NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-09-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

NPR News: 09-09-2025 9AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 says the Trump administration may continue using federal agents for immigration sweeps in Los Angeles. As Steve Federman reports, city officials say the legal battle is not over. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass attacked the ruling. This is simply un-American. The city of Los Angeles was a party to the lawsuit. Bass pointed out this is not a fool ruling based on the merits of the case, and the battle goes on. We will bring justice to this issue to our community.

community. Immigration advocates who filed the lawsuit admit the Supreme Court ruling is a major setback. Rebecca Brown is an attorney with public counsel. Essentially, the Supreme Court gave a green light to continue the raids across Southern California that are based on racial profiling. And she advises people to document any actions that they believe are a violation of their rights. For MPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. The family of media titan, Rupert Murdoch, has reached a deal on who will control his empire and wealth after he dies. That includes Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets. And Pierce David Folkenflict reports control will pass to one of Murdoch's sons. His desired heir was his older of the two sons, Lachlan Murdoch. Somebody

really cast in his own image, looks a lot like Rupert Murdoch, has some of the bravado and certainly definitely the ideological leanings. But he had sort of pitched his two boys against each other in competition throughout their entire adult life and really ignored people like Prudence Murdoch, his eldest child, who really didn't have the same interest, and Elizabeth Murdoch, a media executive of some real renown and accomplishment because they were female. NPR's David Fulkenflik reporting.

Authorities in Charlotte, North Carolina, are investigating the fatal stabbing of a woman aboard a light rail train. As Nick Delaccanal of member station WFAE reports, the victim was a Ukrainian refugee. The stabbing took place August 22nd, but has gained national attention after the release of surveillance video. It shows 23-year-old Arena Zarutka boarding a train and watching her phone as the attacker, seated behind her, suddenly stands up and stabs her from behind. Police have charged a 34-year-old man with a long criminal record. Mayor By Liles is calling the

attack, quote, a tragic failure by the courts, and says the city will hire more security, step up fair enforcement, and increase police patrols. The case has become a political flashpoint, with some Republicans and the White House blaming Democrats and city leaders. For NPR news, I'm Nick Delac-Cannell in Charlotte. The Israeli military has told all Palestinians in Gaza City to leave. Israel plans to expand its military offensive in the city. It says it's targeting Hamas fighters. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians will be forced to move again. There is no safe area to go in Gaza. You're listening to NPR.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says at least 20 civilians have been killed in a Russian bombing attack today. The bomb hit a village in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky says the victims were older people who had gathered to receive pensions. He's demanding a strong reaction to Russia's attack. With great fanfare, Ethiopia has inaugurated its controversial megadam on the Blue Nile River today. It's the biggest hydroelectric dam in Africa, but it's divided the region and even caught the attention of President Trump. Kate Bartlett reports. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters,

was 40 years in the making, and cost $5 billion. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abe Ahmed hopes the dam, which will double Ethiopia's energy production, will transform the country's economy. But neighboring Egypt sees the dam on a tributary of the Nile River as a disaster and has tried to block it for years. Egypt is worried it will result in water shortage. Trump claimed recently the U.S. government had mostly paid for the dam after angering Ethiopia

in his first term by suggesting Egypt would blow it up. For NPR news, I'm Kate Butler in Johannesburg. A U.S. firm based in Missouri has signed a huge deal with Pakistan that is worth half a billion dollars. A company, U.S. strategic metals, will be able to mine in Pakistan for critical minerals. That includes gold, copper, rare earths, and other resources. However, a lot of those minerals are located in a rural province, separatists who live there oppose the extraction of the minerals. This is NPR. 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. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply.