NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-14-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: September 14, 2025

NPR News: 09-14-2025 2AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump says he's ready to impose new sanctions on Russia, but only after fellow NATO countries take action first. As NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports, it's Trump's latest threat as Russia continues attacking Ukraine. On social media, Trump posted what he said was the text of a letter to all NATO nations and the world. He wrote that he'll be ready to impose new sanctions on Russia

when other NATO nations have stopped buying oil from the country. He also said he wants NATO countries to impose tariffs of 50 to 100 percent on Chinese goods. China is a top buyer of Russian oil. Trump met with Putin in Alaska last month in an effort to broker peace in the Ukraine war. Since then, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine and its drones were also shot down in Polish airspace.

And Trump has been facing pressure from within his own party to increase sanctions on Russia as its aggression has continued. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News. Fallout from the shooting Wednesday of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continues this weekend. President Trump has been blasting what he calls the radical left, saying their rhetoric is responsible for the assassination. Political analyst Charlie Sykes says in making such comments, Trump is walking on dangerous ground. He is really feeding this sense of anger and vengeance out there and raises the question of whether or not this will be weaponized,

whether we will see the federal government use its power to go after people who engage in speech that that Donald Trump and his maggot supporters don't agree with, which, of course, is deeply ironic, considering that Charlie Kirk defended much of what he did and said, you know, because it was an act of free speech. That's political analyst Charlie Sykes. COVID vaccines are starting to become available, but because of rule changes this year, they're not so easy for everyone to get. M.P.R. Ping Wong has the story of just what it took to get one in Georgia this week. Kathleen Ethier is traveling to California next week, a state in the middle of a COVID surge,

and she has a spouse who survived cancer. I shouldn't be bringing COVID into the house. Ethier is under 65 years old, so she doesn't automatically qualify for a COVID booster, since the FDA approved it with restrictions last month. She couldn't get a prescription from her primary care provider who retired. Another doctor suggested the CVS Minute Clinic. Ethier went twice, but it was randomly closed. Then she got an online appointment and went back a third time to get the shot.

All that ended well. Still, it took a lot to get it. I had time and insurance, a car. like the ability to go back multiple times. Ethier worries that the kinds of barriers she encountered will discourage others from getting the vaccine. Ping Huang, NPR News. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City are increasing this weekend.

Palestinian health officials say at least 32 people have been killed so far, including 12 children. A family of 10 people were killed after their home was hit during the attacks. Israeli officials say the campaign against Gaza City is necessary because it's the last stronghold of. of Hamas. You're listening to NPR News. A new report from Colorado River researchers finds that water levels at the nation's two largest reservoirs are dropping fast, and they're on track for dire consequences. As Alex Hager, member station KUNC reports, the authors are calling

on policymakers to move with urgency and protect Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Negotiators are locked in talks about the future of those reservoirs after 2026, when the current rules for managing water there expire. But the authors of this report say a dry year could bring levels so low, the reservoirs stop working before any new rules go into effect. Catherine Tara, with the University of New Mexico, is one of them. The consequence of drawing down these reservoirs and, you know, not conserving as a basin is that people won't get water in a way that I don't think we've seen before. Tara says the seven states that use the Colorado River have to quickly agree on cutbacks to fix this. That work will be hard, but

but Tara says it is possible with collaboration. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager and Fort Collins, Colorado. In college football, number one Ohio State beat the Ohio Bobcats, 37 to 9. Number two Penn State overpowered Villanova, 52 to 6. Dante Moore threw for 178 yards in a touchdown as number four Oregon, beat Northwestern 34 to 14 on Saturday. Deere Hill added a 66-yard scoring run on the win. Number three, LSU, meanwhile, slid past Florida, 20 to 10.

Marcel Reed threw for the winning touchdown with 11 seconds on the clock. because number eight, Notre Dame was upset by number 16, Texas A&M, 41 to 40, and number six, Georgia slipped by Tennessee in overtime by the score 44 to 41. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. 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. Tease and Cs apply.