NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-04-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

NPR News: 09-04-2025 12AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What's made you happy as of late? On Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've been talking about the things that have made us happy in the pop culture universe for the past 15 years. Whether it's a blockbuster or deliciously bad reality TV, the newest shows, dramas, and reboots, we're here to keep your spirits high. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. President Trump is calling the government files on sex trafficking probe, a late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, irrelevant. Trump was asked during a White House press event

to respond to Epstein's accusers who want all of the information made public. So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything over and over again, more and more and more. And nobody's ever satisfied. But from what I understand, I could check, but from what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given. Members of Congress joined several Epstein accusers outside of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday

as they revisited their trauma. An attorney for the women say they're compiling their own list of Epstein accomplices and the financial institutions that enabled them. A federal judge in Boston has reversed the Trump administration's attempt to cut more than $2 billion in government research grants. From GBAH in Boston, Kurt Carrapeza reports that Harvard faculty see the ruling as a victory for American education. Judge Allison Burroughs ruled the cuts were a legal retaliation after Harvard refused to let the government dictate admissions, hiring, and disciplinary practices. In her decision, she wrote the administration was using anti-Semitism as a smokescreen to go after top universities.

Harvard government professor Ryan Enos says the decision reinforces. the school's independence. The government cannot extort money for private institutions for political reasons, and that's important to everybody, not just Harvard. President Trump has also tried so far unsuccessfully to block Harvard from enrolling international students and has threatened its tax-exempt status. On social media, he signaled plans to appeal the decision. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Terepeza in Boston. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Paris for a meeting of 35 nations who've already pledged security guarantees after Kiev and Moscow reach a peace deal. Details from NPR's Eleanor Beardsley.

French President Emmanuel Macron alongside Zelensky at the Elyze Palace said Thursday's meeting follows intense work begun two weeks ago at the summit in Washington. We are ready, we Europeans, to bring guarantees of security to Ukraine and to the Ukrainians the day the peace is signed, he said. Macron described a new level and intensity of engagement, saying the security of Ukraine is the security of Europe. Zelensky is also set to speak with President Trump on Thursday. Two weeks ago, Trump predicted the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would meet soon. Analysts say there are no indication such a meeting is in the works. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street.

This is NPR. More than 1,000 current and former workers at the Department of Health and Human Services are calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Some Democrats in Congress say Kennedy should step down or be fired. And a few Republican lawmakers say they're also concerned about some of the Secretary's actions. More than 10,000 lightning strikes have been recorded in California. In the past 24 hours, many of them sparking new wildfires. From Cap Radio, Manola Sakira has details.

These fires have mostly broken out. in California Central Valley. Cal Fire officials say they're particularly focused on the TCU September lightning complex, which refers to a group of fires caused by lightning strikes. The complex is mostly affecting rural communities in Calaveras in Stanislaus counties. Officials say the fires triggered multiple evacuation warnings and orders. Cal Fire's Battalion Chief of Communications, Jesse Torres, says the state often sees devastating wildfires this time of year.

We're coming into the fall months where, We haven't seen precipitation for months, sometimes almost six to seven months. He says forecasts say wildfire threats from these storms should decrease later in the week. For NPR News, I'm Annalisa Geida in Sacramento. A California woman has pleaded guilty to selling the drugs that ended the life of actor Matthew Perry. 42-year-old Jasmine Sanga pleaded guilty to five counts, including distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury. Sanga is one of five people accused of exploiting Perry's drug addiction. She scheduled for sentencing on December 10th. Perry died in Los Angeles nearly two years ago.

This is NPR News. 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. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply.