NPR News: 09-05-2025 5AM EDT
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Why did Venezuelan fighter jets fly over a U.S. Navy destroyer and what are the Pentagon’s concerns?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. The Pentagon says two Venezuelan fighter jets flew over a U.S. Navy destroyer in the waters off Venezuela yesterday in what's being described as a highly provocative move. The Defense Department accuses the Venezuelan government of trying to interfere with its counter-narco-terror operations in the Southern Caribbean and warned against it happening again. The incident involved the guided missile destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham. Earlier this week, the military struck a small boat carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela, killing 11 people. The White House says President Trump will sign an executive order today renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports.
What does the new executive order changing the Department of Defense to the Department of War entail?
A White House official not authorized to discuss the order on the record confirmed to NPR that Trump will be signing the order and also provided a fact sheet. According to that sheet, the order will authorize the department name change as a secondary title and will also allow Defense Department officials to substitute the word war into their titles. For example, the Secretary of Defense could use the title Secretary of War. In addition, the order will instruct the secretary to recommend actions such as legislation to make the department's name change permanent. The Department of Defense was known as the Department of War until the 1940s. The White House explained that the new name will quote, signal to adversaries America's readiness to wage war to secure its interests.
Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
The Taliban government says nearly 7,000 homes were destroyed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan by a strong earthquake that hit the area five days ago.
How many homes were destroyed and how many people died in the recent Afghanistan‑Pakistan earthquake?
The magnitude 6 quake struck near the border with Pakistan. More than 2,200 people are confirmed dead. The U.S. Geological Survey says another quake shook the region last night. PBS says it's cutting about 15 percent of its workforce. The move follows Republicans in Congress voting to end federal funding of public media beginning in October. NPR's David Folkenflik has more.
CEO Paula Kerger said PBS had already taken smaller steps but didn't have much choice.
Why is PBS cutting 15% of its workforce and how is it responding to federal funding cuts?
She said the congressional rescission of all future funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, more than $500 million annually, mostly to public TV and radio stations, was compounded by the Trump administration's decision to kill a major educational grant for PBS. Kerger wrote to station officials that PBS would still fulfill core missions. Quote, these decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media. Some stations have embarked on their own job cuts, even as listeners, viewers and readers have stepped forward with fresh contributions to try to help stations fill the gaps. David Folkenflik, NPR News. The
August numbers on employment in the U.S. are due out this morning from the Labor Department. This is NPR News from Washington.
What new research reveals about solar flare temperatures and why does it matter for satellites?
NASA says a telescope in Chile has captured images of a growing tail on a comet that's expected to pass closest to Earth in December. It's still 238 million miles away. Scientists say solar flares may be more than six times hotter than previously thought. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce has more on the findings of a new analysis.
Solar flares are bright bursts of light on the sun that happen when magnetic energy gets released and dumped into ions and electrons. Alexander Russell is with the University of St. Andrews. He says in the past, telescopes have measured the temperature of just the electrons.
What happened when Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott in the Eagles‑Cowboys game?
And we've kind of just assumed, well, the ion temperature would be the same as the electron temperature.
But new research suggests that ions get heated up a lot more strongly. And when that's taken into account, their calculations in astrophysical journal letters show that solar flares could be as hot as 180 million degrees Fahrenheit. Better understanding of solar flares and related phenomena could help protect satellites and even astronauts from harmful particles and radiation.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why did Venezuelan fighter jets fly over a U.S. Navy destroyer and what are the Pentagon’s concerns?
0:01–0:48
2
What does the new executive order changing the Department of Defense to the Department of War entail?
0:48–1:41
3
How many homes were destroyed and how many people died in the recent Afghanistan‑Pakistan earthquake?
1:41–2:12
4
Why is PBS cutting 15% of its workforce and how is it responding to federal funding cuts?
2:12–3:01
5
What new research reveals about solar flare temperatures and why does it matter for satellites?
3:01–3:39
6
What happened when Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott in the Eagles‑Cowboys game?
3:39–4:39