NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-27-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: September 28, 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 is scheduled to meet Monday with top congressional leaders from both parties at the White House. The meeting includes Senate Majority Leader Thune, Senate Minority Leader Shoehune, Senate Minority Leader Shoehast. House Speaker Johnson and House Minority Leader Jeffreys. This according to several people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to speak on the record. This meeting to break a standoff after Democrats refused to offer the votes needed to avoid a partial government shutdown insisting on key health care provisions which Republicans say are a non-starter. It takes place just a day

before the September 30th deadline to approve funding legislation. In a statement, Jeffries and Schumer called on Republicans to negotiate. a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people. The wife of one of the victims of the shooting at a Dallas ICE facility says her husband is on life support after a gunman injured him and another detainee and killed a third person. Empircerio Martinez Beltron has poor. Stephanie Gaffini says her husband, Miguel Angel Garcia Hernandez, is more than just an immigrant or an ICE detainee. He's a father of four, and Gaffini could give birth to their fifth child, a boy at any

moment now since she's 39 weeks pregnant. It hurts to think like what if he never even gets to meet him. A Venezuelan detainee Jose Andres Bordones Molina was also injured in the shooting. A third detainee was killed. 37 year old Norland Guzman Fuentes from El Salvador. In a statement to NPR, ICE confirmed the identities of all three victims. The agency says all three were quote, criminal illegal aliens. According to law enforcement officials, the shooter sought to terrorize ICE agents. However, none of the victims were law enforcement officers. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Dallas.

In a speech at the UN Friday, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he'd placed loudspeakers on the border with Gaza, hoping hostages held by Hamas might hear his speech. But as NPR's in Osbaba reports, the main sound in Gaza City last night was that of intense Israeli airstrikes. On the ground in Gaza, residents say they couldn't hear. hear the Israeli Prime Minister's voice. They could hear this bombardment, however, and the ground shock through the night,

as Israeli military strikes intensified following Netanyahu's speech. Gaza's old ministry says 77 Palestinians were killed by such strikes and other artillery in the past 24 hours. Netanyahu said Israel's new ground offensive in Gaza City is to eradicate Hamas, but people here believe the goal is to push them out by making the city uninhabitable. Still, some holden to hope it might stop, and many fear if they leave now, they may never be able to return. Anas Baba, NPR News, Gaza City. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A large electric utility has agreed to settle claims this week over the most destructive

wildfire in Colorado history. The Mountain West News Bureau's Rachel Cohen has more. Excel Energy says it reached an agreement to settle all the claims over the 2021 Marshal Fire. The development comes the same week a trial was set to begin. Excel says it agreed to pay about $640 million. Two telecommunications companies have also agreed to contribute to the settlement. In the lawsuit, more than 4,000 homeowners' businesses and insurers alleged that power lines played a role in the late December blaze four years ago. It burned more than 6,000 acres and destroyed 1,000 homes. top $2 billion. Excel is not emitting any fault or wrongdoing in the settlement. It maintains

its equipment, did not cause or contribute to the Marshall Fire. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Cohen. In Washington State, thieves stole $1 million worth of craft whiskey from Westland Distillery. The 12,000 bottles, including the distillers, sought after limited edition 10th anniversary bottles of Gariana whiskey were bound for New Jersey. But the liquor never made it to its destination. Disappearing July 31st, when someone showed up at the distillery's warehouse with fraudulent paperwork and picked it up. Officials say that Geriana whiskey stolen regularly wins awards and sells out. Additional security is now in place for the remaining whiskey. Although this kind of theft is rare in the U.S., it does happen in parts of Europe where it's easier to sell

on a secondary market. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News, in Washington. 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. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply.