James Comey indicted; Hegseth calls uncommon assembly : NPR

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At the moment's high tales A grand jury in Virginia has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on costs of obstructing justice and making a false assertion to Congress. The fees come after President Trump demanded prosecutors decide up the tempo in constructing a case in opposition to certainly one of his most outstanding critics. The president has focused Comey for years, blaming him for the appointment of a particular prosecutor who probed connections between Russia and Trump's 2016 marketing campaign by means of a lot of his first time period in workplace.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4658x2620+0+243/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9e%2F6a%2Fc807cd494a138b09bfc0b5e3d484%2Fgettyimages-1078705736.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4658x2620+0+243/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9e%2F6a%2Fc807cd494a138b09bfc0b5e3d484%2Fgettyimages-1078705736.jpg" class="img" alt="Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey leaves the Rayburn House Office Building after testifying to two House committees on Dec. 7, 2018, in Washington, D.C." loading="lazy"/> Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey leaves the Rayburn Home Workplace Constructing after testifying to 2 Home committees on Dec. 7, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs disguise caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs 🎧 NPR's Carrie Johnson tells Up First it is a "naked bones" indictment, coming in at solely two full pages. Nonetheless, Trump mentioned Comey is in the beginning of being held accountable for his crimes. Final week, the White Home compelled out a profession prosecutor who raised doubts concerning the power of proof within the Comey case. Lindsey Halligan, an insurance coverage lawyer with no prosecutor expertise, was then ushered into the function. The Justice Division should reveal that Comey knowingly lied a few important matter for the costs to be upheld. Johnson says Comey might be able to argue that he's being prosecuted out of vindictiveness, given the president's remarks.

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday summoned the Pentagon's high commanders from world wide to a gathering in Virginia subsequent week. The Pentagon has not launched why the weird gathering was known as or what the plans are.

🎧 NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman says he hasn't heard of something on this scale occurring earlier than. He says, at instances, the Pentagon has introduced in combatant commanders, who oversee army operations world wide, for annual conferences. However that is very completely different in numbers. Hegseth mentioned lowering the variety of admirals and generals throughout his affirmation. Bowman says this may very well be the explanation for the assembly, however that is not identified for positive. The U.S. authorities plans to gather a multibillion-dollar charge from the American buyers set to take over TikTok's U.S. operations. The Trump administration not too long ago approached the buyers, who embrace tech mogul Larry Ellison and the Murdochs, to inquire if they might make a cost to the federal authorities in "within the low billions," in keeping with an individual with direct data of the talks. Their response was an unequivocal sure. Some consultants name the charge and different offers prefer it "extortion."

Image present <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2400x1350+0+291/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff0%2F44%2F1546e02f4590b2bc7aacf5a3e4d8%2F081625-sallymann-458-2.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2400x1350+0+291/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff0%2F44%2F1546e02f4590b2bc7aacf5a3e4d8%2F081625-sallymann-458-2.jpg" class="img" alt="Sally Mann in her home studio in Virginia on August 16, 2025." loading="lazy"/> Sally Mann in her house studio in Virginia on August 16, 2025. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR disguise caption

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Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR Works from photographer Sally Mann will be seen at main artwork establishments world wide. However this yr, police seized 4 of her most celebrated images. In a single, a toddler is asleep, sprawled throughout a mattress she wetted, and in one other, a popsicle drips on her son's decrease physique, genitals included. The photographs are a part of her Quick Household sequence that has been displayed for over 30 years. The Danbury Institute, a conservative Christian advocacy group, accused the Fashionable Artwork Museum of Fort Value in Texas of displaying "youngster pornography" in a December 2024 open letter, which was backed by native elected officers. Mann anticipates there will likely be extra assaults on artwork by individuals who do not perceive the works they're vilifying. Learn extra about what Mann says is a "new period of tradition wars" and see pictures of a few of Mann's works all through the years. Hearken to what she has to say concerning the seizure of her artwork or learn the transcript.

Weekend picks <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2000x1124+0+47/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F28%2Fd7%2F6b88b48442578896e8f34e68f5b4%2Fdf-07499-r-2000x1333-thumbnail.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2000x1124+0+47/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F28%2Fd7%2F6b88b48442578896e8f34e68f5b4%2Fdf-07499-r-2000x1333-thumbnail.jpg" class="img" alt="Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey." loading="lazy"/> Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell in A Huge Daring Lovely Journey. Matt Kennedy/Sony Photos disguise caption

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Matt Kennedy/Sony Photos Try what NPR is watching, studying and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Films: A Huge Daring Lovely Journey is a romantic fantasy movie starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. In it, they play two strangers touring in a rental automobile with a magical GPS that directs them to doorways main them into scenes from the previous.

📺 TV: Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey star within the HBO sequence Job, a gripping crime thriller about an FBI agent who's reluctantly drawn again into the sphere to research a sequence of drug-related crimes.

📚 Books: In Will There Ever Be One other You, the principle character struggles with an sickness much like lengthy COVID, descending right into a state of debility and psychosis as readers expertise the chaos of her unraveling life.

🎵 Music: Twenty One Pilots proves rock and roll is alive and nicely with its album Breach, touchdown atop the Billboard 200 chart this week.

🎭 Theater: Chess Jakobs' new play, The American 5, explores the story behind how Martin Luther King Jr. and his closest allies organized the March on Washington. NPR speaks with Jakobs and Ro Boddie, who portrays King. Hearken to their dialogue or learn the transcript.

🎮 Video games: Excellent news for Silent Hill followers! The most recent version, Silent Hill f, is likely one of the boldest, darkest, goriest, and outright finest video games in the whole sequence, says NPR's Vincent Acovino.

❓Quiz: Nicely, this week wasn't my finest work. I bought 4 questions improper, however I do know you'll do higher than I did. Give it a strive.

3 issues to know earlier than you go <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2250+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F59%2Fa6%2F3551030a4d5bbc93e62edaa53dd4%2Fgettyimages-2226807556.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2250+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F59%2Fa6%2F3551030a4d5bbc93e62edaa53dd4%2Fgettyimages-2226807556.jpg" class="img" alt="A Starbucks coffee shop in New York on Monday, July 28, 2025. Starbucks Corp. is closing stores and laying off 900 corporate employees as part of a turnaround strategy." loading="lazy"/> A Starbucks espresso store in New York on Monday, July 28, 2025. Starbucks Corp. is closing shops and shedding 900 company staff as a part of a turnaround technique. Bloomberg/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs/Bloomberg disguise caption

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Bloomberg/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs/Bloomberg Starbucks intends to get rid of 900 company jobs and shut a few of its shops within the U.S. and Canada as the corporate approaches the one-year mark of its turnaround plan.Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a landmark case over its Prime membership program. The U.S. authorities claimed the corporate made it tough for tens of millions of individuals to cancel subscriptions.Squirrels could also be cute, however honest warning, they'll assault. Residents in Marin County, Calif., discovered this the exhausting approach when at the very least three folks from one neighborhood have been despatched to the hospital after being attacked by one squirrel. (by way of KQED)