NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-26-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: September 26, 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 Korova Coleman. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the UN General Assembly. Before he began to speak last hour, scores of diplomats and world leaders walked out of the room. The Israeli leader used his speech to castigate other countries that have decided to recognize a Palestinian state despite the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu blamed other countries who, he says, have left Israel to face its enemies alone. Well, for many countries here, when they're going got off, you caved

and here's the shameful result of that collapse from much of the past two years Israel has had to fight a seven front war against barbarism with many of your nations opposing us The Israeli army has set up loudspeakers to blare Netanyahu's speech into Gaza

Israel has also commandeered the phones of Palestinians in Gaza to broadcast the speech as well Netanyahu used his remarks to speak to Israeli hostages, saying they are not forgotten. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the safety of Mitha Pristone. This is a medication often used for abortion and miscarriage management. And P.R. Salina Simmons-Duffin reports the review does not have any immediate effect on the availability of the drug. In states that ban or severely restrict access to abortion, many patients have gotten around those restrictions by using telemedicine and abortion medications they receive through the mail.

A group of Republican attorneys general don't like that and urged the Trump administration's FDA to tighten access to Miffipristone. In a letter obtained by NPR, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and FDA Commissioner Marty McCarrie, say they are re-reviewing safety evidence for the medicine and may change the prescribing rules. Professional groups representing OBGYNs have said, quote, MIFA Pristone is an incredibly safe medication and that FDA restrictions should reflect that. Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.

Stocks opened higher this morning as the Commerce Department reported a modest uptick in inflation last month. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 340 points in early trading. Consumer prices in August were up 2.7% from a year ago, according to the Commerce Department's inflation yardstick, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve. That's a slightly larger annual increase in the previous month. Consumer spending also rose in August while the personal savings rate went down.

President Trump is ordering steep new tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, home furnishings, and heavy trucks. The import taxes, which range from 25 to 100 percent, are set to take effect next week. Stock in Boeing is up. Turkish Airlines has announced plans to acquire up to 225 new Boeing jets. Scott Horsley, in Pair News, Washington. him. This is NPR. President Trump is calling former FBI director James Comey a liar. Trump wrote online this morning after Comey was indicted yesterday on two criminal counts by a federal grand jury in Virginia. This is in connection with congressional testimony Comey gave five years ago about the investigation of Russian

interference in U.S. elections. Comey says he is innocent. The chat bot developed by Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company will now be available to federal agencies. NPR's Jude Jaffe Block reports this is the latest in a series of deals the Trump administration has brokered with AI companies. Federal workers can now use GROC, the chatbot developed by the company XAI. The cost to each federal agency for 18 months is just 42 cents, an apparent reference to the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which a supercomputer says 42 is the answer to a question about life and the universe. Last month, the Trump administration announced an agreement for use of Google's Gemini tool through next year for just 47 cents per federal agency, as well as year-long

deals with Open AI and Anthropic to use their AI tools for a dollar per agency. Grock made headlines in July when the chatbot made anti-Semitic and hateful comments. Jude Jaffe Block and PR News. Hurricane Helene hit Florida a year ago today. The category four storm swept up through the Appalachians, it left substantial damage in North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center says Helene is responsible for as many as 250 deaths. That makes it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Katrina in 2005. This is NPR News.