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Episode Date: August 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Congress returns from its August recess this week. A major task awaiting lawmakers is avoiding a government shutdown. The fiscal year ends September 30th, and Congress has not approved legislation needed to keep the government in business beyond that. NPR's Claudia Grisales says more. When lawmakers get back, they'll have less than a month to approve regular appropriations bills. That's a process that can take months. And they're already very much behind.

Many say it's a fantasy they'll get there. For example, many House Republicans just want to approve another stopgap measure that will keep funding level static. Then underlying all of this, we have seen this Republican-led Congress seed their power of the purse to the president again and again. NPR's Claudia Guselles. Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The Israeli military also targeted the main spokesman of Hamas in an airstrike. NPR's Daniel Lestrian reports from Tel Aviv. The Israeli military says it's recovered the bodies of two Israelis killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel, October 7, 2023.

Israel says the two were killed trying to protect others during the attack, and their bodies were taken to Gaza. Now 48 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20, believed to still be alive. Two weeks ago, Hamas agreed to a proposal by Egypt and Qatar to free half of the remaining hostages. Israel previously agreed to those terms, but Israel has not responded to the proposal. Israel says it wants all not half of the hostages. On Saturday, the Israeli military targeted the top spokesman of Hamas in Gaza. Israel says he was killed in the strike. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

The latest COVID-19 vaccines will start arriving soon at pharmacies, doctor's offices and clinics around the country. But new federal restrictions mean the shots may be harder to get for a lot of people. NPR's Rob Stein explains. The Food and Drug Administration has approved reformulated versions of the Moderna, Pfizer-Biontech, and Novavac shots. But for the first time, the FDA has only approved the vaccines for people who are at risk for serious complications because they're at least 65 or have some other health issue. That means many people may have to get a doctor's prescription to get vaccinated, and even then, the availability may vary from state to state. It's also unclear if insurance companies will still pay for the shots

for everyone. Rob Stein, NPR News. A federal judge is blocking the government from deporting a group of children from Guatemala who entered the U.S. without their families. The ruling came after lawyers for the children said they were put on planes overnight, and that is in violation of laws affording protections to migrant children. They are being sent back to resettlement camps. You are listening to NBR News. Longtime CNN White House and Pentagon correspondent Charles Beerbauer has died. CNN made the announcement today.

Beerbauer joined CNN in its earliest days and covered the Department of Defense and the White House during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. Before joining CNN, Beerbauer was the ABC News, Moscow bureau chief. After leaving CNN in 2001, Beirbauer became the first year. Dean at the University of South Carolina's College of Mass Communication. He retired from that role in 2017. Charles Beerbauer was 83. A new study finds that bison and Yellowstone National Park are helping improve its grasslands. NPR's Nate Rot has more. There are about 5,000 bison that roam Yellowstone moving back and forth over a 50-mile stretch, eating vegetation, and leaving manure. The new study published in the journal Science found bison boost soil microbes and

increase the amount of protein available in the vegetation that grows back. Bill Hamilton is an author of the study and a professor at Washington and Lee University. And crude protein is what the herbivores, the elk, the bison, the pronghorn, the deer are honing in on because they need that to put on fat, to make it through winter. And to breed. The findings suggest larger populations of bison, able to roam outside the confines of Yellowstone, could help improve grassland health. Nate Roth, NPR News. Jackpot is soared to an estimated $1.1 billion. There was no winner in Saturday's drawing.

The Multi-State Lottery Association says the odds of winning Monday's grand prize are won and 292 million. This is NPR News from Washington. Support for NPR.