NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-18-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. President Trump and British Prime Minister Kierr-Starmer have signed an agreement to expand cooperation on technology and nuclear energy. A business reception at Starrmer's country retreat checkers outside of London welcome business leaders from the UK and the U.S. And celebrated the multi-billion dollar package of investments. In May, the United Kingdom became the first country to make a trade deal with the United States during my second term, and we sort of wanted to make it the first because the bond is so strong and the relationship so long. That agreement will create billions of dollars and opportunities

for American farmers to sell their products into the U.K., reduce barriers to trade and give the U.S. manufacturers better access to the U.K.'s world-class aerospace supply chain. This is the last day of Trump's two-day state visit to the United Kingdom. Education announced its partnering with more than 40 conservative organizations to create educational civics content and programming ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. NPR's Sequoia Carillo reports. Called the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, the project will be overseen by the Education Department and led by the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit conservative organization. The group says its goal

are to promote patriotism, civics education, and, quote, America's enduring values. The press release did not explain what kind of educational content it would provide over the next year. The federal government is prohibited by law from, quote, any direction, supervision, or control over curriculum in schools. But they did announce proposed speaker series on college campuses and promised more to come. Sequoia Carrillo, NPR News. Stocks are trading higher this morning on Wall Street as computer chip giant NVIDIA places a big bet on Intel. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones

Industrial Average rose about 118 points in early trading today. Nvidia, which has profited handsomely from the artificial intelligence boom, is investing $5 billion in Intel. The company has also announced a new partnership to work together on custom data centers and personal computer products. Intel's beaten down stock jumped on the news,

Under President Trump, the federal government has also taken a stake in Intel. The Bank of England is holding its key interest rate steady as it tries to curb stubborn inflation. Here in the U.S., the Federal Reserve voted to lower its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point in an effort to shore up the softening job market. New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting a big jump the week before may have been a fluke. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Fat Bear Week, which celebrates the resiliency of brown bears, has its main event next week with adult bears fighting for the title of Fattest Bear of the year.

But first, some chubby cubs are competing in Fat Bear Jr. NPR's Ava Pukatch reports voting in the junior tournament opens today, and the winner advances to next week's bracket. The National Park Service encourages voters to vote for the bear they best believe exemplifies fatness and and success in brown bears. The bears beef up for the winter gorging on salmon in Brooks River in Alaska's Catmine National Park and Preserve. Cubs competing in Fat Bear Jr. have familial ties to some of the iron giants of Fat Bear Week. Cub 128 Jr. is the offspring of defending champ Grazer and is taking on two cubs from Bear 803 who are competing together. The other semifinal matchup is a sibling rivalry with Bear 26's female and male cub facing off.

The winner of the Friday final advances to the 12 bear bracket which will be announced Monday. Ava Pukatch and PR News. There is one name leading the pack of the Latin Grammy nominations, Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar

received 12 nominations including album, song, and record of the year. The nominations are for his album debut Terrar Mas Photos, a love letter to Puerto Rico's history and heritage. This is NPR News from Washington. Support for NPR.