NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-29-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: August 29, 2025

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There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, here and now anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The family of an eight-year-old boy killed in this week's shooting at a Catholic church in school in Minneapolis is speaking out. NPR's Jason DeRose reports their loss is part of a tragedy that left two children dead, 18 others injured, and a community in mourning. Jesse Merkel is the father of Fletcher Merkel, who was gunned down Wednesday morning during the first mass of the school year at Annunciation Catholic Church and school. He says he wants his son to be remembered for the boy he was, and not for the way he died. Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sport that he was allowed to play.

And Merkel says not only was Fletcher deprived of his life, but the shooter deprived the whole school, the whole community, the whole world of the person Fletcher could have become. In addition to Fletcher, Merkel, 10-year-old Harper Lillian Moiskey was also killed during the shooting. She was just entering fifth grade. Jason DeRose, NPR, News, Minneapolis. Tariffs on small packages from around the world take effect today. NPR's Tamara Keith

reports the new duties are the result of a new executive order signed by President Trump. President Trump did away with the de minimis treatment for shipments from China and Hong Kong earlier this year. Now the same rules apply to packages from everywhere else. Previously, packages valued at under $800 could come into the U.S. duty-free. Now they face tariffs and inspection. The White House says this eliminates a loophole that made it easier for foreign entities to avoid tariffs and funnel counterfeit goods and illicit drugs into the U.S. It's not clear what this will ultimately mean for U.S. consumers, but a White House official said this policy is here to stay and there are no exceptions. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House.

The shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is raising questions about how public health will function without clear leadership. President Trump announced on social media this week that he had fired the agency's director, but she's refusing to step down. NPR, Selena Simmons-Duffin reports the move has left the CDC in turmoil at a time when many say stability is critical. 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.

That's NPR, Selena Simmons-Duffin reporting. Stocks across Asia traded mixed today. Markets in China and Hong Kong posted gains while shares fell in Japan on Wall Street, Delfutures, are trading lower at this hour. This is NPR. Today, Mark's 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. The city is holding events to honor those who lost their lives and those who survived. Actor and New Orleans native, Wendell Pierce, who's been active in rebuilding, will take part. I had an opportunity with my platform to give voice to the voiceless, to make sure that we exercised our right of self-determination. In the lower ninth ward, where the levees broke, a brass band will lead a second-line parade,

a tradition of mourning and resilience. NVIDIA shares tumbled on Thursday even after the chipmaker reported more than $26 billion in profit. NPR's Maria Aspen reports the market reaction tells a larger story about the artificial intelligence frenzy. Invidia is the most valuable company in the world. It got this way by selling the computer chips that are powering the artificial intelligence boom. Now its status as a big tech bellwether has put NVIDIA squarely at the center of questions about politics, the U.S. government's control over private business, and the huge AI bubble. InVIDIA reported earnings days after an MIT survey raised new concerns about the amount of money companies are making, or in most cases, not making, from their investments in artificial intelligence. That made some investors question their optimism about big tech companies.

which have been a bright spot amid growing worries about the broader U.S. economy. Maria Aspen, NPR News. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.