NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-07-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: September 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Demonstrators took to the streets of Chicago last night to push back against escalating threats by President Trump to send National Guard troops and federal immigration agents to the city. One of them, Dahlia Underwood, called on President Trump to back down, saying that immigrants have helped build the country. We're separating families. We're literally separated. families. That's what we're doing. And I don't think that's fair. Everyone deserves a chance here. Everyone was given the chance, you know, to make a living. I think everybody deserves that. Details about Trump's plan to send the National Guard into Chicago are unclear. City and state leaders have threatened to sue the administration if it follows through. The president has already

deployed federal troops to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The White House is also considering sending the National Guard to Baltimore and New Orleans. The Ukrainian Air Force says Russia launched more than 800 attack drones overnight on Ukrainian cities, making it the largest attack since the war broke out. At least 11 Ukrainians were killed and dozens of others were injured. NPR's Joanna Kikis reports from the capital Kiv. This is the sound of a shot-head attack drone flying over Kiev. Ukraine says Russia used 800. 110 such drones, as well as 13 missiles, in attacks across the country. Among those killed

was a mother and her newborn child in Kiev. The attacks damaged the government district in the capital, an area that is heavily guarded by air defense. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a social media post that a government building near President Volodymer Zelensky's office caught fire because of burning debris from a shot-down drone. The strikes also damaged a part apartment buildings and the power grid, causing electricity outages. Joanna Kikisis and PR News pave. President Trump is attending the U.S. Open men's final match in New York City today. NPR's Luke Garrett reports Trump is the first sitting president to attend the tennis tournament in 25 years.

Security is being ramped up at Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, the president's home borough. Trump has embraced sporting events. In February, he became the first president to attend the Super Bowl. The star-studded U.S. Open crowd last saw then-Candid Trump in 2015. Some crowd members booed and jeered at the time. This year, the U.S. Tennis Association has reportedly told broadcasters to avoid showing crowd reaction to Trump's attendance. Luke Garrett and PR News, Joint Base Andrews. There were two winning tickets in last night's Powerball drawing.

The nearly $1.8 billion jackpot is the second largest in U.S. history. The lucky numbers were sold in Missouri and Texas. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. One of the students killed in the shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis will be laid to rest today. Elizabeth Schockman from Minnesota Public Radio reports. Fletcher Merkel was eight years old. He and his classmate 10-year-old Harper Moiseki were killed while attending a start of school mass last week. The shooter also wounded 21 other people, most of them children.

Fletcher's funeral, which is open to the public, will be held. held at a Lutheran church in South Minneapolis. The service will also be live-streamed. Fletcher's family is asking mourners to wear bright colors instead of black. For NPR news, I'm Elizabeth Shockman in St. Paul. At the Vatican today, St. Peter's Square was packed as Pope Leo canonized an Italian teenager, the first millennial to become a Roman Catholic saint. Carlo Akutis, who died in 2006, was a computer coder who built websites to spread Catholic teaching. The ABC's Aline MacBool reports. Carlo Acutus was born in London to Italian parents in 1991.

But before he was six months old, his family moved to Milan, where he became known for his interest in video games and the internet. His family says he was a devout Roman Catholic, creating a website that documented miracles. But he died of leukemia aged 15. After that, Pope Francis supported his family's quest to have Carlo Acutis canonized, in part to help energize the faith among young people. That's the BBC's Aleem MacBul reporting.

I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.