NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-26-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. A federal grand jury indictment of former FBI director James Comey is raising alarms about government overreach. The Justice Department accuses Comey of lying under oath and obstruction, offenses that carry penalties of up to five years in prison. New York Congressman Dan Goldman suggests that the case undermines the U.S. position as a world leader when it comes to democracy. The number one thing that I'm not. our government insists upon in any other country that wants to be democratic, wants to get our support,

is that the leaders do not use the criminal justice system to retaliate or to go after their political adversaries. This is open and shut, that that is exactly what the Department of Justice has done. Donald Trump has laid it out. Goldman says the case against Comey will also undermine public confidence in the Justice Department. and future FBI investigations. Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle Federal Trade Commission claims over the company's Prime Membership Program from Member Station, KUOW, Monica Nicholsberg, reports. Amazon Prime members will get $1.5 billion in payments under the settlement.

That'll look like a maximum payment of $51 automatically credited to customers who used prime benefits during the period in which the government says Amazon broke the law. The other billion is in civil penalties. The Federal Trade Commission says Amazon used manipulative web design to trick millions of people into signing up for Prime. And also claims Amazon made them jump through hoops to unsubscribe. A senior FTC official said after the testimony, Amazon's quote, "'Backs were against the wall.

Amazon admits no wrongdoing under the settlement, and in a statement says the settlement allows the company to move forward. For NPR News, I'm Monica Nicholsberg in Seattle. Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions from the late Libyan leader Moulmar Gaddafi. NPR's Eleanor Beersley reports that Sarkozy plans to appeal. The news hit France like a bombshell.

Sarkozy will become the first modern French leader to be imprisoned. The court suggested that in return for the campaign cash, Sarkozy tried to help rehabilitate Gaddafi and Libya's international standing after years of human rights abuses in support of terrorism. Sarkozy condemned what he called a politically motivated ruling. They want to humiliate me, but they humiliated France today, he said. They have betrayed the French people's trust in the justice system. Sarkozy has always denied the charges and is appealing the ruling.

The case also implicated 11 co-defendants, among them three former ministers. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. You're listening to NPR. Starbucks has announced plans to lay off 900 non-retail workers and close hundreds of stores in the U.S. and Canada. It would be the second round of job cuts at the coffee giant this year. Starbucks also plans to spend a billion dollars on restructuring. Workers at the Canada Post are on strike

after their government called for major reforms. The union representing the roughly 50, 5,000 employees were caught off guard by a government order to begin major changes that would include ending all mail and package deliveries within 10 years. Postal operations in Canada have been suspended during the walkout. A trio of spacecraft have embarked on an effort to track space weather. After launching from Florida's Cape Canaveral this week, from central Florida public media, Brendan Byrne has details. The missions will study the sun's solar winds, a continuous stream of particles that create the northern lights. They're also a significant source of radiation

in space, which could negatively affect satellites in orbit or our power grids here on Earth. The three spacecraft, operated by NASA and NOAA, will help track and forecast these space weather events. NASA's head of science, Nikki Fox, says along with helping us here on Earth, the spacecraft will help keep astronauts safe on missions to the moon and beyond. It's going to be providing really critical data to let us know about the radiation environments that our astronauts are traveling through. The spacecraft were launched on SpaceX's falconine rocket. Just hours after liftoff, NASA confirmed all three are operating as planned. For NPR news, I'm Brendan Byrne in Orlando.

U.S. futures are flat and after hours trading on Wall Street on Asia-Pacific market shares are lower, down 1% in Hong Kong. This is NPR.