NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-01-2025 8AM 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 government is shut down this morning. Federal agencies went dark shortly after midnight when Congress failed to pass two short-term funding bills. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed and many public services have come to a halt. NPR's Claudia Grasales reports there's no clear path to a deal that would reopen the government.

The tightly held Republican-led Senate saw stopgap proposals from both parties failed last night. so they'll vote again to reach a required 60-vote threshold. Republicans will likely need at least eight Democrats to vote with them, and they're hoping to build on some defections from the first round of voting. But most Democrats are voting no to get bipartisan talks to address soon to expire subsidies for the Affordable Care Act program that will force premiums to spike. As much of the government shuts down, some critical federal workers who will stay on the job unpaid, such as airport security personnel and air traffic controllers, while programs like

Social Security, Medicare, and national security will continue. Clyde Riesales, NPR News. One of the first programs that could be impacted will be WIC, federal food assistance for low-income mothers and children. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont says his state has a little cushion, but not for long. About 50,000 mothers and infants who get a lot of food support. through that program. I think we have reserves in place that can keep us going for the near term, but just the very near term. A poll released yesterday by NPR, PBS News, and Marist says

Republicans would get more of the blame for a shutdown than Democrats. But nearly a third of respondents said they would blame both parties. A massive flotilla of private ships attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver food is approaching Israeli waters. NPR's Emily Fang reports Israel's military is preparing to detain the hundreds of people on board. The boats organizers say they were circled by a warship belonging to the Israeli military early Wednesday. But they vowed to press on, even though Italy has withdrawn its naval escort. Meanwhile, Israel's military said this week that they'd found Hamas documents linking two of the flotillas organizers to the group. And Israel has repeatedly called the flotilla a provocation.

Israeli television reports the military has prepared a large ship with detention cells to hold activists who refused to be voluntarily deported. All previous flotilla attempts have been intercepted. In 2010, Israel raided another Gaza flotilla, killing nine of the passengers on board and leaving 10 Israeli soldiers injured. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News in Washington. A federal court in El Paso will hear arguments today in a lawsuit challenging a mid-decade round of congressional redistricting in Texas. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports plaintiffs are seeking to block the new map from taking effect before Texas congressional candidates have to file for next year's elections.

Republican state lawmakers passed the map in August under pressure from President Donald Trump and Governor Greg Abbott. Attorneys for Texas contend the map as a purely partisan gerrymander designed to maximize Republican gains. But Voting Rights Attorney Chad Dunn says the map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. It has been the law for decades, long before even the Voting Rights Act was passed, that a legislature cannot draw districts on the basis of race. And that's exactly what the legislature did here. Plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to block the new map from taking effect before candidates have to, to file for the 2026 midterms. Whichever party loses that decision could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. This year's Fat Bear Week champ has been crowned, and the distinction goes to 32 chunk. The burly brown bear weighs in at roughly 1,200 pounds and sports a distinctive scar and a jaw injury that never fully healed. The annual competition now in its 11th year celebrates the fattest bear at Alaska's catmine National Park, as they tried to pack on the pounds for winter hibernation. On Wall Street, Dow futures are trading lower at this hour. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.