attack. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News As the political landscape shifts beneath our feet were all vulnerable to a well-funded distraction economy determined to take our eye off the bomb.
Our weekly politics series if you can keep it is here to help where our focus is not the horse race, but the state. We tackle the big political stories of the day and why they matter for our democracy. Join me, Todd's Willard and me, Jen White on the one-eight podcast from WAMU and NPR.
