NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-03-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

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This message comes from Snap Judgment. Their new series, A Tiny Plot, follows a group of homeless people in Oakland as they fight to create their own encampment run by their own rules. It's a bold experiment in freedom and community. Listen to Snap Judgment wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump says New Orleans could be next in line for a National Guard deployment to fight crime. Trump is also floating the same idea for Chicago and Baltimore. He says Louisiana's Republican governor is urging him to send in law enforcement to help police the state's largest city,

but local officials in New Orleans don't appear to be on board with the plan. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for legislation that would require the Justice Department to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. House GOP leaders oppose it, but four Republicans, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green have signed a petition that would force the House to vote on the bill. 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. Outside the Capitol today, a group of Epstein survivors and family members of victims shared their stories, calling for the full public release of the files. Among them was Sky Roberts. His sister, Virginia

Joufrey, died by suicide earlier this year. She fought to expose a system that allowed the wealthy, the connected, and the powerful to exploit and abuse girls and young women. Without consequence, she fought for every survivor who was silence, doubted or discarded. House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed skepticism citing concerns about victim privacy. China hosted the leaders of Russia, North Korea, and other nations for a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. Yet, it's a televised hot mic moment between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese host. That's also making headlines. NPR's Charles Mainz reports from Moscow.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin head towards the military parade, the two leaders can be heard through interpreters discussing the changing nature of mortality. It used to be rare for someone to be older than 70, says she, adding these days at 70 one still a child. In response, Putin notes that thanks to biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, allowing people to even achieve immortality. The exchange comes as the longtime leaders. Both 72 years of age have altered their country's constitutions to effectively remain in power for life. Later in a press conference, Putin said he was merely stating a fact about the miracles of modern science.

Charles Bain's NPR News, Moscow. Stocks trade and mixed today on Wall Street. The Dow was down 24 points at the close. The NASDAQ up 218, the S&P, rose 32 points. This is NPR News. The department store Macy's is reporting its best financial quarter in years. The chain has been trying to state a turnaround with changes to stores and marketing and says the effort is paying off, even as shoppers stay vigilant about their budgets.

NPR's Alina Selyuk reports. 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 and PR News.

The Treasury Department has released a list of jobs that would be exempt from income tax on tips, including those in food service, salons. months, concierge workers, and digital media. The move delivers on a campaign promise by President Trump and stems from a tax law that he signed in July. The exemption is set to expire in 28 and applies only to workers who learn less than $160,000 a year. It would cover tips reported on W2 forms. Analyst warned it could add roughly $40 billion to the national deficit. I'm Windsor Johnston and PR News in 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.

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