NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-12-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR news in Washington, I'm Dan Roran. President Trump is downplaying the significance of Russian drones flying into Poland's airspace. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports European leaders are pushing back. In an interview with Fox and Friends, President Trump suggested that the incursion by Russian drones may have been an accident. More sanctions? I mean, I'm not going to defend anybody, but the Poland, they were actually knocked down and they fell into an area. But he shouldn't be close to Poland anyway. The president said his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was, quote, sort of running out and running out fast.

But added that it takes two to tango and suggested Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, was also part of the problem. Trump warned that he could bring stronger penalties against Russia, including sanctions on banks and the oil trade, but he also said the U.S. has done a lot already and that this is more of Europe's problem. Franco Ordonez. NPR News, New York. President Trump said the head of the freight rail giant Union Pacific advised him he should send the National Guard troops to St. Louis to fight crime. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lipman has local reaction. Trump announced that he plans to send the Guard into Memphis at the suggestion of Union Pacific's Jim Venna.

Trump said Venna then told him St. Louis should be next. The railroad confirmed the two men talked but would not comment on specifics. Megan Green is the president of the St. Louis Board of Alderman. She says the city needs help from the National Guard, but not for crime fighting. If St. Louis is on his mind, it needs to be on his mind for disaster response. The city suffered nearly a billion dollars worth of damage from an EF3 tornado index. May, serious crime in St. Louis is down 17% year-to-date. For NPR news, I'm Rachel Lipman in St. Louis. Migrants sent by the United States to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have been moved to another

part of the U.S. naval base there due to a water supply failure. That's raising more questions about whether Guantanamo can accommodate the 30,000 migrants President Trump says he wants to send there. NPR's Sasha Pfeiffer reports. Guantanamo gets its drinking water from a treatment facility. And the Justice Department disclosed this week that in late August there was a, quote, disruption to water service to the part of the base where the government's migrant operations center is. That's where the U.S. is holding what it calls low-threat aliens. So those migrants were transferred to a part of the base where, quote, high-threat aliens are held. The water supply isn't expected to be restored until at least September 19th. Critics of sending migrants to Guantanamo

say the basis infrastructure is too primitive to hold large numbers of migrants there and the water failure has added to their skepticism. Sasha Fiver, NPR News. Wall Street finished the week mix. This is the Federal Reserve Policymakers meet next week to possibly discuss cutting interest rates. This is NPR News.

A climate change lawsuit brought in Puerto Rico against oil companies has been dismissed by a federal judge. NPR's Jeff Brady reports the plaintiffs could still appeal. After Hurricane Maria killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico in 2017, more than 30 municipalities filed a lawsuit. It accused fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP, along with their trade group of violating the federal racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations or RICO Act. The municipalities argued the oil industry misled the public about the consequences of humans burning fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases from

combustion have heated the climate, making hurricanes more intense. Trump appointed federal judge Sylvia Correno Cole said while she's sensitive to the plight of Puerto Ricans after the 2017 storm season, plaintiffs waited longer than the four-year limit to file the RICO claim. Jeff Rady, NPR News. Whether radars in the mid-Atlantic are not picking up swarms of an invasive bug species. NPR's Matt Rott reports. The spotted lantern fly is a colorful insect native to Asia. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was first found in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014. It's since spread to 19 states in the District of Columbia, where weather radars, as they did this week, will sometimes see swarms of them appear as if they were rain. The flies are deemed

a pest. They can damage hardwoods, fruit trees, and other native plants, so people are encouraged to squish them and to check their cars and outdoor equipment to keep from transporting their eggs any further. Nate Rott, NPR News. I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News in Washington. Support for 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 Cs apply.