NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-23-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: September 23, 2025

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A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story, but right now, you probably need more. On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes because no one's story can capture all that's happening in this big, crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay-Stevens. The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn a nearly century old president that barred presidents from firing members of regulatory agencies over policy differences. The story from NPR's Nina Totenberg.

In an emergency order, the court's conservatives allowed President Trump to fire the last remaining Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission. In 1935, the court ruled unanimously that President Franklin Roosevelt could not fire a federal trade commissioner over a policy disagreement. The court said then that Congress acted within its powers in barring such firings except for misconduct. The court said it will hear arguments in a case aimed at reversing that long-established precedent, and if, as expected, the president prevails, he will be able to hire and fire all agency leaders, and if the next president is a Democrat,

he or she can fire all the Trump appointees instead of maintaining bipartisan commissions. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. A U.S. own joint venture is being formed to take control of the popular video app TikTok. American content will come from a copy of the app's famed algorithm that will be trained using data from the U.S. The tales from NPR's John Rewitch. A senior White House official says the software company Oracle will be one of the investors, and it'll act as TikTok's security provider,

overseeing things like how the algorithm works, how the app is updated and how Americans' data is stored. Some 170 million Americans use TikTok, according to the official, and the deal addresses concerns that TikTok's Chinese parent company, bite dance, could help the Chinese government spy on U.S. users or influence them. A law passed last year forces bite dance to divest or see the app go dark in the U.S. President Trump has issued several executive orders, suspending enforcement of the law while his administration tried to broker a deal.

He spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, Vincent China is on board. John Rewitch, NPR News. The ABC late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live returns through the airwaves tonight following a suspension over the comedian's remarks about the Charlie Kirk murder. As NPR's Mandalay-Dil Barco reports, the entertainment industry took a stand against ABC's actions. More than 400 entertainers announced they had signed an open letter

condemning Disney's decision to suspend the show. That included actors Pedro Pascal, Selena Gomez, Lynn Manuel Miranda, singer Olivia Rodrigo. All of them have worked with Disney. Well, that letter was issued in collaboration with the ACLU, and it said that regardless of their political affiliation or whether they engage in politics or not, quote, we all love our country.

We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us. Mandelaide Del Barco reporting. This is NPR. At least eight children are dead and several others are injured following a drone attack in the Haitian capital. The attack occurred in a gang-controlled area of Porter Prince over the weekend, but activists and relatives of the victims did not report it until Monday.

There's been no claim of responsibility, although Haiti's National Human Rights Defense Network blames the attack on police. The group says several gang members have been killed in drone attacks in Haiti since March. France is joining several major Western nations informally recognizing Palestinian statehood. As NPR's Eleanor Beersley reports, the move has divided the French Jewish community. Over the weekend, several prominent French Jews called on Macron to condition recognition of a Palestinian state on the release of the hostages and the disbanding of Hamas. Far-right opponent Marine Le Pen accuses Macron of abandoning French Jews. Macron consulted with

leaders of the French Jewish community before his decision. One of his advisors is dual French Israeli national over Braunstein. It's the right time. The war is going to end with a lot of casualty, a lot of poison in the art of both people. And the only path they can take after the war, it's a political one. Brunstein believes if Palestinians had had a state and a stake in their future, there would have been no October 7 attack. Eleanor Beardsley in Pierre News, Paris. Defense attorneys in New York are seeking a sentence of no more than 14 months for their client, Sean Diddy Combs. The hip-hop mogul faces sentencing early next. month on prostitution-related crimes.

He was acquitted of more serious counts, including racketeering. This is NPR News. 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. T's and Cs apply.