NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-12-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington on Corva Coleman, the manhunt continues for the shooter who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk. NPR's Bobby Allen reports authorities released additional video footage and pleaded for the public's help. Utah Governor Spencer Cox appeared alongside FBI director Cash Patel. They released footage showing a man climbing down from a roof after authorities say he fired the one shot that killed Charlie Kirk. Investigators recovered fingerprints and shoe impressions along with a rifle and ammunition believed to be the killers. Yet despite that and 7,000 leads and tips, the suspect is still at large. Lance Hamner, who was at the Kirk event, says he hopes authorities apprehend the gunman. For the justice aspect alone, I hope that they catch this person because I don't think you can have closure when someone gets away with it. Hamner says the open-air amphitheater, where Kirk's event was held, appeared to be low security. Bobby Allen and PR News, Oram, Utah.

The Prime Minister of Qatar is in Washington today for meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department says the meetings will be at the White House. This comes after Israel conducted an airstrike on Qatar's capital Tuesday. Israel targeted top Hamas leaders. Six people died, but none appeared to be senior Hamas leaders. Qatar and other Arab nations are furious. Two Democratic senators have issued a report on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Oregon's Jeff Merkley and Marlon's Chris Van Hollen visited the Middle East

and spoke with officials in Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Egypt. The Senators allege Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is engaging in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza, Senator Van Hollen. From our trip, from our observations, from our firsthand accounts, it's clear that the Netanyahu government has gone far beyond targeting Hamas to imposing collective punishment on all the people of Gaza. Senators Van Hollen and Merkley say they are also demanding the release of all Israeli, hostages held by Hamas and say they met with hostage families in Israel. Brazil's Supreme Court

has convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overthrow his government after he lost his 2022 presidential election. He's been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison. Julia Carrnero reports from Rio de Janeiro. This lengthy prison term for Jaiy Bolsonaro follows a momentous trial that has gripped Brazil. The divisive far-right leader was convicted on all five charges, including attempting a coup, violently abolishing the rule of law and leading a criminal organization. Votes to convict were four to one in the panel made up of five Supreme Court justices. The seven other defendants were also found guilty. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the court had unjustly ruled to imprison Bolsonaro, and the United States would, quote,

respond accordingly to this witch hunt. Julia Carnero reporting, this is a NPR. Mortgage rates have fallen to a new low this year. That's according to the government-backed enterprise, Freddie Mac. NPR's Laurel Walmsley reports that's prompted more prospective home owners to apply for mortgages. The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage in the past week was 6.35 percent, down from 6.5 percent a week earlier. That's the lowest average since last October. As rates have ticked down, borrower demand has surged. Applications to buy a home and to refinance were both up last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinances made up nearly half of applications. Mortgage rates have dipped following new economic data showing that the labor market

is weakening. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut the Fed funds rate at its meeting next week, but that may not indirectly spur a further drop in mortgage rates, as the expectation of a cut is already likely priced into current rates. Laurel Wamsley, NPR News. There's a curfew in effect in Nepal, leaders of the protest movement that toppled the country's prime minister this week have held talks with Nepalese military leaders. At least 34 people were killed in the violence. Protests broke out after the government banned all social media. The ban was quickly rescinded, but the protests ballooned into widespread violence. The French newspaper Le Monde reports that a record number of visitors are going to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The cathedral was restored after a huge fire in 2019. was reopened last December. Estimates show between 12 and 13 million people will have visited the cathedral in the first year after reopening. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.