NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-13-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Doa Lise, Kautau. Authorities in Utah say they are preparing charges against the 22-year-old accused of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. NPR's Bobby Allen reports. Law enforcement apprehended Robinson following a tip received from a member of Robinson's family. As a young man, Robinson excelled in school and received a college scholarship, but dropped out after one semester. Offline, he grew up in a small Utah town where hunting was commonplace. Online, he spent a lot of time in corners of the Internet that celebrate edgy and trollish humor. Whatever led to Robinson allegedly targeting Kirk, it should shock Americans' conscience, says Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

It is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. it is an attack on our ideals. Authorities have vowed to seek the death penalty against Robinson. Bobby Allen and PR News, Oram, Utah. The killing of Turning Point co-founder Charlie Kirk has raised questions about the vulnerability of public figures to violence.

And Perez Meg Anderson has that story. The shooter fired from a rooftop about 150 yards away. So more police on the ground might not have made a difference. But security experts told NPR the amazing. of officers was not enough for the event, which drew around 3,000 people. There are ways to defend against the sniper attack, ballistic glass, drones, counter-sniper's. But Jason Russell, a former Secret Service agent, says they're expensive and they don't fix the deeper problem. You know, obviously, if you pay any attention to social media, it's extremely divisive and now it's

become almost a us versus them mentality. Ultimately, to stop the violence, Russell says you have to make fewer people feel like it's the only way forward. Meg Anderson, NPR News. President Trump said the head of freight rail giant Union Pacific advised that he sent National Guard troops to St. Louis to fight crime. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lipman has that local reaction. Trump announced that he plans to send the guard into Memphis at the suggestion of Union Pacific's Jim Vena.

Trump said Vena 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 in May. Serious crime in St. Louis is down 17% year-to-date. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Lippman in St. Louis.

You are listening to NPR from New York City. France, Germany, and Denmark announced plans to send troops and fighter jets to defend Poland after nearly 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace and were shot down earlier in the week. Gen Z groups in Nepal helped to choose an interim prime minister after a week of violent clashes between police and young anti-government demonstrators. 73-year-old Susheila Karki, the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Himalayan nation, now becomes the first female to lead the nation of some 30 million people. The latest violence left at least 50 people dead and more than a thousand others injured

over a government social media ban that started last week. Stocks jumped this week in anticipation of lower interest rates. NPR Scott Horsley reports all the major stock indexes spent, time in record territory during the week. The government's latest cost of living report shows the highest annual inflation in seven months as double-digit tariffs triggered higher prices for imported goods like coffee, clothing, and small appliances. But concerns about stubborn inflation are taking a back seat for now to worries about the

sagging job market. Hiring has slowed sharply in recent months, and new claims for unemployment benefits point to a possible uptick in layoffs. Investors are betting the Federal Reserve will try to prop up the job market by lowering interest rates next week. That sparked a rally on Wall Street, where the Dow climbed nearly 1%. The S&P 500 index jumped 1.6% and the NASDAX soared more than 2%. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And I'm Dwahli-Sik Hotel, NPR News in New York.