Ukraine Battlefield, New Immigrant Detention Center, Kennedy Center Honors

0:01President Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow. The summit's goal is to end the fighting in Ukraine. As talks go on, though, the war keeps on going. Does Ukraine have any hope that Putin will agree to a ceasefire? I'm Michelle Martin. That's Leila Faddle. And this is Up First from NPR News. The Trump administration is spending more than a billion dollars to build a massive detention camp near Mexico's border. What do people living nearby think about it? Also, President Trump is taking over the Kennedy Center honors. He picked the honorees himself, and he's hosting the show.

0:35I used to host the Apprentice finales, and we did rather well with that. So I think we're going to do very well. Is he at the center of his vision for the arts? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

0:52This message comes from NPR sponsor Walmart. Did you know that Walmart is one of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for in 2025? It's no surprise. Walmart is investing$1 billion in training and development to help associates build lasting careers with or without a degree. In fact, 75 % of Walmart management started in hourly roles. With benefits like health care, paid parental leave, and tuition support, Walmart isn't just a place to work. It's a place to grow. Learn more at walmart.com slash spark. This message comes from Grammarly. From emails to reports and project proposals, it's hard to meet the demands of today's competing priorities without some help.

1:38Grammarly is the essential AI communication assistant that boosts your productivity at work so you can get more of what you need done faster. Just a few clicks can tailor your tone and writing so you come across exactly as you intend. Get time back to focus on your high-impact work. Download Grammarly for free at grammarly.com slash podcast. That's grammarly.com slash podcast. As President Trump prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, the fighting in Ukraine is still going on. In fact, battles have been escalating on some fronts in recent days. NPR's Greg Myrie is in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, and joins me now to talk about that fighting.

2:18Good morning, Greg. Hi, Leila. So what should we know about the fighting right now as these two leaders head into the summit? Well, it's not letting up. This week, a small number of Russian troops slipped through Ukraine's defensive lines on the main battlefront in the east near the town of Pokrovsk. Ukraine's military says it's tracking down these Russians and stabilizing the area. It notes that the Russian forces are operating in small groups of about a dozen or so fighters and don't have sufficient numbers to really hold territory. Now, this is just one town largely reduced to rubble, but it says a lot about the larger war.

2:53Russia has tried to take Pokrovsk for more than a year. I recall last August when the Russians advanced to within 10 miles. They've now surrounded it on three sides but still haven't reached Pokrovsk. And this is a familiar scenario, a large Russian force making incremental gains and suffering huge casualties while Ukraine tries to hold the line. OK, so that's a look at the ground war. What about the air war? Yeah, the new development here is Russia is unleashing waves of drones on most nights. Until this year, they'd fire off maybe a couple dozen a night. In July, Russia averaged more than 200 drones a night, many at civilian targets.

3:34Ukraine really has to scramble to put up a wide range of defenses. Here's Air Force spokesman Yuri Anat.

3:43So he says Ukraine is destroying these incoming drones with helicopters, fighter jets, electronic jamming, machine guns, missiles fired from the ground. But some Russian drones still get through. Now, I should add that Ukraine is also on the offensive with its own drones. It strikes deep inside Russia at oil refineries and railway stations. It's targeting the Russian transportation network that's used to send ammunition and other supplies to its troops. Does Ukraine have enough weapons to sustain the fighting at current levels? President Vladimir Zelensky said Ukraine needs more help when he offered a battlefield assessment this week.

4:23He said Ukraine still has the edge when it comes to drones, but Russia has a huge advantage in artillery. Now, he also spoke about casualties, which neither side discusses very often. He said Monday, for example, was fairly typical. Russian forces suffered nearly 1 ,000 dead, wounded, and captured. Ukraine had a total of 340 in these combined categories. He said those casualty figures and the ratio, with Russia losing about three times as many troops as Ukraine, tends to be the norm. Okay, and it looks like Ukraine is not going to be part of the Friday's meeting. Does the leadership there expect this summit between the U.S.

5:03and Russia will lead to any changes in this war? You know, the short answer is no, Leila. While there's talk of a possible ceasefire, Zelensky says Putin shows no sign of preparing for a truce. Zelensky met commanders this week, and they say Russia appears to be preparing for expanded military operations. The Ukrainians think Putin may offer some concession at the summit, perhaps a partial ceasefire for a limited period of time. But they fear they'll face pressure to make concessions, even though they're just a bystander at the summit. That's NPR's Greg Myrie. Thank you, Greg. Sure thing, Leila.

5:47The Trump administration is spending more than a billion dollars to build a massive detention camp at Fort Bliss in Texas, near the border with Mexico. The tent facility in El Paso is part of the effort to expand detention space needed to carry out mass deportations. The first detainees are scheduled to arrive on Sunday. Angela Kocherga with member station KTEP joins us with more details. Good morning. Good morning. Okay, so this detention facility is projected to be the largest in the country. What can you tell us about it? Well, construction on the detention center is moving ahead very quickly at Fort Bliss.

6:24That's the Army's massive installation in El Paso. A few structures are visible from the road just outside the base, including a giant white tent. The camp will house single adults facing deportation, and according to ICE, the facility will open with 1 ,000 beds with plans to expand to 5 ,000. The administration has been criticized for conditions at some holding facilities across the country, but ICE says this camp will include access to legal representation, visitation, and medical treatment. Now, the Trump administration is moving quickly to expand detention space for immigrants facing deportation.

6:59There's the facility the Trump administration and governor of Florida calls Alligator Alcatraz and detention centers in other states. So why is this massive camp also needed? Well, the administration says it's running out of space as it detains a record number of people. At the end of July, nearly 57 ,000 immigrants were in detention. Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas visited El Paso this week to get a look at the construction, and he said the facility will house criminals. We're not talking about gardeners, housekeepers, or people like that. We're talking about individuals who are called criminal aliens, who are people either with criminal charges pending or criminal convictions.

7:42Now, of course, the Trump administration has said the focus is on criminals. But as we've seen, gardeners, day laborers, and restaurant workers have all been swept up in the administration's aggressive immigration crackdown. This new facility will hold immigrants from across the country who will then be put on ice air deportation flights departing from Fort Bliss. So the base will be a hub for processing, holding and deporting people. Active duty soldiers will not be involved in operations at the detention camp. And this mega detention center will be just 40 miles away from another tent facility that held hundreds of teenage migrants during the first Trump administration.

8:20And how are locals responding? Well, it's complicated. You know, this border city has experienced immigration enforcement firsthand. Also, people here have a very close relationship with Fort Bliss. There are a lot of veterans who live here. You know, some locals have voiced concerns about using the military base to carry out immigration enforcement. El Paso's Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar is among those who also question the amount of money spent on this. $45 billion will be going into expanding immigration detention. Much of that money will go to private corporations. Now, this is a city that has advocated for immigrants.

9:01El Paso is also a city with lots of working families. And at a time when funding for education and health care is being cut, there's concern about the billions of dollars being spent on detention facilities like the one that's about to open at Fort Bliss. That's Angela Cocherga with member station KTEP. Thank you, Angela. Thank you, Layla.

9:26President Trump has named this year's Kennedy Center honorees and announced he would host the ceremony himself. This presidential first follows Trump's takeover of the huge Performing Arts Center in February. He ousted the former leadership, appointed loyalists to a board that's traditionally been bipartisan, and they voted him as chair. Past honorees of what amounts to annual Lifetime Achievement Awards in the Arts include Frances Ford Coppola, Aretha Franklin, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. NPR correspondent Elizabeth Blair joins me now to walk us through yesterday's announcement. Good morning. Good morning.

10:01So earlier this year, Trump had floated a few names like Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth, but they didn't make the cut, right? That's right. This year's honorees are all living artists, as is tradition. There's disco pioneer Gloria Gaynor of I Will Survive fame, country megastar and proud Texan George Strait, actor Sylvester Stallone, who starred in Rocky and Rambo, Broadway actor and singer Michael Crawford, who originated the lead role in Phantom of the Opera, one of Trump's favorite shows, and the rock band Kiss.

10:36All right, so what's notable about these nominees? Quite a bit. For example, George Strait is considered one of the great country storytellers. He's recorded dozens of hit songs, sold a gazillion albums, and his concerts fill stadiums. Sylvester Stallone is a household name. He's been nominated for three Academy Awards. He made Rocky Balboa an iconic American character. But he is a Trump supporter publicly, and they are friends. Over the years, the Kennedy Center has tried to keep politics out of its programming and the honors event. That's one of the reasons there was traditionally a bipartisan board.

11:13Trump did not attend the honors during his first presidential term. At the press conference, this is what he said about getting so involved this year. I shouldn't make this political because they made the Academy Awards political and they went down their tubes. So they'll say Trump made it political. But I think if we make it our kind of political, we'll go up. OK, let's see if I'm right about that. OK, let's talk about the selection process. How are the honorees usually chosen? Traditionally, artists are nominated by lots of different people, members of the Kennedy Center Board, the general public, and past honorees.

11:46And those honorees include Herbie Hancock, Renee Fleming, Sally Field, major artists across the performing arts. The president of the United States was never intimately involved the way Trump has been this year. He even joked about it. The Kennedy Center honors have been among the most prestigious awards in the performing arts. I wanted one. I was never able to get one. this year. It's true, actually. I would have taken it if they would have called me. I waited and waited and waited. And I said, the hell with it. I'll become chairman. Trump said he rejected some candidates who he called wokesters, and he announced that he would host the honors gala in December.

12:24Anything else stand out to you? What stood out is how much the president seems passionate about the performing arts. He spoke very warmly about each of the honorees, and it stood out because he has proposed eliminating the arts and humanities endowments that support music and theater and other arts programs across the country. Elizabeth Blair is a correspondent on the NPR Culture Desk. Thanks, Elizabeth. Thanks, Layla.

12:54And that's up first for Thursday, August 14th. I'm Layla Faldin. And I'm Michelle Martin. NPR brings you stories from across the country thanks to NPR station reporters on the ground, in your community, and many others. Keep that network strong. Visit donate.npr.org slash upfirst to contribute. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Alfredo Carbajal, Jay Van Asco, Olivia Hampton, and Adam Bearn. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.