NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-01-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

NPR News: 09-01-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the plus side, you get sponsor-free listening to over 25 NPR podcasts. On the minus side, you get fewer chances to tap fast forward on your podcast player. On the plus side, you get to support something you care about. On the minus side, you like challenges and think this makes it too easy. So why don't you join us on the plus side of things with NPR Plus? Learn more and sign up at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. More Democrats are speaking out about President Trump's plan to use the National Guard to patrol U.S. cities.

The administration has indicated that Chicago may be next along with Baltimore. Trump says the troops are needed because of high crime, even though crime has dropped drastically in those cities. Maryland Governor Westmore calls Trump's actions performative. It would just be great if we could have the president of the United States to actually understand that this is one of the great American turnaround stories that's happening right now. And we would love the help to be able to come. continue to do that work instead of this, this arrogant criticism and cynicism. Trump is targeting Democratic-led cities, even though most high-crime states are controlled by Republicans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in China for a four-day visit that will include meetings with President Xi Jinping and India's leader Narenda Modi. As NPR's Charles Mainz reports from Moscow, the gathering comes during talk of global realignments. President Putin has long argued for a new multipolar world, less dominated by the U.S. China will see that vision on full display. Putin will join a regional security summit in which anger over punitive U.S. economic policies

are expected to take center stage. That includes by India. A U.S. ally increasingly adrift after President Trump imposed steep tariffs over its purchase of discounted Russian oil amid the war in Ukraine. Yet Russia's biggest trading partner remains China. Putin will meet separately with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

He'll also join North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un among Xi's guests of honor at a military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the symbolic show of a new global order. Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow. The President of Indonesia is offering to roll back some of the benefits lawmakers receive. It's an effort to stop anti-government protests, which turned violent last week. But he's also saying he'll have zero tolerance for extreme behavior.

Hachish Valentine has our reports. President Prabhuo Sabiento says he supports the right to peaceful protest, but some actions from the past week amounted to terrorism, treason. Protests escalated into riots last week after lawmakers gave themselves a housing allowance ten times the Jakarta minimum wage. Then a police vehicle ran over and killed a motorcycle driver. Riders started attacking police stations in the homes of senior politicians. Probowo canceled a trip to China yesterday. Protests have taken place on and off since the former general took office. But this latest wave represents the most serious challenge yet of Probowo's five-year term.

For NPR News, I'm Aschish Valentine. A strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 610 people and injured 13,000 others. The quake was magnitude 6.0 and hit near the city of Jalalabad. The quake was shallow and slow quakes generally cause most damage. Wall Street is closed for the holiday on Monday. You're listening to NPR News. A flotilla of ships at sail from Barcelona. Olena this weekend. They're carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip where many Palestinian residents are

suffering from famine. Organizers of the efforts say they hope to break the long-held Israeli sea blockade. Israeli forces, meanwhile, have stepped up their offensive on Gaza City, where it's limiting food and other basic supplies. Labor unions are protesting the Trump administration's stop work order on a major wind farm project. As NPR's Andrea Shue reports, the project off the coast of Rhode Island is nearly completes. The Trump administration abruptly halted work on the Revolution Wind Project on August 22nd, citing national security concerns.

Brett Booker, general president of the Laborers International Union of North America, said the move had caused chaos. Booker says two million hours of work have already been completed, and hundreds of workers were out over the water working to get the project online. Not only does that affect the individuals

who are working on that, but an entire industry now is, you know, what's going to happen? going to invest right now in renewable energy? And that just takes away future jobs and future opportunities. Interior Secretary Doug Bergam told CNN there are concerns of undersea drone attacks and that the project did not receive a full review under former President Biden. Andrea Shue and PR News. Members of Congress are returning to Washington this week. They will have less than a month the past spending measures for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1st.

Senate Republicans are also considering a change to Senate rules that would prevent Democratic stalling over nominations by President Trump. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. Support for NPR, and the following message come from the Limelson Foundation, working to harness the power of invention and innovation to accelerate climate action and improve lives around the world. Learn more atlimson.org.