NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-09-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiyovone. Trump administration tariff policies will be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court the first week of November. At issue, the president's authority to invoke emergency powers to impose sweeping new tariffs on several countries. President Trump has issued a statement expressing his disapproval with the recent Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in Qatar, a key player in peace negotiations, and PR's Mara Liason reports. The White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says that the U.S. learned about the strike just before it began and notified the president. The president's Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, then told the Qataris about the impending strike. While the president has said that Hamas must be destroyed, Leavitt said he believes that this particular attack inside Qatar does not advance Israel's or America's goals.

The president has always made it very clear that he wants peace in the Middle East. He expects all of our allies and friends in the region. that includes both Qatar and Israel to seek peace as well. She says President Trump has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to the leaders of Qatar to assure them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil. Mara Liason, NPR News, the White House. New Mexico is poised to lift a significant cost burden from families with young children becoming the first state of the nation to offer free child care to its citizens regardless of income.

Taylor Velasquez, with member state. KUNM and Albuquerque has details. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham says the state will officially remove income eligibility requirements from its child care assistance program, which she says will save families on average $12,000 per child. It's the difference between making it when inflation in this country remains too high, particularly the areas of utilities and food. The program includes incentives for child care programs that boost pay for entry-level staff and commit to being open at least 10 hours a day. The new expansion is being implemented through the regulatory process, but will require more funding from the state legislature.

For NPR News, I'm Taylor Velasquez and Albuquerque. Norfolk Southern has agreed to give Amtrak passenger trains priority over its own freight trains. NPR's Joel Rose has more. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last year, accusing Norfolk Southern. of causing chronic delays on Amtrak's crescent line between New York City and New Orleans. Federal law says that Amtrak passenger trains are supposed to get priority when they use tracks owned by freight railroads. But in practice, Amtrak has complained for years that freight lines often prioritize their own trains, which can be difficult to pass because they are frequently a mile or even two miles long.

Under the settlement, Norfolk Southern agrees to train its employees to give Amtrak Crescent trains the highest priority and to provide records when those passenger trains are delayed. Rose, NPR News. The Dow Up 196, this is NPR. Revised jobs data from the Labor Department show a less robust employment picture than reported over the year that ended in March of this year. In benchmark revisions issued today data show employers added about 900,000 fewer jobs than originally estimated in the 12-month period beginning in 2024 and ending in this first quarter of this year. Nepal's Army Chief of staff is calling for calm after protesters torch government buildings across the country

and attack politicians. The demonstrations came after security forces killed 19 protesters yesterday, and PR's Dia Hadid reports. The rage was palpable. Protesters smashed the international airport, the Supreme Court, and torched the Parliament House. The violence continued even after the Prime Minister announced his resignation, following a similar move by the Interior Minister. After General Ashok Raj Sigdal's televised statement, the Napoleon army issued its own. It warned protesters to desist and said the military would ensure security. Anger has been building over Nepal's sharp inequality, with much fury directed to the children of political elites, who've shared their luxurious lifestyles online in a country of grinding poverty. With anger now directed

at the country's political class, it's unclear who will have the legitimacy to govern. Di Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai, with Rajneesh Bandari in Kathmandu. Major Wall Street indexes, today closed at record highs. The SMP 500 gained 17 points closing at 65-12. I'm Louise Skiyvone and PR News, Washington.