NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-25-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: September 25, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Amazon has agreed to settle a landmark case over its prime membership program, according to U.S. regulators who had alleged the company's web designs manipulated tens of millions of people into paying for subscriptions that were purposefully hard to cancel. The Federal Trade Commission says Amazon, without admitting wrongdoing, has agreed to pay a historic $1 billion, and civil penalties to the government

and an additional $1.5 billion in redress payments to affected consumers. The parties reached a deal as trial was just beginning in Amazon's hometown of Seattle. Somewhat unusually, for a dense antitrust case, a jury was slated to determine whether Amazon broke the law. The White House says that if there is a government shutdown on October 1st, It won't just furlough federal workers. It will permanently lay them off. NPR's Tamara Keith reports on the memo disclosed to NPR after President Trump Tuesday canceled a plan meeting today with Democratic congressional leaders.

President Trump says he wants congressional Democrats to agree to a short-term bill keeping government funding at current levels. If they don't, there's now a threat of consequences. In a memo to agency heads obtained by NPR, the White House Office of Management and Budget says that if there is a shutdown, they expect agencies to issue reduction in force notices to employees working on projects that are not consistent with the president's priorities. This would be a significant shift from past government shutdowns when employees were only temporarily furloughed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it an attempt at intimidation. Tamara Keith, NPR News. The FBI says it is investigating yesterday's shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement Facility. Officials say they consider this an act of targeted violence from member station KERA Tolawani,

Osi Bamawa reports one immigration detainees dead and two are in critical condition. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons identified the shooter to CBS News as Joshua John. He died from a self-inflicted gun. shot wound. John most recently lived in Fairview, a suburb north of Dallas. One of his neighbors, Sherry Davis, says their neighborhood is small and tight-knit, but she didn't know much about John. I would have never imagined that such a thing, you know, someone that felt so disenfranchised would live so close to me. Authorities haven't indicated any specific motive, but they did release a picture of five unspent bullet casings found at the scene. One had the words anti-ice written on it. For

NPR News. I'm Toluwani, Osi Bamalo, in Dallas. From Washington, this is NPR News. New research in The Lancet reveals a number of lives around the world that cancer claims could nearly double by the year 2050. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports more than two-thirds of those deaths are projected to occur in low and middle-income countries. To estimate how cancer cases and deaths could grow, the researchers analyzed two decades worth of data for more than 200 countries in territories. They found cases and deaths have risen substantially, even with advancements in treatment. In 2023, about 18.5 million people died from cancer, up nearly 75%. The increase in cancer mortality wasn't equal across countries. While chances of surviving many cancers improved in wealthy countries, death rates got worse in many poorer ones, where it can

be harder to access treatment. But there's some good news looking forward. Nearly half of these deaths came from cancers that have clear risk factors that can be avoided, like smoking or poor diet. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. National Association of Realtors says U.S. home sales dipped last month. Here's NPR Scott Horsley. Sales of existing homes fell by two-tenths of a percent in August, extending a month's long slump. The number of homes on the market was also down, but the average selling price inched up to more than $422,000. Revised figures from the Commerce Department show the U.S. economy grew faster during the spring than had been reported.

reported. GDP grew at an annual pace of 3.8% in April, May, and June, up from an earlier estimate of 3.3%. The nation's trade deficit narrowed in August as higher tariffs took effect. The trade gap had widened the previous month as importers raced to beat those higher taxes. Scott Horsesley reporting, it's NPR.