NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-21-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, D.C., I'm Dale Wilman. Charlie Kirk's widow, Erica Kirk, says she forgives her husband's alleged assassin. She made her remarks at her husband's memorial service tonight in front of President Trump, some members of his cabinet, and tens of thousands of other people. And she promised to keep Kirk's movement alive. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. Erica Kirk spoke for nearly an hour at a PAC State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. She remembered her last moments with Kirk, and then forgave his alleged killer.

I forgive him because it was what? Christ did, and is what Charlie would do. Erica Kirk then assured the crowd that she will lead Kirk's Turning Point USA and its mission for young men in America. To all the men watching around the world, accept Charlie's challenge and embrace true manhood. She also thanked the second lady, Usha Vance, for her comfort in the days following Kirk's assassination. Erica Kirk was among a long list of speakers, including President Trump, Vice President J.D.

Vance, and Donald Trump Jr. Luke Garrett and P.R. News. President Trump has shed a little more light on the TikTok deal that he says got Chinese leader Xi Jinping's blessing last week. So far, not much has been made public about the deal. But as NPR's John Ruich reports, Trump says it will involve some titans of the tech and media worlds. Trump said this about some of the people involved in the deal on Fox News on Sunday.

They're very well-known people, and Larry Ellison's one of them. He's involved. He's a great guy. Michael Dell is involved. I'd hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan. Ellison is co-founder of the software company Oracle. Dell founded the computer company Dell Technologies, and Lacklin refers to Lackland Murdoch, air to Rupert Murdoch's media empire, which includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

A law passed last year bans TikTok in the United States unless control of the app is transferred from its Chinese parent company. The Trump administration has been trying to broker a deal, but the issue has been tied up in broader frictions than have dogged U.S.-China relations. John Rewich, NPR News. The United Nations Security Council meets in New York City this week. Tomorrow, it's expected to discuss the most recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace. As Terry Schultz reports, this comes at the request of Estonia, whose airspace was violated last week.

Estonia wants the highest possible international visibility for the latest incursion. On Friday, three Russian Meg-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained there for 12 minutes before being escorted out by Finnish Swedish and Italian planes operating as part of NATO's new Eastern Century mission. But the head of the Estonian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Marco Mikulsen, says he fears a Russian plane will have to be shot down by NATO jets before Moscow stops the provocative behavior. We have to make sure that Russians will understand that this is not excluded.

NATO will hold a special meeting at Estonia's request on Tuesday. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Helsinki. And you're listening to NPR News. The Towers of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral officially reopened to the public this weekend. As NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, French President Emmanuel Macron, climbed the steps to the belfry nearly six and a half years after much of the church was destroyed in a 2019 fire. The cathedral opened for mass last December. Officials say the Gothic bell towers were perhaps minutes from collapsing in the fire, but they held. Now, climbing to the top of them has been reimagined, the decor, the lighting, and the route between the north and south towers.

A new double helix staircase allows visitors to pass each other while climbing the 424 steps to the top, some 226 feet above the ground. The number of visitors has also been reduced for a more comfortable experience. The largest bell of Notre Dame is located in the south tower. Emmanuel Le Bourdon was cast in 1683 and weighs 13. including its 1,000-pound clapper. Eleanor Beardsley in PR News, Paris. In college football, Miami has jumped to the number two spot in this week's rankings after beating an unranked Florida team, 26 to 7.

The Ohio State University remains in first after a by-week, while Penn State, which also had a by-week drop from second to third. LSU also dropped one spot to fourth place, while Georgia is in fifth, rounding out the bottom five Oregon is in sixth place, followed by Oklahoma, which jumped to number seven after beating Auburn on Saturday, that by the score of 24 to 17. Florida, Texas A&M and Texas round out the top 10. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News in Washington.