NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-01-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

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In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The U.S. government is shutdown. Congress failed to pass two short-term spending bills to keep agencies funded past midnight. NPR's Temery Keith reports President Trump says it might present an opportunity to cut more federal jobs and programs. White House staff put a video on loop in the press briefing room with old clips of congressional Democrats talking about what a bad idea government shutdowns are.

President Trump said the last thing he'd want to. want to do is shut it down. But a lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things, but they want open borders. They want men playing in women's sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stopped.

The White House has also threatened mass firings of federal workers. Democrats are pressing the White House and Republicans to negotiate with them on health care. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House. Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 750,000 federal workers could be furloughed during the shutdown. The Trump administration is instructing federal agencies to tell workers to blame the shutdown on Democrats. NPR Stephen Fowler reports some ethics experts say that message may violate the law. Federal employees across the government have been sent a message from the Office of Management and Budget. It reads in part that any lapse in government funding,

would be, quote, forced by congressional Democrats. Legal experts say that message and a banner on the housing and urban development website that blames the, quote, radical left for the shutdown could violate ethics laws. Republicans control both chambers of Congress but need Democratic support and the Senate to approve any government funding deal. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. The Prime Minister of Cotter says President Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza is facing challenges. NPR's A. Abitrawe reports his...

comments indicate the plan, which was drafted without consulting Palestinians, is not yet a done deal. Sheikh Mohammed Athani told Al Jazeera, officials from Egypt and Qatar are meeting with Hamas negotiators to convey their views on Trump's plan. He says Arab states agree the priorities are ending the war and preventing displacement of Palestinians outside the territory. But he says further principles of Trump's plan require discussion. Speaking through an interpreter, he added, And there are things that need clarification, that certainly need discussion and negotiation. As Hamas weighs the deal, another armed group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, says it's demanding clarification on the provisions in Trump's plan. The plan would have Hamas release all Israeli hostages at the start of a ceasefire before Israel commits to any part of the deal.

It also does not lay out a clear timeline for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, instead linking that to disarmament. Ayel-Batrawi, NPR News, Dubai. This is NPR. Tesla is raising lease prices on all of its vehicles in the United States. The move comes after a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles expired. That credit helped make EVs more affordable, but new rules passed by Congress have wiped out incentives for leasing or buying many new electric models. NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports sales of electric vehicles are expected to set a new record this quarter. EV sales have been booming lately, contributing to strong auto sales overall.

But there's a hangover coming. A buyer who hurried to buy an EV in September is a sale that won't happen in October or November. Matt Jones is with the auto sales site True Car. You may not have necessarily grown more business. You just condense the time frame in which it happens. Jones is a fan of gas-powered cars, but he says he can't deny that EVs are nice to drive. He thinks they will still appeal to drivers, even without a tax credit. But it'll take time for sales to stabilize after the spike and slump triggered by a deadline.

Kamila Dominovsky. NPR News. President Trump says his administration is close to finalizing a deal with Harvard University. The White House has been pressuring the Ivy League School with funding cuts and investigations, part of a push to change its policies and governance. A deal would mark a truce in a broader fight that's tested how independent elite universities can address government oversight. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.