NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-03-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: October 3, 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 Shay Stevens. President Trump met with his budget director Russ Vote Thursday to discuss spending cuts that would affect Democrats. In a post on social media, Trump said he and vote were going to determine how many so-called Democratic agencies to cut. Here's White House Press Secretary, Caroline Levitt.

We're going to look at agencies that don't align with the administration's values that we feel are a waste of the taxpayer dollar. And, look, unfortunately, these conversations are happening because we don't have any money coming into the federal government right now. Leavitt says the partial government shutdown is likely to result in thousands of layoffs. Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey says Democrats are not budging on their demand for an extension of health care tax credits expiring in December. Of course, we're not losing that messaging battle, and the reason why we know we're not, one, they're lying,

and they're lying because they're losing. There's nothing that Democrats have suggested in any way, shape, or form that is designed to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. Jeffrey says Democrats have not heard from the White House since the shutdown began. The heads of the Pentagon and Defense Department traveled to Memphis Thursday to witness the federal crackdown on crime there. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has the story. Speaking in front of both state and federal law enforcement,

as well as members of the National Guard, Defense Secretary Hague Seth said they had his support, as well as that of President Trump. We're not here to second guess you. We're here to have your back, to unleash you to do your job. job so you come home safely. Trump announced the federal task force to fight crime in the city, which is one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, although those numbers have been declining recently. Officials from more than a dozen federal agencies are out on the streets, and city leaders say National Guard troops are expected within the next two weeks. Democratic Memphis

Mayor Paul Young, while unhappy about the deployment, has largely been conciliatory. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Memphis. South Africa's president, Cyril Ramiposa, is urging Israel to release three. South Africans detained after a flotilla of aid ships was intercepted. One of the detainees is the grandson of former President Nelson Mandela. Kate Bartlett has more from Johannesburg. Late South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was a firm supporter of the Palestinian cause. His grandson, Mandela, has taken up that mantle and has been advocating an end to the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday night, he was among those detained on the flotilla, which also included activist Greta Tanberg. Ramaphosa called the blocking of the flotilla a quote grave offense. The South African government is pursuing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. For NPR news, I'm Kate Butler in Johannesburg. U.S. futures are flat and after-hours training on Wall Street following Thursday's gains. The Dow Jones industrials added 78 points. The NASDAQ rose 88 points. The S&P rose 4. This is NPR. The Energy Department is canceling millions of dollars in funding for hundreds of projects that the agency says did not adequately advance the nation's needs. The department says a quarter of some 321 projects were approved

in the final days of the Biden administration. The founding pastor of a Texas megachurch has pleaded guilty to five counts of child sexual abuse. As K-E-R-A Spinellifie Rivera reports, the allegations date back to the 1980s. Robert Morris started Gateway Church in 2000 and built it into one of the largest congregations in the country. Following his guilty plea, he was given a 10-year sentence, but will only serve six months in jail in Oklahoma, where the abuse took place. He will also be required to register as a lifetime sex offender and pay $270,000 to the victim, Cindy Clemishire. Clemishire went public about the abuse she endured for Morris in June of 2024. Since then, Gateway has faced a drop in attendance and donations and multiple lawsuits. Clemishire said the abuse

started when she was 12 and lasted more than four years. For NPR news, I'm Penelope Rivera in Dallas. Federal health officials have approved another generic version of the abortion pill Mitha Pristone. The move is outraged activists who are seeking a safety review of that drug. The group Students for Life calls the approval of another version of Mitha Pristone a stain on the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration says the agency has only limited say in the approval of generic drugs and does not endorse any product. This is NPR News. On the next through line from NPR.

People have real ethical and moral quandaries about this. People are uncomfortable from the very beginning. The business of migrant detention. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.