NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-11-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: September 11, 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 Korava Coleman. authorities in Utah are still searching for a suspect in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He was attacked yesterday while speaking at a Utah university. President Trump is expressing anger and grief. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.

Others have expressed anger. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords said she was horrified at the news. Giffords was shot and badly wounded in 2011 at a public event. Two students have been wounded after another student shot them at a high school near Denver yesterday. Colorado Public Radio's Alejandra Alonza Galva has more. Three teenagers were shot, including the gunman by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died later at the hospital. A fourth student was injured during the evacuation.

Law enforcement says the suspect was a student and used a handgun, but a motive remains unknown. Jen Weber is a parent of a freshman who was able to escape. When she heard about the shooting, she went running through the woods to try and reach the school. I actually had no idea. I was out washing my car, and I just got a text message from him that said that there was a shooter and that he loved me. A vigil was held at Flatiron's community. Church and Golden Wednesday night as the state comes together

in the wake of the shooting. For NPR News, I'm Alejandro Alonzo Galva in Denver. Federal immigration officers continue their operations in Chicago. Their event arrests and immigrants are worried. From member station WBEZ, Adriana Cardona McGigad has more. Chicago residents have filmed arrests

and share them on social media. Anahil Garcia with the Illinois-Venezuelan Alliance says many Venezuelans in the area are afraid. The Trump administration changed the rules for Venezuelans who had been allowed in the country under asylum, humanitarian parole, and other programs during the Biden administration. The Venezuelan community is hiding. They cannot go to work. They have to remain at home and we don't know for how long. Kiel Garcia says she's been getting calls from people whose family members were arrested at immigration court appointments. For NPR news, I'm Adriana Cardona McGigad in Chicago.

Government officials in Qatar remained furious at Israel's attack on Hamas leaders this week in Qatar's capital. Six people died, none of them top Hamas leaders. Katar's prime minister says Israel's attack is, quote, state terrorism. Israeli officials are unapologetic and say they'll strike anywhere they need to. President Trump was warned only a few minutes before the attack happened. This is NPR. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey and two House Democrats have sent President Trump a letter. They're worried over his plans to transfer 20 metric tons of plutonium from U.S. bombs to commercial use. Trump wants to get rid of surplus plutonium, but the lawmakers say he's creating a brand new risk of proliferation

that someone could use that plutonium possibly to make new nuclear bombs. NASA scientists say they're one step closer to learning. whether Mars once hosted forms of life. NPR's Bill Chapel reports. NASA researchers say they found potential signatures of life in a rock sample from an ancient river valley on Mars. Nikki Fox is an associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate. This finding by our incredible perseverance rover

is the closest we've actually come to discovering ancient life on Mars. The rock sample has patterns of what researchers call leopard spots made of minerals. Fox says that on Earth, such patterns are often linked to biological processes. It's kind of the equivalent of seeing leftover fossils, you know, leftovers from a meal and maybe that meal's been excreted by a microbe, and that's what we're seeing in this sample. NASA wants to bring the samples back to Earth for more analysis, but right now there's no plan or money to do that. Bill Chapel, NPR News. California Governor Gavin Newsom says the Trump administration is going to stop letting motorists in electric vehicles and other clean cars use

carpool lanes. The governor says that means carpool lanes will only be reserved for vehicles with more than one occupant. The change takes effect October 1st across the country. This is NPR.