NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-05-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Hurst. President Trump has signed an executive order, rebranding the Department of Defense. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports Trump will ask Congress to approve renaming it to the Department of War. Last month, President Trump floated returning the department to its name before World War II when the U.S. Army was led by the Department of War. Now, speaking at the White House, Trump said that name sounds better, and he suggested the U.S. would have fared better. in the war since if the name hadn't changed. We could have won every war, but we really chose to be a very politically correct or wokey.

By law, Congress would need to change the name, but Trump said he isn't sure that's necessary. Trump also issued a warning after Venezuelan military planes flew close to U.S. warships off the Venezueling coast. Trump told his top general, if it happens again to essentially fire at will. Quill Lawrence NPR News. U.S. immigration officials say nearly 500 people were detained. during an immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles. Stephen Shrank, special agent in charge of investigations for homeland security, says the majority of those arrested are South Korean.

This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law. No charges were immediately announced. Homeland security officials say the months-long investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the agency's two-decade history. It comes following months of strained relations between the U.S. and South Korea over tariffs and investigations. It's been more than three weeks since President Trump federalized the Washington, D.C. police, and put National Guard troops on. on the city's streets to crack down on crime. An NPR analysis of court documents and other data shows a nuanced view of who's being swept up in the federal surge and what charges they're facing. NPR's Ryan Lucas has more.

NPR examined court records, arrest records, and other data for the first two weeks of Trump's takeover, excluding immigration-related cases. All but a handful of the nearly 1,100 people arrested ended up in D.C. Superior Court. Of those, around 20% of defendants were charged with felonies, which are more serious offenses. The rest, some 80%, were a mix of misdemeanors, warrants, or traffic offenses, or prosecutors decided to drop the case. Attorneys who work in the courthouse say they are swamped, and that the surge in arrests has on some days kept the courtroom where defendants are arraigned open past one in the morning.

Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. Wall Street, lower by the closing bell, you're listening to 8.5. NPR News from Washington. EPA employees who were placed on paid administrative leave two months ago for signing a letter of dissent received notices of proposed disciplinary action this week. As Craig Lamalt of Member Station GBAH reports, the letter criticized the agency's leadership for deregulation efforts and for disregarding scientific expertise. According to their union, overall,

100 EPA employees who signed the letter were informed of a proposed two-week unpaid suspension, and about 15 were told they're being fired. The letters said their conduct was unbecoming of a federal employee. Lily Simmons is president of the union representing employees at EPA's Boston office. I would not say signing a petition is unbecoming of any American citizen and certainly not a federal employee. Signing a petition is part of our First Amendment rights. And she says they were standing up for public health and the environment. In a written statement, an EPA spokesperson cited a zero-tolerance policy for staffers using their position to, quote, unlawfully undermine, sabotage and undercut the will of the American public.

For NPR News, I'm Craig Lamolt in Boston. The European Union has fined Google $3.5 billion in an ad tech antitrust case. This war breaching the block's competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. This is the fourth multi-billity. billion-dollar antitrust penalty for the company from the 27 nation, EU. Google has 60 days to come up with a proposed remedy. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.