NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-18-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

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What's made you happy as of late? On Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've been talking about the things that have made us happy in the pop culture universe for the past 15 years. Whether it's a blockbuster or deliciously bad reality TV, the newest shows, dramas, and reboots, we're here to keep your spirits high. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The United States and Britain both say President Trump's state visit has been accompanied by record-breaking investments. More of those deals could be announced when Trump attends a business summit and meet with Britain's Prime Minister on Thursday. NPR's Lauren Freyer has more from Windsor, England.

Microsoft says it's investing $30 billion in the UK's AI sector. Google nearly $7 billion to open a data center here. As well as the investment discussion, there's also unfinished business on trade. Duncan Edwards is CEO of British American Business, a transatlantic networking group. The UK government will try to reopen discussions around tariff rates in general and on some specific categories like steel, scotch whiskey. Prime Minister Kier-Starmer was one of the first to sign a trade deal with Trump this past spring for relief from some tariffs. But UK steel still faces a 25% U.S. tariff and scotch whiskey 10%. Lauren Freyer and PR News in Windsor, England.

The Federal Reserve Board has cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point. The Fed also signal plans for two more rate cuts before the end of the year. Chairman Jerome Powell says a softening of the labor market weighed in the decision. Overall, the market slowing in both the supply of and demand for workers is unusual. In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen. In our SEP, the median projection for the unemployment rate is 4.5% at the end of this year and edges down thereafter. Powell says that inflation is still higher than the Fed's 2% target. Utah Valley University has resumed classes a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down there.

From member station KUER Vanessa Hudson has this update. There's a large American flag draped above where conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot a week ago. People are silently passing by. Some stopped to take a picture. Some just stand and stare. Aaliyah Wright is a freshman at UVU and was there when Kirk was assassinated. She says last Wednesday shooting was on her mind as she went to her first class. The last time I was in this hallway, like, I just watched a man die. And so it's definitely a very different experience. And I got to my first class and I sat down and cried silently in the back of the room. Wright says the community at UVU has been closer since.

And she thinks last week's shooting will continue to change how people interact with each other. For NPR news, I'm Vanessa Hudson in Orem. U.S. futures edged higher in pre-market trading on Wall Street after the Fed's interest rate announcement when Asia-Pacific market shares are mixed. This is NPR. A shooting in southern Pennsylvania has left three police officers dead. and two others hospitalized in critical but stable condition. The officers were following up on a previous domestic call

in North Codorus Township near the Maryland state line. People lined a rural road and saluted Wednesday as a procession carrying the bodies of the fallen officers passed by. Mexico kicks off its holiday season with the traditional stuff Poblano peppers, but there's a big problem. As NPR's Ada Peralta reports, One important ingredient, which is made from a cactus, is nearly extinct. Even though it's illegal, acetron is sold openly at markets in Mexico City.

It's a barrel cactus that is chopped up and then seeped in vats of sugar until it's crystallized and then cut into yellow bars. I ask Adi Hernandez-Dorres who sells it if she doesn't feel guilty and she shrugs. Well, our whole planet is going extinct, she says. Biologists say the problem is that the barrel cactus grows incredibly slow. It can take 40 years for one to reach your knees, so farming it is impractical and unprofitable. They warn, if Mexicans keep eating it, there may soon be none left in the wild. Adapralta, NPR News, Mexico City.

ABC's says it's pull the Jimmy Kimmel's show from its airwaves indefinitely. The move comes after Kimmel commented on the assassination of Charlie Kirk. FCC chairman Brendan Carr has condemned Kimmel's late-night show, and appear to threaten to pull licenses from ABC affiliates that continued airing it. This is NPR. 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.

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