NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-27-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump says on social media that he'll send troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect ice facilities there from, quote, Antifa and other domestic terrorists. But Oregon's governor, Tina Kotech, is pushing back. Any deployment would be an abuse of power and a misuse of federal troops. Saying there's no need for federal troops in Oregon, quote, stoking fear and creating conflict. There is no insurrection.

There is no threat to national security. And there is no need for military troops in our major city. The Pentagon says it's ready to send military troops to Oregon at Trump's direction. President Trump is asking the Supreme. Court to uphold his birthright citizenship order, declaring children born to parents who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren't American citizens. Lower court judges so far have blocked Trump's order from taking effect anywhere, holding that it likely violates the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. More than three dozen former national park superintendents are pleading with the Trump administration

to close all parks if there is a government shutdown. And here's Kirk Siegler reports the Park Service kept some parks open during a government shutdown in the first Trump administration. In a letter to the President's Interior Secretary, Doug Bergam, 40 retired superintendents at parks ranging from Denali to Big Bend to Shenandoah, urged that all parks be closed if the Republican-controlled Congress can't pass a budget and there's a government shutdown. They say past shutdowns in which parks stayed open with the skeleton staff resulted in increased vandalism and habitat destruction and other public safety risks. The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the possible shutdown comes amid a major strain facing America's national parks. President Trump has cut about a quarter of the park's permanent staff, just as many, reported record visitation this summer. Kirk Sigler, NPR News. Iran has recalled its ambassadors to Britain, France, and Germany over their moves to reinstate international sanctions over the regime's nuclear pursuits.

Terry Schultz report sanctions are due to take effect this. weekend after a last-ditch effort by China and Russia to prevent them failed. The Iranian regime called the decision to restore UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran irresponsible. A month ago, Britain, France, and Germany warned Iran snapback sanctions would apply if Tehran did not take steps to halt its nuclear program, including the resumption of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, part of the 2015 deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its advancement. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of that agreement in 2018. China and Russia proposed an extension of the moratorium, but it failed to get support.

The sanctions include an embargo on conventional weapons, a global asset freeze, and travel bans on Iranian officials. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A year after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina with lethal floods and landsides, the city of Asheville has its own way of seeking healing. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett has more. Librarian Aaron Parsels is standing on a bridge with a red megaphone, overlooking the same river that leveled Asheville's River Arts District a year ago. She's there to lead a primal scream on behalf of the local library.

The scream was a meaningful way to mark all that Asheville has been through, says first-time screamer Francie Gens. I think we need to get it out and we need to feel it, And we need to be together and know that we're all feeling this and let it resound and be heard. The idea came from Chicago, which has a weekly scream club. In Asheville, where the city faces years of home, road, and water repairs, locals hope to make it a monthly occurrence. For NPR News, I'm Laura Hackett in Asheville, North Carolina. It's fall and festivals celebrating the season are taking place around the country with music, crafts, parades, and food.

In West Virginia, that means a roadkill cook-off competition. The rules prepare a tasty dish using an animal normally found dead on the side of the road. Think snakes, squirrel, you get the idea, but not actual roadkill. Organizers say meat should be hunted or farmed. West Virginia tourism officials call it a celebration of regional flavors and resourcefulness that intrigues and satisfies. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News. 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.

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