NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-16-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Dave Mattingley. The man suspected of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Provo. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is expected to be formally charged with multiple counts, including aggravated murder. The murder charge carries a potential death penalty under state law. Authorities say Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, has said Robinson is not cooperating with investigators, but Robinson's roommate is. Dozens of people in the U.S. have been fired, suspended, or otherwise disciplined by their employer for posting comments about the slang of Charlie Kirk on social media. NPR's Ho Jing-Nan has more.

They worked in places like schools, government offices, hospitals, and corporations. The comments ranged in tone. Some call it karma, others focus on lack of gun control. conservative online influencers mobilized their followers to pressure employers to take action and some of those who criticise Charlie Kirk have received threats. In his lifetime, Kirk focused on the Christian faith and growing families,

but also made incendiary comments about gun deaths and some marginalised groups. Scholars who focus on freedom of speech issues are taking note that some members of Congress and government officials have indicated that they would go after speech they deemed problematic. Those scholars say the closest parallel to that

is McCarthyism. Ho Gingnan, NPR News. The U.S. military has carried out a second deadly air strike on a small boat in the Caribbean. NPR's Quill Lawrence says both vessels were destined for the U.S. carrying drug shipments from Venezuela. President Trump posted a video of an airstrike on social media saying the U.S. had confirmed

the three people on a small boat in international waters were carrying drugs on board. Two U.S. officials who requested anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Congress had been notified of the strike. The previous strike on a Venezuelan boat killed 11 people who appeared to be heading back to shore. President Trump has moved ships and troops into the waters off Venezuela

and says the U.S. is hunting what he called narco-terrorists. Venezuela is considered a minor player in smuggling of cocaine to the U.S. the far deadlier drug, fentanyl, is made and smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. Quill-Lorrence NPR News. The Trump administration is adding Colombia to its list of countries not cooperating with the U.S. to combat illegal drugs. It's been almost 30 years since Colombia was on that list. It reflects a recent surge in cocaine production amid strained relations between the White House and Colombia's leftist president. The Israeli military says its expanded operation in Gaza City is underway.

Palestinians reported heavy Israeli airstrikes overnight, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Doha. This is NPR News. Later today in Britain, President Trump is scheduled to meet with King Charles at Windsor Castle and to hold talks with the UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, at Sheckers. This is Trump's second state visit to Britain. The Federal Reserve begins its latest policy meeting today. Economists are expecting the Fed to announce a quarter-point cut in interest rates

when talks wrap up tomorrow. Concerns about a slowdown in hiring in the U.S. are expected to prompt the Fed to lower rates for the first time in nine months. Officials in Mississippi say vaccination rates have been declining since the state began allowing parents to file for exemptions to school policies based on religious beliefs.

NPR's Katie Riddle has more. The vaccination rates in Mississippi are still relatively high, but thousands of families have filed forward. religious exemptions. Pediatrician Anita Henderson says this is an issue she deals with nearly every day. And I can say as a general pediatrician, I am now getting more and more and more moms who are questioning vaccines, refusing vaccines, and we really have become a victim of our own success. Henderson says she fears parents will have to start seeing the impact of preventable

diseases before they agree to vaccinate their children. Katie Riddle, in PR News, Mississippi. North Carolina's Governor Josh Stein is asking Congress for nearly $14 billion to help the state recover from Hurricane Helene. Torrential rains from the storm nearly a year ago caused widespread devastation. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.