NPR News: 09-21-2025 3PM EDT

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NPR News Now 4 min 4 speakers 5 chapters transcribed 24 days ago

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What happened at the memorial service for activist Charlie Kirk?

Nora Rahm 0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. A memorial service is underway at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

Nora Rahm 0:15

It's to remember and honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed eleven days ago while he was speaking at Utah Valley University. The service is drawing tens of thousands of mourners, including President Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, other top officials, and many young conservatives who had been inspired by his work. United Nations General Assembly meets in New York this week. The president of Turkey says while there he'll discuss Israel's recent actions in Gaza in a meeting this week with President Trump. Duri Buskarin has more.

How are Turkey, the UN General Assembly, and the Gaza conflict connected in this report?

Derry Buscarin 0:50

Addressing reporters before departing for New York, Turkish President Rejeb Taib Erdogan said he's hopeful that a move at the UN General Assembly by several European countries to recognize a state of Palestine will add momentum to the cause. He also said he plans to discuss Gaza with President Trump during a Thursday meeting and touch on other issues like trade and national security. Dozens were killed in Gaza City yesterday, according to Media reports. Israel is continuing its air and ground assault to seize the densely populated city, leveling high-rise buildings and ordering people to leave the combat zone. For NPR News, I'm Derry Buscarin in Istanbul.

Nora Rahm 1:28

The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal all recognized a Palestinian state today. They joined more than one hundred forty other members of the UN to do so. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the decision over Israeli objections is aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and promoting a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Why did the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognize a Palestinian state and what did world leaders say?

Nora Rahm 1:50

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says it empowers those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas. The decision to recognize a Palestinian state comes over strong objections of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Trump says he'll nominate White House A Lindsey Halligan to be the U.S. Attorney for the District Eastern District of Virginia. She replaced Eric Siebert, who stepped down last week. He had been investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud. But had expressed doubts that criminal charges should be filed.

Mara Eliason 2:22

НПРС морсмор. Трамп актриса.

What are President Trump's latest judicial appointments and his plan for a TikTok deal?

Mara Eliason 2:30

Donald Trump has ordered Pam Bondi, his attorney general, to prosecute his political opponents, including James, but also former FBI Director James Comey and California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.

Nora Rahm 2:55

You're listening to NPR News in Washington. President Trump says the US and China are close to a deal that would allow the video app TikTok to operate in the US. Allah says the app would be banned unless its Chinese owner puts it under the control of American investors. Trump had delayed implementation while negotiations continued. Trump told Fox News the deal may include media mogul Rupert Murdoch, his son Laughlin, and Oracle founder Larry Allison. Brown bears in Alaska's Catmai National Park and Preserve have been packing on the pounds this summer. And this week they'll face off in the annual Fat Bear Week competition. Alaska Public Media's Ava White reports.

How does Alaska's Fat Bear Week work and why are the bears gaining weight?

Ava White 3:40

The name of the event, Fat Bear Week, says it all. It's a week of celebrating how chubby the bears get in preparation for months of hibernation. And these bears get huge. Sarah Bruce is a park ranger at Katmai. She says it's stunning to watch the bears transform as they feast on the world's largest sockey salmon run. It really is quite a sight to see these bears go from five, six, seven hundred pounds when they come out of the den to over a thousand pounds by the end of the season. Twelve chunky contenders will face off in the bracket style competition, which opens for online voting at explore.org Tuesday and runs through September 30th.

Nora Rahm 4:16

For MPR News, I'm Ava White in Anchorage. A different sort of winner was announced early this morning in Moscow. Vietnam won the Intervision Song Contest, which Russia revived after it was banned from the Eurovision Song Contest for the invasion of Ukraine.