NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-07-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: September 7, 2025

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Hey, it's Rachel Martin. I'm the host of Wildcard from NPR. For a lot of my years as a radio host, silence sort of made me nervous. That pause before an answer, because you don't know what's going on on the other side of the mic. But these days, I love it. Hmm. Ah. Gosh. Give me a minute. Yeah, yeah. Think. Listen to the Wild Card podcast, only from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Jail Snyder. South Korea says it has negotiated the release of its nationals detained by ice agents at a South Korean-invested electric vehicle battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul that South Korea has voice concern and regret at the workers' detentions. South Korea's Yon Hap News Agency quotes presidential chief of staff Kanghoun-shek is saying that officials have concluded negotiations for the release of the detained workers, and once administrative procedures are complete, a chartered plane will head. to Georgia to bring the workers home. Authorities rated the plant on Thursday and arrested more than 450 workers, including more than 300 South Korea nationals for alleged immigration violations.

The plant is run by South Korea's Hyundai and LG companies. It's an example of the kind of high-tech factories both the Biden and Trump administrations have tried to attract to the U.S. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Japanese Prime Minister Shiri Shiba has stepped down, as Shiba announced his resignation today after coming under pressure following his party's defeat in July's parliamentary elections. To Chicago, people were on the streets this weekend, despite President Trump's threats to surge immigration agents and potentially National Guard troops to the city. Illinois Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley says Chicagoans are showing unity.

It's really our attempt to the sign of unity to show support that in Chicago, there's more that unites us than divides us, especially at this difficult time. Quigley spoke to ABC News last night, several thousand demonstrators march past Chicago's Trump Tower. And earlier in the day, the city moved forward with a parade celebrating Mexico's Independence Day. President Trump posted a doctored image of himself based on the movie Apocalypse Now this weekend, showing helicopters in the air and the Chicago skyline with black smoke rising from raging flames in the background. Ukraine's Air Force says Russia launched more than 800 attack drones overnight on Ukrainian cities, making it the largest such attack since Russia's full-scale invasion.

At least 11 Ukrainians were killed across the country, dozens more injured as the Trump administration's peace efforts falter. And Pierre's Joanna Kikis is in Kiev. This is the sound of a shot-head attack drone flying over Kiev. Ukraine says Russia used 810 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 Vitale Clitchko said in a social media post that a government building near President Volodymy Zelensky's office caught fire because of burning debris from a shot-down drone.

The strikes also damaged apartment buildings and the power grid, causing electricity outages. Joanna Kikis, NPR News, Kave. And you're listening to NPR News. A funeral for a student killed in the shooting at Annunciation Church and school in Minneapolis is planned for today. Elizabeth Schachman from Minnesota Public Radio reports. Fletcher Merkel was 8 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 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 Acutus, who died in 2006, was a computer coder who built websites to spread Catholic teachings. The BBC's Ali MacBul 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. The BBC's Malibuil reporting Carlo Acutus, one of two young Italians canonized today. The other, Pierre-Georgio Fossati, was known for helping others. He was 24 when he died of polio in the 1920s.

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