NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-06-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: September 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Duhalisei Kautau. There's mixed reaction from Pentagon officials after President Trump signed an executive order to rebound the Defense Department to the Department of War. Here's Trump explaining his renaming. I think it's a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now. We have the strongest military in the world. We have the greatest equipment in the world. We have the greatest manufacturers of equipment by

far. The administration's secretary of defense, Pete Hexeth, later posted a video on his official social media showing a new nameplate on his office door that reads, Secretary of War. Some employees at the Labor Department are trying to assure the public that new jobs numbers published by the government can be trusted. This comes as the latest employment report shows job growth slowed significantly over the summer, and peers Andrew Shue reports. The statement was written by a group. of current employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in response to recent attacks on the integrity of the Bureau's work. MPR agreed not to name the employees because they fear reprisal

for speaking out. Their statement comes a month after President Trump fired the BLS Commissioner after the July Jop's report revealed a weakening labor market. Trump claimed without evidence that the numbers were rigged to make him and Republicans look bad. The employees say commissioners don't cook the numbers. In fact, they don't even see the numbers until after the estimates are complete. With methods that are public, vetted and transparent, they write, the public doesn't have to guess whether the numbers are real. Andrea Shue and PR News. A federal judge in San Francisco has blocked the Trump administration's plan to revoke temporary legal protections for more than one million immigrants. And Piers Matt Bloom reports

the latest ruling affects people from Venezuela and Haiti. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Edward Chen argues Homeland Security. Secretary Christine Nome broke the law when she rescinded Biden-era extensions of temporary protections for half a million Haitians and 600,000 Venezuelans earlier this year. Noem has argued the extensions are no longer justified, but Chen, citing with immigrant rights groups and the ACLU, wrote that the secretary did not follow correct procedures when she ended them early. The Trump administration has sought to end protections for migrants for many foreign countries this year. The latest ruling restores Biden-era extensions for people fleeing

dangerous conditions in their home countries. It could still face an appeal. Matt Bloom, NPR News. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky tells ABC News that he cannot go to Moscow to negotiate the end of the war with Russia while his country is under attack each day. Earlier in the week, Vladimir Putin said if Zelensky is ready to meet, quote, let him come to Moscow. You're listening to and PR News. The 82nd Venice Film Festival is drawing to a close today, and the best picture, the Golden Line winner, is expected to be announced at an evening ceremony. Nearly 500 South Koreans were arrested at a Hyundai factory in the state of Georgia on Friday.

Immigration officials said it was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security investigations, President Trump speaking from the Oval Office said these workers are people that came through with Biden. They came through illegally. South Korea expressed, quote, concern and regret over the immigration rate and urged the Trump administration to respect the rights of its citizens. The Korean nationals are being held in an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, temporarily. The Trump administration says it will drop a Biden-era rule intended to compensate air travelers when flight disruptions are caused by the airlines, and Paris Joel Rose explains. The proposal from the Department of Transportation under

then-President Biden would have required airlines to pay between $200 and $775, along with free meals, lodging, and re-bookings. It would have applied when domestic flights are disrupted by circumstances under the airlines' control, including mechanical problems and system outages. The airline industry sharply criticized the proposal, arguing it would drive up operating costs. An industry trade group welcomed the Trump administration's move to drop it. Similar protection for airline passengers have long been in place in Europe and elsewhere. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. Police in Portugal say 11 of the 16 people killed when a streetcar derailed were foreigners.

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