NPR News: 09-25-2025 11AM EDT

Summary

NPR News Now – September 25, 2025, 11AM EDT
Episode Summary

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Brief Overview

This five-minute episode delivers succinct updates on major global and national news events. Coverage includes President Abbas’s address at the UN, looming changes to U.S. health care premiums amid a possible government shutdown, reactions to a Dallas ICE facility shooting, removal of climate change signage from national parks, and an update on Tropical Storm Umberto.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. UN General Assembly: Palestinian Authority’s Statement

• Topic: Palestinian leadership in Gaza’s future; rejection of Hamas’s governance.
• Details:
  • President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel’s Gaza offensive and distanced the Palestinian Authority from Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel.
  • Abbas declared intent for PA to lead Palestinians after the conflict—excluding Hamas from governance.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security forces.”
    — Mahmoud Abbas (via interpreter), [00:45]

• Upcoming: Israeli PM Netanyahu to respond at UN tomorrow.

2. U.S. Health Care Premiums & Government Shutdown Threat

• Topic: Potential ACA premium hikes; partisan congressional standoff.
• Details:
  • Enhanced ACA subsidies from 2021 are set to expire; 24 million reliant enrollees could see sharp premium increases.
  • Spotlight on Emily Pizacretta, a diabetic podcast producer, concerned about affordability.
  • Notable Quote:

    “$500 a month is not little. And to imagine it going up to almost $900 a month seems really scary.”
    — Emily Pizacretta, [01:59]

  • Issue is a key dispute as Republicans and Democrats negotiate to avoid a shutdown.
• Reporter: Selena Simmons Duffin, [01:35–02:16]

3. Dallas ICE Facility Shooting Investigation

• Topic: Aftermath and fears in the migrant community.
• Details:
  • Susana Garcia, a recently legalized immigration advocate, describes growing fear among Dallas’s Latino community after the attack.
  • Community concerns heightened over potential targeting and increased ICE activity.
  • Federal authorities treat the incident as a targeted attack.
  • Notable Quote:

    “We are going to be more afraid about everything that's to come against us because of what just happened.”
    — Susana Garcia, via Priscilla Rice, [02:36]

• Reporter: Priscilla Rice, [02:36–03:10]

4. Climate Change Signage Removed from National Parks

• Topic: Controversial removal of climate change educational materials under Trump administration.
• Details:
  • Signs at parks like Acadia, which informed visitors about climate impacts and conservation, are being taken down.
  • Trump administration labels content as “lies of the delusional green new scam.”
  • Todd Martin (National Park Conservation Association) pushes back, citing scientific consensus.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Acadia national park, like many parks, wants to ensure that its visitors understand...the impacts that Acadia is feeling from climate change now and what the future of the park could look like.”
    — Todd Martin, [04:19]

  • Policy change enacted via executive order and Park Service memo.
• Reporter: Molly Enking, [03:52–04:37]

5. Tropical Storm Umberto Update

• Topic: Ongoing Atlantic hurricane season.
• Details:
  • Umberto is strengthening, forecast to become a hurricane within 24 hours and possibly a major hurricane by weekend.
• Host: Korva Coleman, [04:40]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mahmoud Abbas on Hamas and Palestinian Authority:
  “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance.” [00:45]
• Emily Pizacretta on ACA premium hikes:
  “To imagine it going up to almost $900 a month seems really scary.” [01:59]
• Susana Garcia or fears after Dallas shooting:
  “We are going to be more afraid about everything that's to come...” [02:36]
• Todd Martin on climate change education:
  “…ensure that its visitors understand the impacts that Acadia is feeling from climate change now...” [04:19]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• UN General Assembly: Palestinian Authority Statement: [00:19–01:10]
• Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Upcoming Speech Preview: [01:10]
• ACA Premiums Debate & Shutdown Looming: [01:35–02:16]
• Dallas ICE Shooting Coverage: [02:19–03:10]
• Government Shutdown Details & Park Signage Removal: [03:10–04:37]
• Tropical Storm Umberto Forecast: [04:40]

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This episode delivers a rapid, impactful snapshot of global diplomacy, domestic policy fights, community fears in the face of violence, climate politics, and hazardous weather—all in under five minutes, with voices from both ground-level advocates and national leadership.

Transcript

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[Korva Coleman]

In Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. The president of the Palestinian Authority has addressed the UN General Assembly. This morning, my Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel's war in Gaza. Abbas also said Palestinian authorities reject Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He said that once the war in Gaza is over, his organization is ready to lead Palestinians, not Hamas. Abbas is heard here through an interpreter.

[Mahmoud Abbas (via interpreter)]

Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security forces.

[Korva Coleman]

Tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly. He says he will excoriate Western leaders who who have recognized a Palestinian state. Millions of Americans who rely on the Affordable Health Care act are watching their health insurance premiums. NPR's Selena Simmons Duffin reports. These are a key sticking point between Republicans and Democrats as the government shutdown looms.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Back in 2021, Congress put a lot of federal funding into what they called enhanced premium subsidies. Enrollment more than doubled. 24 million people now rely on these health plans. Emily Pizacretta is one of them. She's a podcast producer and she has type 1 diabetes. Right now, she pays $500 per month. She's nervous about the potential premium hike next year.

[Emily Pizacretta]

$500 a month is is not little. And to imagine it going up to almost $900 a month seems really scary.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Republicans have the majority in Congress. There are Republican lawmakers who would like to extend these tax credits, though others say it's too expensive or that the program needs to be changed.

[Molly Enking]

So.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Selena Simmons Duffen, NPR News, Washington.

[Korva Coleman]

Investigators are seeking a motive for yesterday's deadly shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas. From member station kera, Priscilla Rice reports. Community activists are concerned the attack will increase fear in the migrant community.

[Priscilla Rice]

Immigration advocate Susana Garcia says she was having her coffee when she began receiving texts about the deadly shooting. Garcia works with migrants in the northwest Dallas community of Bachman Lake and recently received legal status herself. She says ice sightings and deportation threats have already taken an emotional toll. She and others now fear Latinos will be even further targeted. We are going to be more afraid about everything that's to come against us because of what just happened. Federal authorities are investigating the shooting as a targeted attack. For NPR News, I'm Priscilla Rice in Dallas.

[Korva Coleman]

On Wall street, the Dow was down about 60. You're listening to NPR News. A government shutdown is looming. It will happen next week unless Democrats and Republicans can agree on a federal spending deal. President Trump called off a meeting with Democratic leaders yesterday. Now the White House says that if there is a shutdown, it won't just temporarily furlough federal workers, it will lay them off. Educational signs about climate change are being removed from some of the most popular national parks in the US this is at the direction of the Trump administration. From Maine Public, Molly Enking reports this includes Acadia National Park.

[Todd Martin]

Signs had been located in Acadia's most well trod areas. They asked hikers to help protect the ecosystem, detailed histories of native people, and encouraged use of the park's bus. The Interior Department called the language lies of the delusional green new scam. Todd Martin of the National Park Conservation association says decades of scientific research show the effects of climate change are already impacting parks.

[Molly Enking]

Acadia national park, like many parks, wants to ensure that its visitors understands the impacts that Acadia is feeling from climate change now and what the future of the park could look like.

[Todd Martin]

Changes to national park signage across the country were dictated by an executive order from President Trump and subsequent memo from the National Park Service.

[Molly Enking]

Molly.

[Todd Martin]

For NPR News, I'm Molly Enking in Portland, Maine.

[Korva Coleman]

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Umberto is gathering strength in the Atlantic Ocean. They expect it will become a hurricane in a day or so. The National Hurricane center says Umberto will become a major hurricane over the coming weekend. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.

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