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

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. The president of Guatemala says his country would be prepared to accept potentially hundreds of unaccompanied minors from the U.S. A federal judge yesterday had blocked the transfer of some children. Villamarx reports. President Bernardo Erivalo said his nation would every week be ready and willing to receive around 150 children who are separated from their parents inside the U.S. He told journalists in Guatemala City that his government had been coordinating with U.S.

authorities, but said ultimately Washington could decide whether to send the children and at what scale and speed. The Trump administration has sought to deport hundreds of migrant children originally from Guatemala and had begun boarding some onto planes before a judge intervened Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Services is supposed to care for such unaccompanied minors, and as lawyers argued over the weekend, they should not be deported without first receiving an opportunity to apply for legal status. For NPR News, I'm Villain Marks. There could be a timeline soon for a judge's order on redistricting. in Utah. Martha Harris from member station KUER has more. Utah judge Diana Gibson ruled last week

that the state's congressional maps had to be thrown out, and Utah lawmakers have to draw new ones. On Friday, Gibson met with attorneys in the case. They're still debating the tight timeline for getting things in place for the 2026 midterms. The state legislature is also asking the judge to put the whole thing on hold while they appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. Utah's current congressional maps split the bluest part of the state up four ways, making every seat reliably Republican. Democrats are hoping that will change. This comes as several other states are taking up President Trump's call to give Republicans more seats in the midterm elections. For NPR news, I'm Martha Harris in Salt Lake City. Russian President Vladimir Putin says

Western meddling in Ukraine and NATO expansion forced Russia to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But he said that understandings, reached with President Trump in Alaska, had opened a path towards peace. He spoke at a regional security summit in China. The Taliban government in Afghanistan says more than 800 people have died after a magnitude 6 earthquake last night. A spokesman said most of the dead were in Kunar province. At least 2,500 people were hurt.

The BBC's Azadamo Sheri has more in the story. In the early hours of the morning, villages in Kunar province, searched through rubble for any survivors. The earthquake hit a region where most homes are made of mud, stone and clay, no match for the intensity of the tremors. Emergency teams are struggling to reach the worst hit places, which are in a mountainous area. Helicopters have been deployed as landslides have blocked off roads.

Afghanistan is no stranger to earthquakes and sits on a number of fault lines. The BBC's Isiddam O'Sheri reporting, NPR. A major evacuation is underway in Pakistan's Punjab province to rescue people stranded by floods after weeks of above normal rainfall. Hundreds of thousands of people have been moved to higher ground so far. Forecasters warn more heavy rain is on the way. Punjab is home to 150 million people. Starting today, sales of vapes containing THC or other mind-aldering ingredients derived from hemp are banned. Many other cannabis products remain legal in Texas, for now. Nathan Bernier of Member Station KUT reports.

Looser rules on cannabis than California or Colorado. You can buy joints at a gas station, and there's no legal age limit. It's a strange byproduct of the state's move to legalize hemp, which is simply cannabis with low levels of Delta 9 THC, the main ingredient in marijuana that gets people high. But cannabis contains many other mind-altering compounds, including including something called THCA, which converts to delta nine when heated. Starting today, selling vapes in Texas that contain any cannabinoid could land someone in jail for up to a year, even though possessing them will still be allowed. The Texas legislature is debating whether to ban all hemp-derived THC products

or regulate them, much like alcohol. I'm Nathan Bernier in Austin. The Democratic National Committee meets in Minneapolis tomorrow. Members will begin planning for the primary schedule for the 2028 presidential election. election. Last time, former President Biden had pushed the DNC to allow South Carolina to weigh in first, any final decision probably won't be made until after next year's midterm elections. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.