NPR News Now: September 26, 2025, 9PM EDT – Detailed Summary

Main Theme:
This episode delivers concise, up-to-the-minute coverage of major national and international news stories, highlighting key developments in U.S. policy, immigration, global tensions, and cultural news.

Supreme Court Backs Trump Administration on Foreign Aid Withholding

• Timestamps: 00:15–00:52
• Reporter: Ryland Barton

Key Points:

• The U.S. Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to continue withholding over $4 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid.
• The decision reverses a lower court's order requiring the release of funds.
• The Supreme Court’s conservative majority reasons that the President’s foreign policy authority outweighs the harms cited by international aid groups.

ICE Officer Placed on Leave After Viral Video

• Timestamps: 00:52–01:24
• Reporter: Jimene Bustillo

Key Points:

• A New York immigration officer has been put on administrative leave after video footage shows him pushing a woman against a wall and to the ground.
• NPR had previously witnessed the same officer in aggressive action.
• Notable Quote (from an unidentified court observer):
  • "Why are you pushing?" (00:58)
• The Department of Homeland Security’s spokesperson, Trisha McLaughlin, states the officer's actions are “unacceptable” and beneath ICE standards.
• Tensions in immigration courts are rising as ICE increases its presence.

Arrest of Des Moines School Superintendent by ICE

• Timestamps: 01:24–02:16
• Reporter: Isabella Liu

Key Points:

• Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts, originally from Guyana but raised in Brooklyn, has been detained after allegedly fleeing a traffic stop initiated by ICE.
• Roberts had a final removal order from 2024 and had prior weapon charges—ICE claims a loaded gun was found in his car.
• The school board chair, Jackie Norris, praises Roberts’ leadership but acknowledges uncertainty:
  • Notable Quote (Jackie Norris):
    "We do not have all the facts. There is much we do not know. What we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago." (01:56)
• Roberts is noted as the district’s first Black superintendent, serving since 2023.

Netanyahu’s Speech at UN and Reality in Gaza

• Timestamps: 02:16–03:14
• Reporters: Ryland Barton, Emily Feng, Anas Baba

Key Points:

• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims his speech at the UN is being broadcast into Gaza via loudspeakers.
• NPR’s Emily Feng and producer Anas Baba investigate and find that Gazans did not hear the speech, only “Israeli airstrikes, the artilleries and the tanks firing.”
• Notable Quote (Anas Baba):
  "In Gaza City now, the only thing that we can hear here is the Israeli airstrikes, the artilleries and the tanks firing." (02:54)
• Dozens of diplomats walked out ahead of Netanyahu’s speech.

Drone Incidents in Denmark and EU Response

• Timestamps: 03:14–04:17
• Reporter: Terry Schultz, remarks from EU Commissioner Andreas Kubilius

Key Points:

• Consecutive nights of drone sightings disrupt air traffic in northern Denmark; several airports are affected.
• Danish PM Mette Frederiksen calls this a “hybrid war” on Denmark.
• An urgent virtual meeting is held among EU defense ministers and the Ukrainian counterpart to address these incursions and increase counter-drone capabilities.
• Notable Quote (EU Commissioner Andreas Kubilius):
  • "We are facing clear challenges. Russia is testing the EU and NATO and our response must be firm, united and immediate." (04:04)
• The EU calls for immediate, concrete countermeasures.

Court Dismisses Case Against Irish Rapper; Dutch to Return Fossils to Indonesia

• Timestamps: 04:17–04:58
• Reporter: Ryland Barton

Key Points:

• A London court dismisses a terror-related charge against a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap due to a technical error.
• The rapper, Mochara, had been charged for waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert.
• In unrelated news, the Dutch government will return the 28,000-piece Dubois fossil collection to Indonesia; it was removed during the colonial era and includes the first Homo erectus remains.

Notable Quotes

• Jackie Norris (Des Moines School Board Chair, 01:56):
  "We do not have all the facts. There is much we do not know. What we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago."

• Anas Baba (NPR Gaza Producer, 02:54):
  "In Gaza City now, the only thing that we can hear here is the Israeli airstrikes, the artilleries and the tanks firing."

• EU Defense Commissioner Andreas Kubilius (04:04):
  "We are facing clear challenges. Russia is testing the EU and NATO and our response must be firm, united and immediate."

Memorable Moments

• The Supreme Court’s decision upholding presidential power on foreign aid has immediate global implications.
• ICE’s expanded and controversial activity intersects with high-profile public figures, including a school superintendent.
• The gap between official claims and on-the-ground reality is starkly illustrated in Gaza during Netanyahu’s speech.
• Ongoing drone activity in European airspace signals escalating hybrid warfare concerns.
• Landmark repatriation of a major fossil collection highlights ongoing legacies of colonialism.

This five-minute news roundup gives listeners a succinct yet nuanced view of key stories shaping the current global and domestic landscape.