NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-15-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: September 16, 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 Jail Snyder. A federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain on the board of the Central Bank, at least for now. NPR Scott Horsley reports the decision. comes just ahead of a key decision on interest rates. The appeals court voted two to one to block President Trump's effort to fire Lisa Cook, at least temporarily. Cook and her attorneys argue that her ouster would be a violation of the Federal Reserve Act, which is designed to insulate the

central bank from political meddling by the White House. Trump tried to fire Cook over an unproven allegation from a Trump ally that she made false statements on a mortgage application. Cook has denied any wrongdoing. For months now, the president's been lobbying the Fed to make deep cuts in interest rates. The central bank is expected to order its first rate cut of the year on Wednesday. White House economist Stephen Myron will participate in that vote. Myron was confirmed to a seat on the Fed board by a closely divided Senate Monday night. Scott Horsley and Pair News, Washington. President Trump has signed a proclamation making Memphis the latest Democratic-led city to face a federal crackdown on crime. He announced the deployment of National Guard and other federal

law enforcement officers in the Oval Office today. Today. Memphis is a majority black city. The Memphis Police Department says crime in every major category is down this year compared to previous years. And the Democratic mayor said Friday that he did not ask for the National Guard. President Trump will travel to the United Kingdom tomorrow for a state visit. The U.S. and UK expected to sign agreements on technology and nuclear energy during his visit. But persistent questions about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein threatened to overshadow those deals. NPR's Lauren Freyer reports from lunch. U.K.K. Prime Minister Kier Starrmer fired his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, ahead of Trump's visit, after letters came out that Mandelson had written to Jeffrey Epstein. Now, some in Starmor's own party are asking what the prime minister knew, when, and why he kept Mandelson on for so long. This could come up while Starmor and King Charles are hosting the U.S. President. Trump and the king's brother, Prince Andrew, were also once friends in the past with the late sex offender. Trump's Starmer and the king would all. all likely rather focus on U.S.-UK. deals to open artificial intelligence data centers and to partner on nuclear energy. Trump is traveling with business leaders, including the heads of open AI, NVIDIA, and BlackRock. Lauren Friar and PR News, London. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Qatar after meeting today with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel.

The two spoke side-by-side in Jerusalem following Israel's strike last week that targeted Hamasli. in Doha. Rubio said the U.S. wants a diplomatic end to the war in Gaza, and he backed up Israel's position that Hamas must surrender and release remaining hostages. You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration says it's pausing the reasonable accommodations that allow centers for disease control employees with disabilities to telecommute. As Jess Maydor, a member station WABE reports, the union representing federal CDC, workers as the move violates disability laws. U.S. Health and Human Services officials told CDC employees about the indefinite pause in an email as staff returned to in-person work this week

and after weeks of turmoil at the agency. Last month, a gunman fired hundreds of rounds into buildings at the CDC's Atlanta campus. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted CDC director Susan Menares and other top CDC officials resigned in protest. In a written statement, a federal labor union says ending reasonable accommodations is illegal and will hurt the hundreds of CDC workers who are disabled veterans. For NPR News, I'm Jess Mador in Atlanta. The CDC's reconstituted Independent Vaccine Advisory Committee is set to meet later this week in Atlanta. The meeting will be closely watched. Tell Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismiss the entire 17-member board earlier this year and replaced it with a smaller 12-member group that

includes several vaccine skeptics. At the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, American Board Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault record for the 14th time. He cleared 6.3 meters today to capture his third straight world title. Duplantis grew up in Louisiana but competes for his mother's native Sweden. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington. 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 C's Apply.