NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-23-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR produce programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump describes Russia as a paper tiger and says he now believes that Ukraine, with the help of Europe, can take back all of its territory. He met with Ukraine's president on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as NPRs of Michelle Kellerman reports. President Trump says he thinks Russia's economy is in big trouble, and Ukraine could win back its territory, in his words, in its original form. He made the comments in a social media post after meeting with Ukrainian president,

Vladimir Zelensky. Zelensky told the UN Security Council that he and Trump talked about a few good ideas. And we expect America's actions to... to push Russia toward this. Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it. Zelensky blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for not coming to the United Nations and accused the Russian leader of prolonging the largest war in Europe since World War II. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the United Nations. U.S. lawmakers visiting China are pushing for more engagement as well as the sale of Boeing airplanes.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports that due to political tensions, it's the first a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives to visit China since 2019. Representative Adam Smith said more dialogue is needed because right now the two countries are essentially talking past each other. Smith said U.S. and Chinese military planes and ships are coming too close to each other, and their militaries need to step up their dialogue. The delegation met with China's number two official, Premier Li Chang, and Defense Minister Dong Jun. Boeing's sales to China have tanked amid the tensions, but U.S. ambassador, Ambassador to Beijing, David Perdue, said negotiations for a major deal are in their final stages.

President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet next month on the sidelines of a regional summit in Guangzhou, South Korea. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Census data show that lot rents and manufactured homes are outpacing inflation, but some people can no longer afford to stay. From member station WUSF, Gabriella Paul, reports. Daniel Clearwater came from California to retire in a manufactured home park in Florida. He owns his home outright but pays lot rent to lease the land underneath it. He says he expected the lot rent to go up some, but not this much. It was like $450, and that was back in 2010.

Well, now here we are, and we are actually paying, I just paid the bill, $840 for the lot rent. This is part of a national trend, since. data show that median lot rents have jumped 45% in the last decade. And in some metros, lot rents are climbing faster than rents for single family homes. For NPR news, I'm Gabriela Paul in Tampa. U.S. stocks slip today. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6%. This is NPR News from Washington. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is signaling caution when it comes to cutting interest rates in the future. Other Fed officials and President Trump have called for cutting more quickly. In remarks today, Powell said cutting too quickly could undermine

the Fed's goals of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices. Last week, Powell announced the Fed's first rate cut of the year. At least 20 miners are trapped after the collapse of a gold mine in Colombia. The main shaft collapsed yesterday, according to the country's national mining agency. Rescuers are working to dig the miners out and deliver food and water. And Elon Musk wants to build millions of dollars of tunnels. under Houston to alleviate flooding. That's according to a new investigation by the Texas Newsroom, in collaboration with the Houston Chronicle, ProPublica, and the Texas Tribune.

The Texas newsroom's Lauren Mugachy explains, Musk has quietly been pitching the idea to Texas politicians for months. According to emails obtained by the Texas Newsroom, reps with Musk's tunneling firm, The Boring Company, said they could install two narrow tunnels for $760 million. The conversations happened privately and ahead of the formal bidding process. Musk responded on X, saying his tunnels would be cheaper than those the county has studied. Local flood engineer Larry Dunbar says they would also carry less water.

Is it really more cost-effective than building one large tunnel that can carry more than five times the amount of flow? Texas politicians say no contractor has yet been chosen. I'm Lauren McGahey in Austin, Texas. I'm Ryland Barton. This is NPR News from Washington. 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.