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

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Israel says it's carried out a strike in the capital of Qatar targeting senior Hamas leaders. There was no immediate confirmation of casualties. NPR's Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. This is the first time Israel has carried out a strike in Doha. It marks an escalation in Israel's war against Hamas. Israel's military says the Hamas leaders targeted were directly responsible for Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and have since been, quote, orchestrating and managing the war with

Israel. It came as Hamas took claim for a shooting attack in Jerusalem yesterday that killed six Israelis. Qatar called the strike a cowardly attack on residential buildings housing Hamas political leaders. Qatar has hosted Hamas political leaders for years in coordination with the U.S. to establish lines of communication, according to a Qatari official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Revites government data show the U.S. job market is looking far weaker than expected. NPR's Maria Aspen reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics published its annual update today.

U.S. employers added 911,000 fewer jobs than initially counted during the 12 months ending in March. The updated figures are preliminary and routine, but still sobering. They show the labor market was likely weakening far more than expected under the last year of President Biden's term and the first months of President Trump's second presidency. The federal government regularly revises its monthly jobs numbers as more complete data comes in. But this year's revision comes as Trump has increasingly politicized the data and the agency that tracks it. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York. New national test scores are out today. These measure eighth-grader's science skills and 12th graders' math and reading abilities.

MPR Sequoia Carrillo reports. These test scores are part of the National Assessment for Educational Progress, also known as the nation's report card, and they come in the wake of massive cuts to the U.S. Education Department. Math scores for students in the 12th grade dropped three points from the previous test in 2019, while eighth graders followed a similar pattern with a four-point average drop in science. In both science and math, drops happen across all achievement levels, so low and high-performing students dropped this cycle. Reading scores also dipped for nearly all 12th graders compared to the last test. But when you compare these scores to the first nation's report card for 12th grade reading

more than 30 years ago, today's average score is 10 points lower. Sequoia Carrillo, NPR News. Stocks are trading mixed on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow is up 49 points. The NASDAQ down 10. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Prime Minister of Nepal has stepped down following violent protests yesterday across the Capitol. Authorities opened fire into crowds of demonstrators in Kathmandu, killing at least 19 people. Young people took to the streets to rally against a temporary government ban on social media and broader frustrations with the ruling party. Ethiopia has inaugurated a controversial hydroelectric dam today. Michael Kolochi reports the construction has strained its

relations with Egypt. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is Africa's largest hydroelectric dam. Since its construction began more than a decade ago, the $5 billion project has been a source of diplomatic tension between Ethiopia and two other countries, Egypt and Sudan. The government say their countries also rely on the Nile River and they fear the dam, which is being built on the same river could impact their water supplies. Years of talks between Ethiopia and the two countries, including some brokered by President Trump, during his first term in office, failed to yield any agreement. Ethiopia has insisted the dam will not cause any significant disruptions, saying it plans to use it to improve electricity supply to its citizens. For NPR News, I'm Michael Koloki in Nairobi.

A new mural by the elusive street artist Banksy is being removed from a wall outside one of London's most iconic courthouses. The artwork shows a judge in a traditional wig and robe beating an unarmed protester with a gavel. Banksie shared a photo of it on Instagram, captioned Royal Courts of Justice London. Authorities quickly cover the mural with black plastic and metal barriers. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.