NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-01-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Senate Republicans today tried to pass a bill that would fund federal agencies through November 21st, but NPR's digital Walsh reports that the effort failed. On the first day of the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune called on Democrats to back a stopgap funding bill. We are one, just one Senate roll call vote away from ending the shutdown. The top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer insisted any deal had to extend health care subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year.

It's clear that the way out of this shutdown is to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to address the looming health care crisis that faces tens of millions of American families. Top leaders aren't talking, but there is a bipartisan Senate group trying to find a path to reopening the government and keeping tax credits to keep health care affordable for middle and working class people. It's unclear how much progress they are making. Deirdre Walsh and PR News, the Capitol. U.S. air carriers are bracing for possible delays as a result of the partial shutdown. NPR's Joel Rose reports that the last shutdown strained the aviation system and slowed flights. Air traffic controllers are required to work through the shutdown. down, even though they don't get paid until it ends. But more workers than usual called in sick

during the last government shutdown, leading to delays in commercial aviation. Air traffic controllers say morale is even lower now because of a staffing shortage and stagnating pay. But the union that represents those controllers is urging them to be professional and not to engage in any kind of job action that could get them or the union in trouble. Unlike the last shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration plans to keep its Air Traffic Controller Training Academy open, part of its push to meet ambitious hiring goals. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. The Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars in infrastructure funding that was

earmarked for New York City. NPR's Brian Mann has details. Russell Vote, head of the Federal Office of Management and Budget, says roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been frozen. Vote said the goal is to make sure tax dollars don't go to what he described as unconstitutional DEI principles. But the move comes days after Trump threatened to come. cut off federal funds to the city over his opposition to Zoran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist

State Assemblyman who leads the mayoral race. In a social media post, Trump said Mamdani, quote, needs the money from me as president in order to fulfill all of his fake communist promises. He won't be getting any of it, so what's the point of voting for him? This is only the latest effort by Trump to intervene in the city's election. Ryan Mann and PR News, New York. An explosion at an apartment high rise in New York caused a 20-foot-tall chimney to break away. from the building and collapse. Today's incident sent tons of debris tumbling to the ground,

but there have been no reports of injuries. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. You're listening to NPR. Walmart says it plans to remove synthetic dyes and other food additives from its store brands sold in the U.S. The change, expected by 2027, could affect 1,000 products,

including power drinks and salty snacks. The announcement comes months after the FDA announced plans to remove petroleum-based dyes from the nation's food supply. A harbor seal has about 100 whiskers that can be used to sense water movements left by fish it wants to eat. Ari Daniel explains that understanding how those whiskers work could help engineers design underwater robots. Rainbow Trout can camouflage their swimming by bending into a sea shape and spinning off two vortex rings in opposite directions. Only one of them moves parallel to the fish, potentially confusing a harbor seal in pursuit. I wanted to know if a harbor seal can read that camouflage and still follow the fish.

University of Rostock biologist Yvonne Kruger trained a harbor seal to distinguish between two artificial vortex rings of different sizes, demonstrating it would be able to successfully hunt its prey. The results may inspire sensors that could help aquatic robots navigate. their surroundings. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel. A Western Pennsylvania man has decided to take up college sports later in life. Tom Sillo, who's 58 and a freshman at Lycoming College, recently played nose tackle during a junior varsity game against King's College. Sillow says he wants to become the oldest player since 2009 to compete in an NCAA game. This is NPR News.

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