NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-26-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. President Trump says there is no list of people he says should be indicted, although Trump hopes others are charged. Trump spoke this morning about former FBI director James Comey, who was indicted yesterday. Comey's accused of making false statements and obstructing justice when he testified before Congress five years ago. That was about the FBI investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections. Comey says he's innocent. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Cain says U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is following Trump's direction to target his political enemies. Pam Bondi put out a press statement that was highly unusual when this indictment was announced. And the last line in the press statement was, we will follow the facts in this case.

You follow the facts before you indict somebody. You understand the facts before you indict them. You don't indict them on a two-page lack of details and then say you're going to follow the facts. This is a political hatchet job. He spoke to NPR's morning edition. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly this morning. He warned Hamas, Israel will hunt them down unless they free hostages and give up their weapons. And peers Michelle Kellerman reports the speech comes after key U.S. allies joined much of the world in recognizing a Palestinian state.

Please order in the hall and please be seated. diplomat staged a walkout which the Israeli delegation dismissed as a cheap stunt. Netanyahu says those countries that recognize Palestine are, in his words, appeasing evil. And he says he put loudspeakers all over Gaza in hopes that the hostages held by Hamas could hear him. We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you home. The Trump administration refused to give visas for the Palestinian Authority president to visit the U.N. headquarters, so Mahmoud Abbas addressed the world body via video, calling for an end of the war in Gaza, and promising that Hamas would not play any role there. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, New York.

President Trump has announced he'll impose new tariffs starting next week. These will hit some imported home furnishings, heavy trucks, and pharmaceuticals. Speaking yesterday, Trump said Japan and South Korea have promised U.S. investments worth nearly a trillion dollars. and Pierre's Anthony Kuhn reports that's supposed to be in exchange for lower tariffs. Speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump said his trade deals with foreign countries are going well. We have, as you know, in Japan, it's $550 billion. South Korea's $350 billion now. It's up front. South Korea has warned that paying so much money up front could drain its foreign currency reserves

and trigger a financial crisis. Some economists note that $350 billion is more than twice the annual value of South Korea's exports to the U.S. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 150 points. This is NPR. There are only a few days left until the federal government could shut down. Congress has to agree on a spending bill,

and Republicans and Democrats cannot come to terms. President Trump is threatening to fire some federal workers affected by the shutdown if Democrats don't agree to a spending bill. Police in 14 African countries have arrested. to 260 suspects at a major operation. The police were assisted by the International Law Enforcement Agency Interpol. NPR's Emmanuel Ackinwoto reports they targeted internet romance scams. Interpol said the operation took place between July and August

and was focused on internet romance scams like extortion, where victims are extorted and blackmailed with explicit images or videos. The operation identified more than a thousand victims who lost close to $3 million to the scams. Ghana's police arrested 68 suspects and recovered $70,000 in stolen funds. Police in Côte d'Ivoire also unraveled a extortion ring, which had more than 800 victims. Internet romance scams and extortion are among the fastest-growing online security threats in the world. And many victims are young people based in the U.S.

Emmanuel Akimoto, NPR News, Lagos. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Umberto is now a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. Umberto is expected to become a major hurricane over the weekend. Polish daredevil Andre Bargill says he has become the first person to ski down the side of Mount Everest without using bottled oxygen. He summited Everest last Monday. Bargill posted a video of his feet online.

This is NPR.