NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-01-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. President Trump has called on pharmaceutical companies to justify the success of drugs and vaccines used to fight COVID-19. He made the statement on his social media platform, Truth Social. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports. The president questioned the effectiveness of COVID vaccines, saying there's a disagreement over whether or not they are a, quote, miracle that saved millions of lives. His post comes just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert. F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, announced significant limits on who is eligible for the vaccines. Trump himself hailed COVID vaccines as a modern-day miracle back in 2020 during his

first term. But now he's demanded drug companies make more information and results public. It's unclear what information he's referring to. MPR reached out to the White House for clarity. In response, spokesperson Cush Desai, said, quote, the only driving principle of health decision-making in this administration is gold standard science. Kat Lansdorf, Empire News, Washington. The Taliban government in Afghanistan says more than 800 people have died in last night's magnitude 6 earthquake in the eastern part of the country. A spokesman said most of the deaths were in Kunar province. He said at least 2,500 people were injured.

The BBC's Yagata Mavaya is heading towards the epicenter. She says the emergency response is being complicated by the remote mountainous location. Rescue and relief operations are going to take time. we have on our way here, we did cross a few trucks which seem loaded with supplies that the Taliban government was trying to move towards the area. We know that they are running helicopters at the moment trying to get to the epicenter because the road to the worst affected villages that's been cut off because of landslides. The BBC's Yogatala Maya, Chinese President Xi Jinping is holding the largest ever summit of the Shanghai Corporation organization.

The gathering is a show of strength by China at a time when President Trump is remaking American foreign policy. NPR's Diyah Hadid has more in the story. At the summit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping denounce bullying behavior, a nod to Trump. He offered aid and loans to member countries. Attending leaders included the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It comes after Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India. India. Sadharid Ramadi is a fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research. This is where I think the Trump administration could be making its mistake.

It could be underestimating the ways in which this present disruption could force India towards a relationship with China. He says Trump has weakened Modi and India. That may ultimately strengthen China's hand vis-a-vis the United States. Dear Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. Bulgarian authorities suspect Russia was behind was responsible for an incident in Bulgarian airspace yesterday. The GPS system of a plane chartered by the European Commission was jammed, forcing air traffic controllers to switch to ground-based navigation systems.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was on board. The plane landed safely. The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to change its manual of mailing standards to clarify the meaning of a postmark date. As NPR's Hansi Luong reports, the change may come as a surprise to people who rely on U.S.PS to mail payments or vote by mail. The date that's stamped on envelopes is sometimes used to determine whether a bill is paid on time or a mail-in ballot gets counted. In a federal register notice, the U.S. Postal Service, which is a financial support of NPR, says it's proposing to change its domestic mail manual to say that postmark date, quote, does not inherently or necessarily align with the data piece of mail was first accepted by a letter carrier or dropped off at a post office or collection box. USPS says it hasn't changed how it applies postmarks, which usually happens when its machines process first class mail. What has changed is that because of a controversial reorganization plan, more parts of the country may not get their first class mail processed until the day after they're collected.

To make sure a letter or package gets a postmark on the same day you mail it, USPS recommends asking for one at a post office. LeWong, NPR News. Wall Street is closed today for the Labor Day holiday. The Labor Department will release its latest jobs report Friday. The last report showed a slowdown and the number of jobs added to the economy. President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.