NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-03-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

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Congress is back from its summer recess with a lot on its agenda. What's all in store for lawmakers and what does their work mean for you? Every weekday, the NPR Politics podcast unpacks Washington's inner workings. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Florida is on track to becoming the first state in the nation to do away with vaccine mandates. NPR's Greg Allen reports that DeSantis administration is moving to drop the requirement not only for adults but also for children weeks into the new school year.

Governor Ron DeSantis is asking the legislature to repeal a law requiring children to receive vaccines for polio, diphtheria, measles, and mumps before entering school. Surgeon General Joseph Lattipo says some vaccines, including those for chicken pox, Hepatitis B, strep, and other infections are required only by the State Health Department and soon will no longer be required. You don't want to put whatever vaccines in your body, God bless you. And I hope you make an informed decision. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the announcement, quote, will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick and have ripple effects across their community.

Greg Allen and PR News, Miami. President Trump accuses Democrats of being behind a hoax. as women who say they were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates rallied today on Capitol Hill for the administration to release all files on the late financier. The Trump White House is facing bipartisan pressure, including from many Maga loyalists, such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Green. I asked my Republican colleagues not to choose just one path for justice and transparency and accountability, but I asked my Republican colleagues to choose every path for justice and accountability and transparency.

The lawmaker from Georgia is one of four Republicans who signed a petition in favor of a House vote on a bill that would force the Department of Justice to release all files on Epstein. UN peacekeepers say Israel dropped four drone launch grenades near its troops in southern Lebanon and what it called one of the most serious attacks since a ceasefire last year. NPR's Jane Araf has details. Unifil oversees a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It says one of the grenades hit just 60 feet from its personnel as they were clearing roadblocks. It said it had informed the Israeli military in advance of the soldier's location near the de facto border. Unifil made no mention of any casualties.

The Israeli military said, it later conveyed to Unifil that it had not been aiming at them and said it had used stun grenades. Israel, which signed a ceasefire agreement last November with Lebanon, has been demanding the end of the peacekeeping mission. The UN Security Council last month extended its mandate until the end of next year. Jane Arraf, NPR News, Amman. The Dow is down 261 points at 45,034. This is NPR News. signaling some movement in efforts to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the White House is President Trump, plans to speak again with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tomorrow.

It is unclear when he will speak again with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their recent summit in Alaska. The cadence of tens of thousands of feet marching in unison at a military parade in the Chinese capital. commemorating the end of World War II and a new era for China, dozens of leaders from around the world, including Russia, North Korea, Iran, witnessed in person pageantry of a country showcasing its military might in the face of trade wars and security rivalries from the West. President Trump's family crypto business appear to make a fortune.

This week, NPR's Maria Aspen reports the World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency started publicly trading on Monday. President Trump and his sons own a big stake in World Liberty Financial, and on paper, they made some $5 billion from its launch of a publicly traded crypto token. The company says the Trump family is barred for now from selling their own tokens, so they won't immediately reap that payday. But his latest crypto venture underlines the degree to which the president and his family are using the Oval Office to benefit personally, especially in the crypto industry. A White House spokesperson tells NPR that neither the president nor his family have ever engaged or will ever

engage in conflicts of interest. That's Marie Aspen reporting. It's NPR.