NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-29-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: August 29, 2025

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Authorities are releasing more details about the person responsible for a deadly mass shooting at a Minneapolis church early Wednesday. Two children were killed in the attack. 18 other people were injured most of them children. Thursday Marone with Minnesota Public Radio has more. Law enforcement officials say the suspected shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, previously attended Annunciation Church and School. Joe Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, says Westman left behind hundreds of pages of writing. The shooter expressed hate towards black people, the shooter expressed hate towards Mexican people, the shooter expressed hate towards Christian people, the shooter expressed hate towards Jewish people. In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us.

Thompson says Westman seemed to idolize other perpetrators of mass shootings and was obsessed with harming children. For NPR News, I'm Kirstie Morone in St. Paul. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in turmoil, this after the White House, announced the firing of CDC heads Susan Menares after Menares refused to quit. Some of the CDC's top scientists have resigned in protest and snafers gathered outside of the agency at Atlanta headquarters Thursday to honor them. NPR Selena Simmons-Duffin has more. The CDC is the agency in charge of emergency preparedness and response, and public health leaders across the country are just really hoping there is no public health emergency right now with the CDC in such disarray.

And there is some discussion happening about logistically how public health works without CDC. You know, the truth is there's no replacement for the federal government, not just in terms of resources, but in terms of legal authority. Selina Simmons-Duffin reporting. The immigration detention facility in Florida's Everglades will soon be empty. NPR's Greg Allen explains. A federal judge last week ordered Florida and the Trump administration to stop bringing new detainees to the facility and wind down operations there within 16. days. The judge said its hasty construction appeared to violate federal law requiring public input and an environmental impact assessment. Eve Samples is with Friends of the Everglades.

And it's a release that the state appears to be phasing out operations at the facility in compliance with the judge's order. And when the last detainee leaves, the state should turn off the lights and shut the door behind them. This is not an appropriate place for a detention center. Florida's governor has signed contracts to spend $245 million to build and operate the facility. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. A loophole that allowed tax-free imports of goods worth $800 or less has ended. The so-called de minimis exemption allowed U.S. consumers to make duty-free purchases of clothing and other low-cost imported goods. That merchandise is now subject to import levies of 10 to 50 percent and possibly a flat rate of $80 to $200 per package.

This is NPR. The federal judges ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers who were convicted of beating a motorist to death during a 2023 traffic stop. This after defense attorneys argued that another judge who presided over the client's trial was biased. Tedarius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were convicted last October of obstructing justice through witness tampering. All three have been acquitted of state charges in the case. African leaders have announced an emergency plan to address cholera. The number of cases and deaths from the disease have more than doubled in recent years,

as NPR's Gabriela Immanuel reports. So far this year, there have been over 200,000 cases and almost 5,000 cholera deaths spread across 23 African countries. Action is needed, not tomorrow, but really now. Yap Boom is with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The severe diarrheal infection comes from water or food contaminated by raw sewage. Boone says the new initiative includes a presidential task force to coordinate across countries and ministries, such as those involved in water infrastructure. So what is changing now is to bring the issue of Korea at the highest level.

The emergency plan aims to control cholera within six months. Gabriela Emmanuel NPR News. Stocks sledge higher ahead of new data on inflation. The Dow Jones Industrials gained 71 points. The NASDAQ grows 115 points. U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading. On Asia-Pacific markets, shares are mostly lower. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise. T's and Cs apply.