NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-04-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

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A good internet domain name can be worth millions. Think apple.com or zoom.com. So what is up with the guy who owns milk.com? I happened to like chocolate milk, you know, and so he started calling me Milkboy. Like, hey, milk boy, how's it going? Milk boy. Yeah, milk boy. On the latest Planet Money podcast, the strange economics of million-dollar domain name.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corvick Coleman. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now testifying before the Senate Banking Committee. Critics allege Kennedy has badly interfered with federal health agencies and compromised scientific work. He also helped dismiss the new director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week after she'd only been on the job for a month. But former CDC director Susan Minar has published an opinion piece today in the Wall Street Journal. She says she was forced out because she refused to agree with Kennedy's demand that she compromised scientific principles. At today's hearing, Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden asked Kennedy about her statement. An opportunity to call her a liar if you say that you didn't do it, but I'd like to see you respond to this.

No, I did not say that to her. And I never had a private meeting with her. There's other witnesses to every meeting that we have, and all those witnesses will say, I never said that. So she's lying today to the American people in the Wall Street Journal? Yes, sir. Earlier in the hearing, Senator Wyden called Kennedy a liar. President Trump is appealing a ruling by a federal judge. The judge determined Trump's recent deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles was illegal.

From Cap Radio, Laura Fitzgerald, reports. California Governor Gavin Newsom had sued the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles this summer. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer heard the case over a three-day bench trial in August and ruled on Tuesday that the deployment was illegal. He said the troops broke the law, prohibiting the military from engaging in domestic law enforcement by setting security perimeters and traffic blockades. The ruling was stayed until September 12th, allowing the Trump administration time to appeal. Now that it has, the case heads to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. For NPR News, I'm Laura Fitzgerald in Sacramento.

Food Giant Campbell says new tariffs are accounting for a growing share of its costs. The company expects to offset these in part by raising prices. Campbell's is particularly affected by President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum needed to make cans for soups, and peers Alina Selyuk has more. Campbell says tariffs are expected to account for about 4% of its cost of goods sold over the next fiscal year. That's hundreds of millions of dollars in costs. The company says it faces tariffs on various products. One is Rayos pasta sauce, which relies on imports from Italy. And the big one is steel used for soup cans.

President Trump has added a new 50% tariff on steel. and Campbell's executives say they're simply not a way to source the needed amount of steel in the United States, so they have to import this key raw material. The company expects to cover these new costs in part by negotiating with suppliers, improving productivity, finding other cost savings,

but also, quote, surgical and responsible price increases. Alina Seluk, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow was up more than 130 points. You're listening to NPR. Ukrainian president Volodymy Zelensky is in Paris today meeting with other European leaders. They're trying to determine what security guarantees the United States will offer Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. The meeting of Ukrainian supporters has been dubbed the Coalition of the Willing. Today's meeting in Paris is co-chaired by the leaders of France and Britain.

The leaders of China and North Korea have held a summit meeting in Beijing. It's their first since 2019. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a military parade yesterday in the Chinese capital. China's leader Xi Jinping hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for talks at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square. At both the parade and an evening reception, Kim was seen side by side with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jia Kuan said ahead of the meeting, China wants to strengthen strategic communication with North Korea. Analysts believe Kim wants to upgrade ties with China after several years of lukewarm relations as Kim drew closer to Russia. Observers in South Korea are concerned, stronger backing from Beijing and Moscow could strengthen Kim's hand in dealings with both Seoul and Washington.

Anthony Kuhn in PR News, Seoul. Iconic Italian fashion designer, Giorgio Armani has died according to his fashion house. He was 91 and died after an undisclosed illness. Armani's best known for sleek, fitted suits that became luxury items of the U.S. in the 1980s. His more affordable Armani exchange outlet is found in malls worldwide. This is NPR.