NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-20-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: September 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump is lashing out at major news networks, claiming that overwhelmingly negative coverage of him amounts to a violation of free speech. When somebody is given 97% of the stories abat about a person, that's no longer free speech, that's no longer, that's just cheating. And they cheat. And they become really members of the Democrat National. committee. That's what they are. The networks, in my opinion. Free speech advocates warn if the government

begins punishing news outlets for negative coverage, it sets a dangerous precedent, one that threatens viewpoint discrimination and undermines the press's role in checking power. A judge in Florida has thrown out a $15 billion lawsuit filed by President Trump against the New York Times and four of its journalists. The judge said the complaint was too long and violated a federal civil procedure rule by omitting a short and plain statement of why the court should rule in the president's favor. The court has given Trump 28 days to file a shorter revise complaint. A federal court says the White House can't start withholding billions of dollars from a group of states that refuse to turn over the personal data of food assistance recipients. NPR's

Jew Jofi Block reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring states turn over sensitive information about people have received federal food assistance over the last five years from the program known as SNAP. At least 23 states complied, turning over the names, social security numbers, addresses, and other data about SNAP recipients. But other states in the District of Columbia refused, many of which joined together to sue the USDA, alleging the data demand is unlawful. USDA then threatened to take away significant funds from states that didn't comply. But a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled the federal agency cannot withhold funding from states that sued as the case proceeds. Jude Jaffe Block, NPR News. The Trump administration is asking

the Supreme Court to reinstate its policy of requiring people to list their gender on their passports as their biological sex at birth. NPR's, Nina Totenberg reports, transgender, and non-binary individuals have been allowed for years to self-identify their gender. on their passports. Beginning in the early 1990s, the government allowed trans individuals to list their new gender on their passports, and in 2022, the Biden administration broadened the policy to allow people to list their gender as male, female, or X. The Trump executive order would allow only two designations on passports, male and female. The administration asked the Supreme Court to block a lower court order that until now has prevented the Trump policy from going,

going into effect. Nina Tottenberg, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. President Trump has signed a proclamation that requires a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applicants. The visas help bring highly skilled foreigners for jobs that tech companies struggle to fill with U.S. citizens. It's no illusion. An American duo has finally been admitted into magic's most hallowed body. Vicki Barker has more on the exclusive London-based society for magicians. For 50 years, Penn and Teller had been barred from the magic circle for breaking this cardinal rule, as they freely admitted in this appearance on British television.

You never tell an audience how a trick is being done. She're going to tell you exactly how the trick is being done. But on Friday, 70-year-old Penn Gillette and 77-year-old Raymond Teller were finally inducted into the 120-year-old body, whose members include avid amateur King Charles. The Magic Circles President noted that the real magic lay in the pairs seeming to reveal their tricks while demonstrating different tricks, leaving audiences amazed. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. The Prime Minister of Albania has introduced an AI-generated bot as a government minister in the

nation's parliament. The AI persona is said to symbolize the government's push for transparency and innovation. The bot this week addressed lawmakers from screens stressing values like accountability. This is NPR News.