NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-03-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. This morning at the White House, President Trump will meet Poland's president, Carol Nevrotsky. As Esme Nicholson reports, Russia's war with Ukraine will be the focus. Novrodsky's meeting at the White House is his first foreign trip since taking office last month, and he is expecting a warm welcome. Trump has praised Poland for spending the highest GDP percentage of any NATO member on defense. But nervous of Russia, Novrovsky is expected to push for an increased U.S. commitment to Polish. security, including keeping U.S. troops on NATO's eastern flank. And while Poland is a big

purchaser of U.S. weapons, Trump is expected to push Navrotsky to buy more, both for its own defense and on behalf of Ukraine. Navrotsky has promised to continue to support Kiv, but like the U.S. administration, has accused Ukrainian president, Volodymya Zelensky, of taking advantage of Ukraine's allies. For NPR news, I'm Esmey Nicholson in Berlin. Washington, D.C. officials say the U.S. military will conduct a military flyover at the White House this hour, just as the Polish leader is visiting. President Trump and others in his administration say U.S. forces have destroyed a ship from Venezuela in the Southern Caribbean Sea. The president says it was carrying illegal drugs, and 11 people on that ship were killed in the operation. It's the first publicly confirmed U.S. attack since Trump ordered Navy destroyers to the water off South America.

Today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the drug interdiction in the region is only the first. It won't stop with just this strike. Anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know as a designated narco-terrorist will face the same fate. He spoke to Fox and Friends. Missouri lawmakers are beginning a special session today to redraw their congressional districts. As St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum reports, the unusual mid-decade redistricting is part of a national push to help. President Trump. Trump and his staff have been pressuring Missouri lawmakers to change Democratic

Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based district into a GOP leaning seat. It comes after Texas Republicans overhauled their map, and California voters will soon decide whether to make their map more Democratic. Democratic State Representative Mark Boyko of St. Louis County expects his Republican colleagues to fall in line with Trump during the special session. Anyone who stands up to Trump, it gets destroyed by his people. The special session is expected to last through the middle of September. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum and St. Louis. The first changes to federal food assistance have gone into effect.

Adults younger than 55 who do not have children must meet new work requirements if they don't. They could lose their food benefits. The changes are part of President Trump and Republicans' big, beautiful bill. opponents fear hundreds of thousands of eligible people will be cut. This is NPR. Two congressmen have held a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Democrat Roe Kana and Republican Thomas Massey are demanding more documents from the investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

They were joined at the press conference by survivors of Epstein's abuse. The lawmakers are now using a procedural tool in the House to try to force the release of more Epstein documents. documents. Tennessee students are returning to school. Among this year's lessons, many will receive training in firearm safety. Republican lawmakers want that firearms training to start with children in kindergarten. From Member Station WPLN, Paige Flager reports. Students will learn about safe storage of firearms, school safety, and what to do if they find a gun. While the new law is vague on who should teach these lessons or how long the lessons should be, it does require

a, quote, neutral viewpoint on gun rights and the Second Amendment. Tennessee has some of the highest rates of gun deaths in the country, and the state outpaces the national average of kids killed by guns. For NPR News, I'm Paige Flager in Nashville. The Democratic governors of California, Oregon, and Washington State have joined to form a new public health partnership. It's aimed at preserving access to vaccines. The three governors say the Western Health Alliance will work to develop its own immunization guidelines.

The effort comes as more than 1,000 staffers at the Department of Health and Human Services released a letter today. They want Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign. They're demanding he stopped spreading health misinformation. This is NPR.