NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-02-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

NPR News: 10-02-2025 12PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. It's day two of a government shut down with no deal in sight. House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to blame Democrats for the impasse. If they choose to vote against this clean, completely nonpartisan CR, then they will be choosing to shut the government down and they will owe the consequences of what happens following that. Democrats are holding firm demanding an extension of federal health care substance. subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. NPR, Selena Simmons-Duffin reports a new analysis finds premiums on those plans are set to double. This goes back to a 2021 law that created enhanced premium tax credits. Those run out at the end of December unless Congress acts. Cynthia Cox of the Health Research Organization, KFF, just co-authored an analysis on what will

happen to people's premiums next year. On average, we're expecting premium payments by enrollees, to increase by 114% if these enhanced tax credits expire. So that means a lot of people are going to have to pay double the monthly premium they're paying now. Or they might switch to a plan with a much higher deductible, or they might lose their coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if the enhanced tax credits expire over the next several years, 4 million people will become uninsured. Selina Simmons-Duffin and PR News, Washington.

Authorities in the United Kingdom have arrested two more suspects in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester today that left two people dead and three in serious condition. Police say the suspect drove a car into the building and began stabbing people. That suspect was shot dead by police. The attack which authorities call an act of terrorism came on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. President Trump held talks with the leader of Kauter today. the call came just days after Trump put forth a U.S. proposal to end the war in Gaza. NPR's Aibatrawi reports. President Trump's call with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani comes two days after Qatari mediators submitted the president's proposed peace plan to Hamas negotiators in Doha. Hamas, which would have to free all hostages it still holds up front in the plan, is said to be seeking more specifics on the deal.

For example, Trump's plan does not define a clear role for Palestinians to govern Gaza, and in Instead, would see an international board chaired by Trump managing affairs for an undefined period of time. It also does not set out a clear timeline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, linking it instead to Hamas's disarmament. Trump told reporters this week Hamas would have just a few days to respond to his plan, but Qatar's prime minister says there are elements of it that require further discussion. Ayapotrawi, NPR News, Dubai. Stocks are trading mixed on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow was down 96 points. The NASDAQ up 14.

This is NPR. Hundreds of celebrities have relaunched a committee to defend free speech that was first formed during the post-World War II Red Scare. NPR's Anasasasius Lucas reports the group is spearheaded by actor and activist Jane Fonda, whose father, Henry Fonda, stood against the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era. Pedro Pascal, Mark Ruffalo, Billy Elish, and Spike Lee are among the nearly 600 entertainers to join the newly reformed committee for the First Amendment. The group says the federal government is engaged in a, quote, coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry. The Committee for the First Amendment first launched in the

1940s when the House on American Activities Committee accused many Hollywood actors and writers of being communists or communist sympathizers and derailed their careers. Other members of the newly reformed group include TV show creator Quinter Brunson, musicians Barbara Streisand and Janelle Meney, and actors Anne Hathaway and Ben Stiller. Anastasi A Zilkus and P.R. News, New York. A skateboard that helped Tony Hawk make history just sold for more than a million dollars. Hogg used the board to land the first ever 900, a two and a half spin midair trick at the 1999 X Games in San Francisco. The proceeds will go to the Scape Park Project, Hawks' nonprofit that builds skatebarks in underserved communities.

On Wall Street, the Dow is down 92 points. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.