NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-03-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. More than a dozen women connected to the criminal case against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spoke of the U.S. Capitol today to rally lawmakers to pass legislation making their records public. NPR's Claudi Grisal says a bipartisan effort to bring the measure to the House floor is still short several Republican votes. More than a dozen survivors told hundreds of rally goers the U.S. House needs to approve a bill led by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massey and California Democrat Rokana to release the Epstein files. Marina Lacerda identified in Epstein's 2019 indictment as minor victim one spoke publicly for the first time. We are here. We want this bill to pass. It is very

important. Okay. And we need transparency. We are tired of looking at the news and seeing Jeffrey Epstein's name and saying that this is a hoax. We are tired of it. House Republicans will vote to support an oversight committee probe into the Epstein case. But survivors and lawmakers who want a comprehensive records release say that falls short. Claude Riesales, NPR News, the Capitol. Vice President J.D. Vance and second lady Ushavans visited Minneapolis today to pay their respects a week after two children were killed and 21 others were injured in a mass shooting at a Catholic church.

Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio has more. The Vance's did not make public remarks, but, left flowers outside Annunciation Catholic Church in honor of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moisky who were killed in the attack. The second couple also met privately with victims' families. The shooter who died by suicide, wounded 21 other people, several remain hospitalized. Matt Seppik reporting. Florida could become the first state in the nation to end all vaccine mandates, including for school children. Governor Rondi Santos in Florida, Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Lattabo announced the plan.

It appears to align with that of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has long questioned the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Public health experts warn against undermining science-back policies that have been proven to limit the spread of infectious diseases. The drug company, Pfizer, is responding to President Trump's call to make public more evidence about the safety and effectiveness of the firm's COVID-19 vaccine. Here's NPR's Rob Stein. Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Borla released a statement defending the evidence-supported. the COVID vaccines. The statement comes amid controversy over new federal restrictions on the vaccines and a call by President Trump to make more information about the vaccines public. Borla says Pfizer's data has appeared in more than 600 published studies, and the company has provided

detailed data to regulators in 130 countries, including the FDA. Borla says the company plans to release more data soon. Rob Stein and Peer News. This is NT. PR. President Trump is floating the idea of deploying National Guard troops to New Orleans instead of Chicago, suggesting the Republican governor of Louisiana might appreciate his help in addressing crime more than the Democratic governor of Illinois. Trump's federalization of law enforcement in the nation's capital has drawn criticism from leaders in other Democratic-led jurisdictions who say a National Guard presence is an extreme response to the local and state challenges of addressing. crime. A wildfires destroyed homes in California's historic Chinese camp and has burned historic structures in the town. Chinese immigrants established during California's 19th century gold rush era. Fires one of nearly two dozen burning in the state. The department store Macy's is reporting its best financial quarter in years. A chain's been trying to stage a turnaround with changes to

stores in marketing and says the effort is paying off. Here's NPR's Alina Sely. Macy's is reporting sales that actually grew in the latest quarter for the first time since 2022. The company also owns Bloomingdale's and the cosmetics chain Blue Mercury, both of which are helping with growing sales. Macy's overall is still losing money as it's investing in updates, refreshing stores, closing some of them, adding more staff and new brands. But executives raised their financial forecast for the year, still predicting lower sales but a bit less of a dip than they'd previously expected. Macy says tariffs are eating into its finances, pushing the company to raise prices on some items, and reevaluate how much of specific affected products to order in the first place.

Alina Selyu, NPR News. This is NPR.