NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-02-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

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Support for NPR, and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR produce programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiavone. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker says he believes that Trump administration has already begun staging federal agents and military vehicles in Chicago. Mawa Iqbal of member station WBEZ reports the Democratic governor says he's getting intel about the president's plans from, quote, unauthorized patriotic officials inside the federal government. Governor Pritzker says Trump is readying to send the Texas National Guard

and immigration officials currently stationed in Los Angeles, just as many Chicagoans prepare to throw festivals and parades celebrating Mexican Independence Day. Unidentified agents in unmarked vehicles with masks are planning to raid Latino communities and say they're targeting violent criminals. Illinois's Attorney General Kwame Raul says he will not hesitate to sue the Trump administration. For NPR News, I'm Mawa Iqbal in Springfield, Illinois. President Trump has decided to move the U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama, and Piaros Mara Liason has that story. In an Oval Office event, President Trump says he's reversing Joe Biden's decision to to keep the command in Colorado.

The Space Command oversees military space operations and the defensive satellites. This is not a new position for Trump. At the end of his first term, he also tried to move the command to Alabama from Colorado. But now he says the move will boost the economy in Alabama. This will result in more than 30,000 Alabama jobs and probably much more than that

and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. Trump says the space command will help the US dominate the high frontier by building the so-called Golden Dome, a missile defense system for the U.S. and Canada. Mara Liason, NPR News. One in ten U.S. senators now say they will not be back after the midterm elections. Today, Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst announced she will not run for re-election next year. NPR Stephen Fowler has details on Ernst and others who've decided to move along.

Ernst is the seventh senator to announce a departure from politics this election cycle. Three more are leaving Washington to run for governor of their state. Now that Congress has returned from its summer recess, the already record-setting pace of departure announcements will likely continue. Monday, longtime New York Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler said he, too, is not running for his seat. With 14 months to go before midterm election day, Nadler is one of 25 total House members to make that decision. Stephen Fowler and PR News. President Trump announced today that the U.S. had carried out a strike in the Southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela. Trump said

11 people on the vessel were killed, and he posted a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames. Wall Street, the Dow lost 249 points. The S&P 500 off 44. This is NPR. One of the world's largest food conglomerates is splitting up. The breakup of Kraft Heinz effectively undoes a mega-mercher. orchestrated a decade ago by billionaire investor Warren Buffett. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports. The merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015 is considered one of the notable mistakes for Warren Buffett. Kraft Hines spent years cutting costs to combine into one firm, while rivals invested in new ideas

to keep up with changing consumer tastes. Now, Kraft Hines executives acknowledge the conglomerates spread its focus too thin across dozens of product categories, and they hope the sum of two separate firms will be greater than the current combined company value. The first company will focus on faster growing sauces and condiments, keeping brands Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese, and craft mac and cheese. The second firm will run the slower growing grocery business with brands including Oscar Meyer, Maxwell House, Capri Sun, and Lunchables. Alina Selyu, NPR News. Irish comedy writer Graham Lenehan says London's Metropolitan Police arrested him at Heathrow Airport for posts on the social media

platform X, in which he criticized transgender people. Lenehan is the co-creator of British sitcom's father Ted and the IT crowd. He's known for posting on social media that trans women are men. Lennahan posted on Substack that the police questioning raised his blood pressure and he was hospitalized. He said he was released on bail only on the condition that he would not be posting on X. Police would only say that they arrested a man at the airport on suspicion of inciting violence on social media. I'm Louise Skiyvone and PR News, Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of

customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply.