NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-02-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Members of Congress are back on Capitol Hill this week after a busy summer recess. Lawmakers are returning to a full plate after hearing from constituents about the economy and other hot-button issues during town hall meetings last month. NPR's Claudia Grasales reports Congress is also racing to keep the government operating with a funding deadline looming at the end of the month. The hardest job on tap for lawmakers may be averting a government shutdown tied to a September 30th deadline. Both parties are deeply divided and it's unclear if they can reach a deal. Republicans are also facing mounting pressure to address a strained economy, such as pushing back on President Trump's tariffs, which are now under legal challenge. Voters loudly complained to

lawmakers about rising costs putting a squeeze on U.S. families and Trump's efforts to expand. his executive powers. Many push back on President Trump's signature bill Congress passed this summer expressing concern about cuts to Medicaid and other government spending. Claude Grisales, NPR News. President Trump is turning up the pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza as it prepares a major ground offensive in Gaza City. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv. President Trump told the website Daily Caller that Israel is, quote, going to have to get that war over with, adding that they may be winning the war, but they're not winning the world of public relations.

The Israeli cabinet met Sunday to discuss plans to take over Gaza City in a ground offensive. Israeli media report the military chief of staff and the chiefs of Israel's main security and intelligence agencies are opposed to a Gaza city takeover. One Israeli TV channel reported the military estimates around 100 soldiers could be killed. French president Emmanuel Macron says, that ground offensive would be unacceptable. Belgium says in light of Israel's actions in Gaza, it will join France and other countries

and recognizing a state of Palestine at the UN this month. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Guatemala says it's prepared to accept hundreds of unaccompanied minors from the United States. Villamarx reports the federal judge on Sunday blocked the transfer of some children. President Bernado Erivalo said his nation would every week be ready and willing to receive around 100,

50 children who are separated from their parents inside the US. He told journalists in Guatemala City that his government had been coordinating with US 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. For NPR News, I'm Villan-Marx. On Wall Street, Dahl Futures are trading lower at this hour. This is NPR News in Washington. The death toll stands at more than 1,400, two days after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. More than 3,000 others were injured.

Rescue operations continue in mountainous regions where villages were completely leveled. Today marks the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan Day. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports an event commemorating the end of the war will take place on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall. The Japanese had already surrendered by mid-August 1945 after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The official surrender came on September 2nd, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Speakers on Tuesday will include Dave Yoho, who was a teenager when he served as a merchant marine in the Pacific, and Jane Dropa, chair of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. The Armed Forces Color Guard and the United States Marine Band will perform.

In remembrance of the more than 60 million people killed during World War II, veterans will place wreaths at the Memorial's Freedom Wall. The event will be live streamed on the memorial's Facebook page. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington. New data show President Trump's immigration policies are shrinking the nation's immigrant workforce. Immigrants make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S. labor force, but after decades of steady growth, that population is now in decline. A new study by the Pew Research Center found more than 1.2 million immigrants left the workforce since January of this year. This is NPR News in Washington.