NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-01-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Vice President J.D. Vance is blaming Democrats for the government shutdown, saying they want to provide free health care to unauthorized immigrants. NPR's Mara Liason reports. The two sides are still far apart as the shutdown heads closer to a second day. Democrats say they won't vote to reopen the government unless the administration agrees to extend Obamacare subsidies for low-income individuals. Vice President Vance blames the Democrats. If you look at the legislative text that they gave us, they tried to turn on two separate provisions that would give health care benefits to illegal aliens. In fact, Obamacare subsidies or Medicaid or Medicare are only available for those who do have legal status in the U.S.

The exception is emergency rooms, which treat everyone regardless of immigration status. Mara Liason, NPR News, the White House. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed, others are expected to work without pay, until Congress reaches a deal to reopen the government, NPR's Andrea Shue reports. The Congressional Budget Office estimates some 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed. That includes roughly half of the Department of Agriculture, half of civilians working for the Defense Department, and close to three quarters of the Labor Department. Where most employees are still working, although mostly without pay,

include the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Transportation. Separate from the shutdown, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced layoffs of 1% of its staff, more than 100 people, including those in communications and the patents unit. That agency is not funded by Congress, but rather by user fees, so it remains operational. And reissue and PR News. The Supreme Court says Lisa Cook can remain a Federal Reserve governor for now. The court declined to act on the Trump administration's effort to remove her as he tries to reshape the historically independent agency. Justices will hear arguments in January over the case. The mayor of Memphis says that National Guard troops are not in the city yet.

That says President Trump's federal intervention there has begun, which will include more than a dozen other federal agencies. NPR's Kat-Lonsdorf reports. Speaking at a town hall, Mayor Paul Young told residents there's still a lot he doesn't know about the federal operation. He said a number of agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals are operating in Memphis right now. The National Guard is not one of them yet. We know that at some point they will come. Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said troops are expected in the next two weeks, adding that there are still a lot of unknowns about the deployment.

Everybody wants to know how many National Guard are coming? We don't know. U.S. Attorney General Pambondi says 53 people were arrested in the first 48 hours of the operation, which is expected to have a slow rollout and lasts for weeks, maybe months. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Memphis. closed up slightly today. This is NPR News from Washington. Israel's defense minister has ordered all remaining Palestinians to leave Gaza City, saying it's their last opportunity. Israel's defense ministry says that anyone who stays will be considered a militant supporter and face the full force of Israel's latest defensive.

Around 400,000 Palestinians have fled famine-stricken Gaza City in recent weeks, but hundreds of thousands remain. In the WNBA, players are expressing support for star player Nafisa Collier, who this week made strong criticisms of league officials about player pay and issues with referees. NPR's Becky Sullivan has more. The Minnesota Links Forward is one of the league's biggest stars, and she's known for being calm, cool, and collected. So it caught everyone's attention when, at her year-end press conference on Tuesday, Nafisa Collier unleashed a very pointed and very personal criticism of WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert. In private conversation, she said the commissioner had cast players as ungrateful and dismissed concerns about a link between poor refereeing and increased physicality leading to injuries. We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world.

But right now, we have the worst leadership in the world. In a statement, Commissioner Engelbert says she was, quote, disheartened by Collier's comments, but that she has the utmost respect for players and an unwavering commitment to them and their future as a league. Becky Sullivan and PR News. A new report on book bans in the U.S. Stephen King is the most band author this year in schools. Penn America says nearly 7,000 titles were removed from shelves in the 2024-25 school year. Around 80% of the bands originated in Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. From Washington, this is NPR News.