NPR News Now – September 10, 2025, 7AM EDT

Episode Overview

This episode delivers a concise snapshot of major global and national news as of September 10, 2025. Key topics include escalating tensions between Poland and Russia following a drone incursion, an Israeli airstrike in Qatar, ongoing issues surrounding President Trump’s executive actions in the United States, rising concerns about lithium batteries on airplanes, and the discovery of a new moon around Uranus. Broadcast in NPR’s signature calm, authoritative tone, the reporting delivers both detail and immediacy in under five minutes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Russian Drone Incursion into Polish Airspace

• [00:18] Anchor Korva Coleman reports NATO and Polish warplanes intercepted several Russian attack drones that entered Polish airspace.
• Poland’s president plans to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, demanding a consultative meeting of all member states.
• [00:38] Joanna Kakissis (Kyiv): Polish leaders label the incident "an act of aggression." Residents near the Ukraine border were told to take shelter.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and security analyst Hanna Schellist argue the violation is intentional, an attempt to “test” NATO’s defenses.
    • Quote: “We understand that it is a deliberate policy of checking air defense and the procedures of NATO countries, how they will react to this because the weak reaction immediately will encourage them to the continuous action and increase of such activities.” — Hanna Schellist (00:56)
• Moscow’s envoy counters that there’s “no proof the drones are Russian and that Russia has no interest in fighting with Poland.”

2. Israeli Airstrike on Doha, Qatar

• [01:20] President Trump to issue a statement regarding an Israeli strike on a building in Doha, Qatar’s capital, which killed six people but no Hamas leaders.
  • He states he is "not happy" about the attack; international condemnation grows.
• [01:43] Qatar Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed Al Ansari calls for global unity against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions.
  • Quote: “We are talking to all of our partners in the region and beyond to take a very strong position against the actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu that has driven Israel into being a pariah and broke state against.” — Majed Al Ansari (01:43)

3. President Trump’s Tariffs and D.C. Police Control

• [01:57] U.S. Supreme Court will review Trump’s executive-ordered tariffs, previously struck down by two lower courts for lacking Congressional approval.
• President Trump’s emergency declaration over Washington, D.C., allowing federal control of the police, expires, but federal involvement is ongoing.
  • [02:31] Alex Koma (WAMU): Crime rates in D.C. had been declining prior to the intervention. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser voices concerns about city autonomy.
    • Quote: “It has been clear that our autonomy has kind of been in the crosshairs. That's our North Star.” — Muriel Bowser (02:52)
  • Federal agents and National Guard remain deployed; no plan to withdraw soon.

4. Domestic & Science News Briefs

• [03:07] Stock Market: Dow futures are down; a brief pre-market financial update.
• [03:13] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs head Dan Kaine visit Puerto Rico amid administration focus on drug cartels in the Caribbean.
• [03:29] FAA issues a renewed warning on lithium battery safety on aircraft.
• [04:03] New Moon Discovered Orbiting Uranus
  • Lauren Patterson (Northwest Public Broadcasting): Astronomers have discovered Uranus’s smallest moon (6 miles across), orbiting among the planet’s 13 narrow rings.
    • University of Idaho physicist Matthew Hedman notes that the gravitational interplay between moons causes collisions.
      • Quote: “It indicates we don't really understand what's going on in this system, and that tells us there's still a lot about how things are going on in space that we still need to learn.” — Matthew Hedman (04:30)
    • Insights into Uranian moons could also inform asteroid belt research.
• [04:51] Sign-off by Korva Coleman from Washington.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hanna Schellist (Ukrainian Security Analyst), on Russian drones:
  “We understand that it is a deliberate policy of checking air defense and the procedures of NATO countries...” (00:56)
• Majed Al Ansari (Qatar Foreign Affairs), on Israeli action:
  “...to take a very strong position against the actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu that has driven Israel into being a pariah and broke state against.” (01:43)
• Muriel Bowser (D.C. Mayor), on local autonomy:
  “It has been clear that our autonomy has kind of been in the crosshairs. That's our North Star.” (02:52)
• Prof. Matthew Hedman (U. Idaho), on Uranus’s moons:
  “It indicates we don't really understand what's going on in this system... there's still a lot about how things are going on in space that we still need to learn.” (04:30)

Timestamps for Significant Segments

• Russian Drones in Poland: 00:18–01:20
• Israel Strikes Qatar: 01:20–01:57
• Supreme Court on Tariffs, D.C. Police Takeover: 01:57–03:07
• FAA Lithium Battery Alert: 03:29
• New Moon Discovered at Uranus: 04:03–04:51

This episode packs complex global developments and science news into a brisk update, balancing headlines with on-the-ground insights and reflective expert commentary.