NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-28-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst. Police in Minneapolis say the shooter in the mass shooting at a Catholic church yesterday that left two school children dead, 18 others, mostly children injured, had a, quote, deranged fascination with past mass shooters. Police Chief Ryan O' Harris's Robin Westman had many disturbing writings that described hatred against many individuals and groups of people. This is an unthinkable, completely senseless act. perpetrated against children worshiping at mass. And no investigation, no evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy. Authorities say they recovered 116 shotgun rounds fired into the church along with three rifle casings. The children and adults were at the first mass of the school year in the church when the shooter began firing through the windows. And now families across the country are dealing with how to explain yet another school shooting.

to their own children as they worry about school safety. And peers Windsor Johnston has more. Children were inside the church when the gunfire began. Some were praying. Others were hiding. Now families are being forced to explain why a place that was supposed to be safe suddenly wasn't. Psychologist Melissa Brimer advises parents to check in with themselves before talking to their kids. Take that breath, acknowledge that what feelings are coming up, and then have that conversation with your child about first what have they heard about the event

and what do they need before they go to school? Mental health experts say it's crucial to let children talk, ask questions, and feel what they feel, especially when violence hits close to home. Windsor Johnston and PR News. The U.N. Secretary General says the Israeli moves to take over Gaza City will have devastating consequences for civilians who are, are already traumatized by war. Empires Michelle Kellerman reports

Antonio Gutierrish is again calling for a ceasefire and the release of all the hostages. Less than a week after UN-backed experts declared a famine in northern Gaza, Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez urged Israel to allow in more aid. He says the starvation of the civilian population must never be used as a method of warfare.

No more excuses, no more obstacles, no more lies. Israel denies there's a famine in northern Gaza. President Trump has called it a terrible situation that is coming to a head. He says he thinks there will be a conclusive ending in two to three weeks. He and his aides met with Israeli officials on Wednesday to discuss a post-war future for Gaza. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Wall Street, higher by the closing bell, you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Today marks 70 years since the lynching of Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who was visiting family in Mississippi. It was a watershed moment that galvanized the civil rights movement. And Pierce W. Elliott reports on a new artifact being unveiled today at the state's Civil Rights Museum, the murder weapon. On August 28, 1955, white men kidnapped, tortured, shot, and dumped 14-year-old image. Till in the Tallahatchie River after he whistled at a white shopkeeper, one of their wives.

Now the state has the gun. Nan Prince is director of collections for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. This is a pistol that we believe is the weapon that was used to kill Emmett Teal. It's been something that I've always wondered about for 70 years. That's Till's cousin, Wheeler Parker, the last living witness to what happened. I think it gives validity to it. It helps brings closure, far as I'm concerned. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Jackson, Mississippi. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell this week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate is now 6.56% down slightly from last week, and that's the lowest level in 10 months. Rates for the popular 15-year mortgage were unchanged from last week, holding steady at 5.5.6%.

69%. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 71 points, NASDAQ, up 115 points, S&P 500, up 20 points, to a new record close. You're listening to NPR News.