NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-30-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: September 30, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. President Trump says a government shutdown is likely tonight. NPR's Tamara Keith reports. President Trump says Democrats didn't budge and talks at the White House on Monday, so he expects a shutdown when funding runs out at midnight. Nothing is inevitable, but I would say it's probably likely. And if it does happen, Trump says he and his budget director intend to make it painful for Democrats. We can do things during the show.

shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like. It's not clear whether this threat is a negotiating tactic or a plan about to be executed. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House. Democrats are refusing to back Republicans' short-term government funding bill. They want to force them to negotiate on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, says it is Republicans who own the impasse because she says they cut health care. Remember a year ago right now, Donald Trump kept promising and promising that on day one, he would lower costs for families.

Instead, now what the Republicans and Donald Trump have done is rip away health care from 15 million Americans and drive up health insurance premiums for tens of millions more. She spoke to NPR's morning edition. Attorney General Pamela Bondi says the Trump administration's federal intervention in Memphis is underway, with nine arrests made yesterday and more than 200 officers, quote, special deputized with a joint operation center up and running. Earlier today in a speech to generals in Virginia, Trump said he would use the military to defend against a, quote, horrible plague that's taking place from within. Tennessee's Republican governor says personnel from more than a dozen federal agencies will start. arriving this week. The governor of Louisiana says he welcomes National Guard in his state, and he's made a request for troops to patrol some cities.

Brooke Thorrington, with member station WRKF, has this report. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced on national television he's asked President Trump to send 1,000 troops to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport. The crime analyst Jeff Asher says, so far this year, New Orleans has set to have the lowest number of murders through September since 1970. Carjackings, shootings, and auto thefts are also down significantly. Overall, we've seen a dramatic decline in New Orleans crime. Asher says crime levels in Baton Rouge and Streetport have also seen significant declines. He says having trained law enforcement officers like state troopers assist makes more sense than deploying

soldiers. For NPR News, I'm Brooke Thorrington and Baton Rouge. This is NPR News. A day after Trump announced a peace plan for Gaza with the backing of Israel's prime minister, Hamas has responded, saying it will discuss the proposal within the militant group and other Palestinian factions before deciding. This summer, Republicans in Congress and Trump acted to end federal funding for public media. That funding stops tomorrow. NPR's David Fokinflik traveled to South Dakota, where public broadcasters are making deep, cuts as they chart a new course. South Dakota Public Broadcasting owns NPR and PBS stations.

Julia Overgard is its executive director. We're not a huge staff. And, you know, it's like a cookie or a pie and you keep trimming around the edges. But $2.3 million, there is no way to trim around that. Certain programs were off the table. Overguard promised lawmakers, no touching its extensive schedule of high school sports and fine arts activities, nor its gas. the gavel-to-gavel coverage of state government. The station had 11 journalists. It's down to four.

In the past three months, the station's private foundation has raised $1.7 million more than it did in the same period last year. The foundation is trying to bring back some journalists to pilot new initiatives. David Fulkenflik and PR News, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The U.S. government is phasing out paper checks for most programs in favor of speedier e-payments. That change starts today and affects benefits. recipients. Nearly 400,000 Social Security and supplemental security income recipients still rely on paper checks. Many lack access to digital services. This is NPR News.