NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-03-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Dave Mattingly. President Trump says the U.S. military has destroyed a small vessel carrying illegal drugs in the Southern Caribbean, killing 11 people. In a post on social media, the president says the boat had departed Venezuela and was being operated by gang members belonging to Tranda Aragua. The president also posted a short video clip showing a small vessel exploding in flames. The Pentagon, recently deployed three naval destroyers off Venezuela to combat threats from drug cartels in Latin America. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports on what Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to say about the strike as he prepared to travel to Mexico to talk about issues including illegal drugs and migration. Secretary Rubio says the U.S. strike destroyed what he calls a drug boat that left Venezuela and was operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization. Speaking to reporters before boarding his plane to Mexico, he says this is a sign that drug cartels can no longer act with impunity. Those days are over now. We are going to wage combat against drug cartels that are flooding American streets and killing Americans.

Questions about the legality of the U.S. strikes are likely to cast a long shadow over his talks here with Mexican president, Claudia Shane Baum. He's also planning to meet Ecuador's president in Quito on Thursday. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Mexico City. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are among the world leaders in China today, where Beijing is marking 80 years since the end of World War II. As Laura Westbrook reports, China is observing the anniversary with a large military parade. A choir singing patriotic songs,

thousands of soldiers, goose-stepping in formation, and the latest military hardware were all on display in Beijing. at the huge military parade. Chinese President Xi Jinping says the world faces a choice of peace or war and that China is unstoppable. Pictures showed President Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who rarely leaves secretive North Korea, talking comfortably as they walk down a red carpet by Tiananmen Square. This carefully choreographed moment sends a signal to the United States and the rest of the West, that now Russia, North Korea and China are very closely aligned. For NPR News, I'm Laura Westbrook in Hong Kong. The UN says it

believes the death toll from Sunday night's strong earthquake in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan will continue to rise as search and rescue teams reach more areas affected by the quake. More than 1,400 people are known dead. The number of injured tops 3,000. Entire villages were flattened in areas near the border with Pakistan. This is NPR News. Cruise in California say a fast-moving wildfire southeast of Stockton has damaged or destroyed several homes and burned thousands of acres. The fire forced evacuations in what's known as the town of Chinese camp. It's a historic gold rush town settled by Chinese miners around 1850.

Officials at Cal Fire say the blaze was sparked by lightning sometime yesterday. A new study finds that deforestation in South America's Amazon rainforest is worsening the dry season and making the region more susceptible to wildfires, and PR's Nate Rot has more. Think of a tree like a water pump. Rainfalls and is absorbed by the ground, where tree roots suck it up and move it back upwards. Water vapor is then released from tiny pores and leaves far above, fueling more rain. That process is especially important in the Amazon during the dry. season. And the new study published in the journal Nature Communications finds that

deforestation, mostly for agriculture, is directly responsible for 75% of rainfall decreases during the drier season. Dryer vegetation means more wildfires. The researchers warn which kill trees and exacerbate the problem. Nate Rott, NPR News. The jackpot for tonight's Powerball lottery drawing is up to $1.3 billion. It's the fifth largest prize in Powerball history and a top 10 all-time lottery jackpot in the U.S. This will be the 41st Powerball drawing since a winning ticket's been sold for the top prize. The odds of winning won in $292 million. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.