"Ly from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
Tens of thousands of business owners are now applying for tariff refunds.
“To months ago the Supreme Court ruled that most of President Trump's tariffs from last”
year were unconstitutional.
And here's Alina Seljuke reports the government at first argued refunds would be unwieldy,
but today it launched a portal for claims. Virginia Business Owner Sarah Wells logged on to the portal before it was even supposed to be open. They sort of took the early bird catches the worm approach." She makes backbacks and accessories for new moms, and she applied for a refund of $20,000
for tariffs she paid on two shipments from China and Cambodia. There were a lot of hours leading up to today and a lot of cumbersome parts of this, but today was actually pretty quick. That prep process is still difficult for many businesses, especially smaller ones. U.S. Customs is not saying how many companies did submit claims so far, but the initial
phase is meant to cover refunds of some $127 billion, which is the majority.
Alina Seljuke and Pierre News.
“Minnesota Governor Tim Walsh is launching a new political action committee to recruit democratic”
candidates in rural communities. Minnesota Public Radio's Dana Ferguson has more. The second term governor says he's starting the federal campaign effort to get more democratic candidates to run in rural districts around the country. He pointed to his time serving southern Minnesota in Congress after flipping the district
from red to blue, and he says other teachers, nurses, laborers, and veterans could pick up the mantle for Democrats if they opted to run where they live. Walsh is not seeking a third term as governor. Some of his remaining campaign funds could help boost prospective candidates. The governor says Republican policies have hurt small towns and Democrats can help bring
jobs and keep rural hospitals open. Minnesota Republicans say Walsh and Democrats have lost touch with rural voters. For NPR News, I'm Dana Ferguson in St. Paul. Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, a company announcement says he will transition to a spot on the board and pass the baton to an insider who's overseen engineering some of Apple's
most iconic products. And here's John Ruich has more. Tim Cook became CEO 15 years ago with big shoes to fill. He succeeded Apple's visionary founder Steve Jobs, Cook had been at Apple for years. He's best known for overhauling Apple's manufacturing operations and embedding its supply
chain deeply in China. Now Cook will hand the reins to John Ternis, a senior vice president at the company. Ternis has led hardware engineering teams for almost all of Apple's best known products, including the iPhone and the Mac computer. The leadership change takes place at the start of September, with Cook leaving Ternis
some significant challenges, including on artificial intelligence where Apple is playing catch-up, John Ruich NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
FBI Director Cash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic
and one of its reporters for recent article alleging he has bouts of excessive drinking, emotional outbursts and frequent absences. He says the Atlantic's goal was to destroy his reputation and drive him out of the FBI. The Atlantic says it stands behind the story and the reporter. The American Library Association has released its list of the most challenged books of
2025. And here's Anastasia Syulka's reports on where the pressure is coming from. The ALA says over 90% of challenges came from conservative activist groups such as Mom's for Liberty, as well as local officials and administrators, not from parents or individuals. The Library Association says that 2025 saw the second highest number of book challenges
to libraries since it began documenting such efforts. 4,235 individual titles were challenged last year, just five fewer than the ALA time high in 2023. The most frequently challenged books at libraries across the country are the young adult titles sold by Patricia McCormick and the perks of being a wallflower by Steven Chiboski,
as well as Maya Kobaybs genderqueer, a coming of age memoir told in comics form. Anastasia Syulka's and peer news, New York. Wall Street was lower by the closing bell, but US futures contracts are trading higher. Dow futures are up about 80 points, Nasdaq futures are up about 63 points. You're listening to NPR news from Washington.
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