NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-16-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

NPR News: 09-16-2025 3AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story. But right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes. Because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big, crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. President Trump says he's sending National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, saying the move is necessary to stem violent crime in that city. In 2024, Memphis had the highest violent crime rate, the highest property crime rate, and the third highest murder rate of any city in the nation.

Other than that, they're doing quite well, thank you. Trump says federal officers will be sent to several U.S. cities, and that Chicago is probably next. A federal appeals court is blocking the firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who may stay in her job. while a legal battle over her dismissal continues. President Trump wants to fire Cook after a housing official flagged her mortgage application for unsubstantiated irregularities. The U.S. Senate has confirmed Stephen Myron to temporarily fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board. The vote came on the eve of the central bank's next meeting on interest rates.

Myron currently serves as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. He'll fill a vacancy created last month. when Fed Governor Adriana Coogler resigned to return to academia. A new Gallup survey finds that Americans are placing less importance on higher education. The story from NPR's Elis of Natnerny. While the majority of Americans still see value in having a college education, rating it at least fairly important, they are far less likely today to consider it vital. Only about a third of U.S. adults surveyed rated the value of a college education as very important.

That's down from 53% in 2019 and 70% in 2013. On the flip side, respondents who said college was not too important, more than doubled since 2019. The research also found that this dwindling perception that college is very important is happening regardless of political party affiliation. While the survey didn't ask for reasons, the researchers say political rhetoric, labor market changes, high tuition costs, and student loan debt all play a role. Alyssa Adwarnie, NPR News. Leaders of the U.S. House held a capital visual for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week. As NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports, many Republican lawmakers were close friends with Kirk. House Speaker Mike Johnson led a prayer and spoke about Kirk's legacy.

He would not want us to be overcome by despair. It would want us to carry a message forward to honor his memory and to expand the legacy they left behind. This comes after a series of memorials, including a prayer vigil at the Kennedy Center Sunday evening, which included remarks from several Republican lawmakers and other administration officials. Various Republican members have called for other official memorials for Kirk in the Capitol, including the rare tribute of lying in honor in the rotunda. Barbara Sprint and PR News, The Capitol. You're listening to NPR. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson has announced the framework of a deal for the sale of TikTok.

The U.S. has threatened to ban the social media app if its China-based owner fails to sell its controlling stake to a U.S. buyer. Besson says President Trump and China's leader Xi are expected to finalize the deal later in the week. Florida's Attorney General James Youthmire says all residents in the state may openly carry firearms. Uthmire has informed state prosecutors and law enforcement to stop enforcing the state's open-carry ban. That move comes a week after a federal appeals court declared the ban unconstitutional. The federal government is offering to pay hunters who choose to use non-toxic ammunition. As the Mountain West News Bureau's Rachel Cohen reports, it is an incentive program that was launched last year and is now being expanded to more locations.

Hunters can get up to $100 rebates if they show receipts for lead-free ammunition and hunt at one of 13 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges this season. Lead fragments from bullets can harm scavenging wildlife. The agency says incentives push hunters to try shooting with ammo made with something else like copper. Aaron Kindle is a hunter from Colorado and works for the National Wildlife Federation. He says the program helps raise awareness. It's not something that's going to happen overnight and there's just another indication that we're moving in right direction. Some environmental groups say banning lead ammunition outright is the better strategy. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Cohen. U.S. futures are higher and after hours trading on Wall Street.

This is NPR News.