NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-01-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

NPR News: 10-01-2025 8PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from NPR sponsor, Subaru. All month long, Subaru is helping shelter pets find loving homes, including the hard-to-adopt underdogs. Learn more at Subaru.com slash pets. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Vice President J.D. Vance came to the White House press briefing today to make the Republican case for ending the government shutdown. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, most Democrats are withholding votes on funding legislation to negotiate, an extension in tax credits to help make health insurance more affordable. Both sides are trying to convince the public that the other party is to blame for the shutdown. And Vice President Vance used the briefing to repeatedly blame Senate Democrats.

They're trying to take a hostage and we're not going to let them. On the issue of health care, he says that's not a conversation for right now. We think that we can open the government and then have the conversation about what best health care policy to fit the needs of the American people. That's all we're trying to do. That's all we're trying to accomplish. We've got to reopen the government first. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey says Democrats are willing to sit down with anyone anywhere to negotiate. But that's not happening. Tamara Keith, NPR News.

Thousands of misconduct cases filed against federal prison employees have been left unresolved for years. That's according to a report released this week from the government accountability office. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports, that backlog of cases can have consequences for other aspects of prison life. According to the GAO, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has more than 12,000 employee misconduct cases waiting to be looked into. About one-third of those cases have been open for three or more years. That matters because if a guard is being investigated, they're often pulled off their rounds while the case is open. That's according to Greta Goodwin, who directs the GAO's Homeland Security and Justice team. That does not help BOP staffing challenges, because that's one

guard who is available to do the work that needs to be done at BOP. Goodwin says that can affect things like employee well-being and programming in health care for prisoners. Meg Anderson and PR News. A federal judge says the Trump administration must continue to provide millions of dollars in disaster funds to states. NPR's Rebecca Herscher reports the affected states are all currently run by Democrats. The funds in question come from the federal emergency management agency, FEMA. They total about $233 million and are used to train and pay salaries for local first responders, among other things. The money is supposed to go to 11 states, including California,

New York, and Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. The Trump administration is trying to block those states from receiving the funds in what Democrats say is an attempt to punish jurisdictions for not cooperating with immigration enforcement efforts. The states sued to retain the funding. Now, a judge says the money must continue to flow while the lawsuit moves through the courts. Rebecca Hersher, NPR News. Stocks rose to more record highs today. The SMP 500 climbed three-tenths of a percent to top its prior all-time high, which was set last week. This is NPR News. Investigators in Colorado are reviewing the 2005 shooting death of journalist Hunter S. Thompson,

which was ruled a suicide. There's no new evidence suggesting foul play in Thompson's death, but County Sheriff's Office started the review at the request of his widow, Anita Thompson. Thompson popularized a first-person form of gonzo journalism in articles and books like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A harbor seal has about 100 whiskers, and it can use them to sense the water movements left by the fish it wants to eat. Ari Daniel explains 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. AOL's dial-up internet has officially logged off. Formerly America Online, AOL introduced households to the internet, with its series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone used to connect computers online. The company ended the service yesterday. I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington. 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.