NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-13-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is headed to Israel for two days, less than a week after the bombing of Hamas political leaders in Doha Qatar. The attack which killed at least six people puts the U.S. in a difficult position between two of its closest Middle East allies. NPR's Kerry Khan reports. Rubio will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with families of hostages still held in Gaza. The State Department says Rubia will, quote, convey America's priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security. The meeting comes as Israel launches its takeover of Gaza City, displacing tens of thousands of residents. On Saturday, it leveled another high-rise

the 13th destroyed in a little over week, according to Gaza's civil defense. Israel says the buildings are infiltrated by Hamas fighters. Hamas denies that. Qatar's premier says its mediation efforts are now at a standstill this weekend it holds an emergency summit to discuss a regional response to the Israeli attack. Carrie gone, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Following Wednesday's fatal shooting of a prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a speaking event in Orham, Utah, many in the community say they do not feel safe, even with the alleged assassin in custody. NPR's Marisa Penelosa reports. Orm's nickname is Family City, USA. It's known as a welcoming, safe community, and that's one of the reasons Kay's Deirden and his family moved here. Now the father of two young

kids is concerned that violence could escalate, he says. The tensions are just rising and rising. The violence needs to stop. The division is what's causing this problem. So if we're going to keep pointing fingers, more people are going to be murdered. Dearden and many others here say there needs to be a way to talk with each other, even when people disagree. Marisa Pinalosa, NPR News, ORM, Utah. A far-right protest took place today in London. Vicky Barker has more. Chanting anti-immigrant slogans and waving flags, though marchers, more than 100,000 police estimate, filled the streets of central London.

And they heard the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson tell them to savor the moment to feel their strength. You are part of a tidal wave of patriotism they're sweeping across this country. Britain, he said, has finally awoken. A few thousand counter demonstrators from the group Stand Up to Racism held their rally a few hundred yards away. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. FBI director Kosh Patel is scheduled to testify Tuesday at the Senate Judiciary Committee

and then the next day before the same panel at the House of Representatives. Patel is expected to face tough questioning from some lawmakers over the FBI's handling on the search for a suspect in the assassination of conservative political figure Charlie Kirk. Hours after the shooting, Patel posted on X that the, quote, the subject was in custody. But it was more than a day later before authorities finally took the suspect into custody, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who they say is now the shooter. Whether radars in the mid-Atlantic are picking up swarms of an invasive bug species this week. NPR's Matt Rot has the story. 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. President Trump says he wants NATO members to stop buying oil from Russia to put additional pressure on Moscow to end its war against Ukraine. In a post on social media, he says buying petroleum from Russia, that means NATO members have less leverage to end the war. I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News in Washington.