NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-28-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

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This is Eric Glass. On this American Life, we like stories that surprise you. For instance, imagine finding a new hobby and realizing... To do this hobby right, according to the ways of the masters, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to have to bend the law to get the materials that you need. If not, break it. Yeah.

To break international laws. Your life stories, really good ones. This American Life. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay, Stephen. Investigators are seeking a motive for Wednesday's mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. A man with a rifle opened fire through a church window, killing two children and injuring 17 other people who have been attending mass to celebrate the new school year. Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar says the families of mass shooting victims

have shown more bravery than her colleagues in Congress. When you talk to these families, as I've talked to the Sandy Hook families and the like, they're so courageous. They've lost their babies, and they come forward and come to Washington and tell their stories, and then politicians are too scared of pissing off one group. Police say the gunmen in Wednesday shooting, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, was found dead at the scene of an apparently self-inflicted wound. The U.S. Transportation Department is taking control of Union Station in Washington, D.C. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, the announcement comes as the Trump administration

exerts more authority over the nation's capital. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says his department is taking management of Union Station back from Amtrak. The station, which is within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol, has been owned by DOT since the 1980s. Duffy says the department will now reclaim management of the station, which he said will help to, quote, make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost. National Guard troops have been seen patrolling the station since the Trump administration sent the Guard and other federal law enforcement officials into Washington, though local police statistics show that violent crime in the District of Columbia

has declined in recent years. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. The official overseeing the immigration facility in the Florida Everglades says he expects the center to be empty within days. Meanwhile, Florida officials are fighting a court order to shut down the center, as NPR's Greg Allen reports. In a response to a request from clergy who wanted to serve as chaplains at the Immigration Detention Center,

the director of Florida's Department of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, said an email stating, we're probably going to be down to zero individuals within a few days. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says federal immigration officials are sending fewer people to the facility. Now, obviously there's litigation that's been going on that DHS is a party to, and so that may have been an influence about where they're saying people. DeSantis has signed contracts to spend about $245 million to set up and run the detention center. The state is appealing a court ruling ordering it to shut up. down the facility within 60 days.

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. The Maryland man fighting effort to deport him is now seeking asylum. Kilmar Obrego-Garcia was wrongfully sent to El Salvador earlier this year after being accused of belonging to a Venezuelan gang, which he denies. Abrago Garcia was returned to the U.S. under court order in June and then detained in Tennessee on human smuggling charges. He's now being held in Virginia amid efforts to send him to Uganda. This is NPR.

Washington State Senator Patty Murray is calling for the firing of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In a statement posted on X, Murray says she is deeply disturbed that CDC director, Susan Menares, has been fired weeks after being sworn in because of her views not being aligned with the Trump administration. The senator says Menares's willingness to protect the integrity of the CDC underscores the danger of allowing Kennedy to direct the nation's health policy. Meanwhile, several top CDC officials are quitting, citing what one of them called the weaponization of public health. Rights groups have long criticized the European Union for funding the Coast Guard in Libya and security forces in Tunisia despite their record of abusing migrants. NPR's Ruth Sherlock has details on a new Human Rights Watch report, focusing on a lesser-known effort by the EU. The 142-page Human Rights Watch report highlights a deal the EU made last year with more

Mauritania, giving the African nation €210 million to stop migrants passing through the country as they try to reach Europe. The report documents cases in which it says, Mauritania police, Coast Guard and other security bodies have tortured, raped, extorted and detained migrants in inhumane conditions. Human Rights Watch says the European Union and Spain, which funded the efforts separately, share responsibility for the abuses. The European Commission says its partnership with Mauritania, is, quote, solidly anchored in respect for rights. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News. This is NPR.

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