NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-22-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

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Hey, it's Rachel Martin. I'm the host of Wildcard from NPR. For a lot of my years as a radio host, silence sort of made me nervous. That pause before an answer, because you don't know what's going on on the other side of the mic. But these days, I love it. Hmm. Ah. Gosh. Give me a minute. Yeah, yeah. Think. Listen to the Wild Card podcast, only from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Krova Coleman. Tens of thousands of people gather just outside Phoenix yesterday to remember conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He was shot to death earlier this month in Utah. And Pierre Tamer Keith reports President Trump was among yesterday's memorial speakers. The event in a packed NFL stadium was part memorial, part Christian revival, and part political rally, complete with pyrotechnics that showered sparks as speakers took the stage. Trump said Kirk was murdered by a radicalized, cold-blooded mom. And so, on that terrible day, September 10th, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal.

He's a martyr now for American freedom. Many of the speakers described Kirk as a martyr whose death would give rise to an even stronger conservative movement. In emotional remarks, Kirk's widow, Erica, said she forgives the man who killed him. Tamara Keith, NPR News, traveling with the president. wars rage in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine. World leaders are gathering this week at the United Nations. This is for the annual General Assembly high-level debate. The U.N. Secretary General is urging diplomats to get serious about promoting peace. And P.S. Michelle Kellerman reports.

Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez says he has more than 150 meetings planned with world leaders this week, and he intends to push them to get serious about peace. And these is an opportunity. we cannot miss. UNWIC offers every possibility for dialogue and mediation. President Trump is expected to speak on Tuesday. The Trump administration has cut funding and pulled out of some UN agencies, but Gutierrez says the U.S. remains a central player at the UN and has the carrots and sticks needed to help end conflicts.

Michelle Kellerman, NPR News. As the UN General Assembly convenes, more nations are recognizing a Palestinian state. Yesterday, Australia, Britain, Canada, and Portugal announced they would do so. France is expected to follow suit this week. All the countries are U.S. and Israeli allies. Israeli officials say the action gives a prize to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un says that resuming negotiations with the United States is possible,

but he says giving up North Korea's nuclear weapons is out of the question. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more. from Seoul. In a speech to his country's legislature, Kim Jong-un said that his country's nuclear status is irreversible and written into its constitution. But he said that he personally has good memories of President Trump from their three meetings in 2018 and 2019. And if the U.S. drops its obsession with denuclearization, there's no reason the two sides can't sit down and talk. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reporting. You're listening to NPR. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new rule late last week, it requires journalists to sign a pledge before they can

access the Pentagon. It says reporters must agree not to gather any information, including material that is not classified, that has not been explicitly cleared for release. Journalists say the Trump administration is attacking the First Amendment. NPR has learned the Trump administration has installed a new acting director at the U.S. Census Bureau. The leadership change comes after Trump provide to push to alter a special set of numbers that influence elections for president and the House of Representatives. NPR's Hanzi Lo Wong reports. Before starting to lead the largest federal statistical agency, George Cook worked as a, quote, institutional investor and economic analyst. That's according to a Census Bureau staff email shared with NPR. Federal law requires

the Bureau's permanent director to have a demonstrated ability in managing large organizations and experience in collecting statistical data. Some census advocates are concerned Cook has no obvious qualifications to head the Bureau as it prepares for a national headcount that's set to determine how many congressional house seats and electoral college votes each day gets after 2030. The 14th Amendment says that count must include the, quote, whole number of persons in each state. President Trump has revived a call to exclude people living in the states without legal status. Anzi Luong, NPR News. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, begins today. It's considered a time of prayer and

self-reflection. It opens the 10 days of high holidays that culminate with the day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The Jewish holidays are observed worldwide in home rituals and synagogue services. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.