NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-01-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. As Americans celebrate workers' rights on this Labor Day, new data show President Trump's immigration policies are shrinking the nation's workforce. NPR's Vanessa Romo reports. Immigrants make up nearly 20 percent of the nation's workforce, but after more than 50 years of rapid growth, that population is now in decline, and that's affecting the labor force. A 2025 Pew Research Center analysis of preliminary Census Bureau data showed more than 1.2 million, immigrants left the U.S. labor force between January and the end of July. That includes people who are here legally, as well as undocumented immigrants. Data for Mexico's central bank also shows remittances sent from the U.S. to Mexico are down by nearly 5 percent over July of last year.

Vanessa Romo, NPR News. The final push for several key election campaigns is getting underway, and as NPR Stephen Fowler reports, the landscape for the 2026 midterms is becoming clearer. This November, voters in Virginia and New Jersey will participate in governor's races, plus the closely watched contest for mayor of New York City. Several key contests are coming into focus for Congress next year, like the Battleground Senate matchups in Georgia and North Carolina. A record number of representatives and senators have already announced they won't seek re-election in their current seats. Many of them are running for higher office or retiring. And several states are in the midst of redrawing house maps through court order or a push to gain part. as an advantage. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. In eastern Afghanistan, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake

has left widespread destruction. The Taliban says more than 800 people were killed, more injured. The epicenter is in a remote mountainous area just outside of the city of Jalalabad near Pakistan. Afghanistan has experienced several deadly earthquakes since the Taliban took over in 2021, and it has lost billions in foreign aid, as extreme poverty has grown. Shireen Ibrahim is the International Rescue Committee's country director for Afghanistan, and she spoke to NPR from Kabul. Before the earthquake of last night, Afghanistan had a population of 23 million people in need, many of whom are suffering from acute food insecurity, don't have basic health care, and children in the millions are suffering from malnutrition.

So the resources that exist today are very strategic. Sherin Ibrahim with the International Rescue Committee. Guatemala's president says they're ready to receive around 150 unaccompanied minors per week from the U.S. This a day after a U.S. federal judge halted the deportation of 10 Guatemalan children. The Trump administration says it's reuniting the children with families at the Guatemalan government's requests, but advocates argue that the process bypasses immigration courts and it frightens the children. children. It's NPR News. The overwhelming majority of cancer research funding goes to the wealthiest countries, according to a new study. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, the authors say

that's a problem, since cancer is on the rise worldwide. Low and middle-income countries account for more than half of new cancer patients and deaths globally. By 2050, cancer rates in these countries are expected to triple. Research into the basic biology of cancer and treatments could help lessen this toll like it has in many wealthy countries, but only 0.1% of the more than $50 billion in cancer research funding over the past several years went to low-income countries. That's according to a new study published in the Lancet Oncology. The researchers say this inequality limits the ability of lower-income countries to benefit from new treatments. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

Airports could be unusually crowded. TSA is forecasting the busiest Labor Day weekend on record for U.S. airports with more than 17 million travelers. That would cap an already record-setting summer for U.S. air travel. At the same time, this summer's decline in foreign visitors to the U.S. is expected to go on. U.S. government data show more than 3 million fewer international arrivals in the first seven months of this year. Nationally, gas prices are averaging $3.19 a gallon. That's according to AAA, down about 14 cents from last year. And in tennis, Naomi Osaka and Iga Shviantek are both moving on to

the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, each winning in straight sets today. This is NBR News.