NPR News: 09-20-2025 3AM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington DC, I'm Dale Wilman. The Pentagon is implementing new guidelines for reporters covering the agency. An official not authorized to speak publicly about the plan says journalists must pledge that they won't gather any information that hasn't been authorized for release. Those who refuse to sign will have their credentials revoked. MPRS Tamara Keith says this is just one example of what appears to be a trend by the Trump administration.
There is something that has been going on well beyond this week, which is the Trump administration using its power to crack down on or otherwise punish organizations, institutions that it disagrees with. So you see this with universities, you see this with law firms that did work for democratic causes. And you see it a lot with President Trump using the courts to go after journalists and journalism organizations.
That's NPR's Tamara Keith. A federal judge has ruled in favor of the ACLU and several arts and theater organizations that sued the National Endowment for the Arts. As MPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, the judge ruled the endowment's grant process violated the First Amendment and federal procedures.
The National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, funds thousands of arts groups across the country through a competitive process. Earlier this year, it required applicants to agree to not use federal funds to quote promote gender ideology. In his opinion, U.S. Senior District Court Judge William Smith said the grant process violates the First Amendment because it is quote a viewpoint based restriction on private speech. He also said the rule broke federal law because it didn't explain how promoting gender ideology is related to artistic merit. The NEA has not responded to NPR's request for comment. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
The European Commission, which is the European Union's executive arm, is proposing another round of sanctions against Russia. They would target Moscow's fuel revenues in particular. Terry Schultz reports the blocks twenty seven governments must now approve the package.
European Commission Chief Ursula Von der Leyen notes that in the last month Russia's attacks on Ukraine have intensified, with an airstrike even damaging the EU's own diplomatic mission in Kyiv. So we are banning imports of Russian energy into European markets. It is time to turn off the tap. She says since the beginning of Russia's full scale war on Ukraine, Moscow's oil revenues from sales to Europe have been reduced by more than ninety percent. Other measures in the package include blacklisting more tankers that transport Russian fuel. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz.
The Senate Friday rejected both the Democratic and Republican proposal that would have funded federal agencies for a few weeks. The new budget year begins on October first, and if a spending measure isn't passed before then, there could be a partial government shutdown. Leaders of the two parties are blaming each other for the failure of the bills. You're listening to NPR News. Aid workers in Sudan say a drone attack on a mosque in the North Darfur region has killed at least seventy people. Searchers say that toll will likely go much higher as they remove the rubble of the collapsed building. The attack came during Friday prayers. Officials are blaming the attack on the paramilitary group rapid support forces.
A federal court says the Trump administration can't start withholding billions of dollars from a group of states that refuse to turn over the personal data of food assistance recipients. But as MPR's Jude Jaffe Block reports, the legal fight's not over.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring states turn over sensitive information about people who've received federal food assistance over the last five years from the program known as SNAP. At least 23 states complied, turning over the names, social security numbers, addresses, and other data about SNAP recipients. But other states in the District of Columbia refused, many of which joined together to sue the USDA, alleging the data demand is unlawful.
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