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

Episode Date: September 9, 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 Corva Coleman. The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a pair of orders. In one, Chief Justice John Roberts has cleared the way for President Trump to fire the last Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission. NPR's Nina Totenberg explains. It's yet another strong indication that the court's conservatives are aiming to reverse a nearly century-old decision barring presidents from firing independent agency commissioners except for misconduct.

And if the administration prevails in this case, take a look at RFK Jr. and his firings of medical experts as a forecast of things to come. NPR's Nina Totenberg reporting. In a separate decision, the High Court allowed federal immigration agents to continue random searches of people in Los Angeles. That overturned a lower court order that blocked agents from stopping people because of their race, language, job, or location. South Korea's government is preparing to send a chartered flight to Atlanta. Officials will bring home Korean workers who were detained last week by U.S. agents on charges of immigration violations. They were working at a South Korean auto plant. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul.

The YonHap News Agency reports that the flight could leave as early as Wednesday with enough seats to bring home the more than 300 detained workers. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho-Hion flew to the U.S. on Monday to oversee the process. Immigrations and customs enforcement, or ICE, is calling the raid on the Hyundai-L-G electric vehicle. and battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia, its biggest enforcement operation ever. South Korea has pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S., but experts argue that U.S. visa restrictions make it difficult to bring in the skilled workers needed to build factories. A survey by South Korean pollster's reel meter found that 60% of respondents considered measures

used in the raid excessive. Anthony Kuhn in PR News, Seoul. In the U.S., new national test scores have been released today, these measure eighth graders' science skills and 12th graders math and reading skills. And Pierre 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. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Tropical storm Kiko is sweeping to the north of Hawaii. It's not going to make landfall,

but forecasters are warning of the chance of life-threatening surf and rip currents on Hawaii's beaches. Since June, nearly a dozen prominent artists have removed their music from the largest music streaming service in the world. And Piers Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento reports musicians are leaving Spotify in protest. A wave of artists has left Spotify, an objection to CEO Daniel X

ties to the defense company Helsing. The German startup focuses on artificial intelligence from military applications. It also manufactures drones. In June, X venture capital firm raised more than $700 million for Helsing.

Since then, some artists have criticized Eck for investing in military technology. Rock bands including Deerhoof, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Shushu have all pulled their music from Spotify. Jamie Stewart of Shushu's

says, Spotify was a large source of digital revenue for their band. It's a noticeable amount that we're no longer making. But Stewart says they morally oppose art as a means to fund war. Isabella Gomez-Armiento and PR News. The elusive British street artist, Banksy, has put up a new mural. It's on the side of a major British courthouse in central London. It depicts a judge wearing a robe in traditional British court wig, beating down a protester who is lying on the ground.

The judge is using his gavel. The mural is not associated with any particular cause, but it was quickly covered up by London officials. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees.

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