NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-03-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: October 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The White House is turning up the pressure on Senate Democrats to vote in favor of a short-term funding bill that would reopen the government. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says it's Democrats, not Republicans, who are to blame for the ongoing shutdown. The Democrats continue to recklessly hold the American people hostage over their demands to give illegal aliens free health care. Republicans are fully unified behind passing nonpartisan clean funding bill. Democrats are demanding that a stopgap bill include an extension of federal health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. A vote is expected shortly in the Senate on two competing proposals to end the shutdown, both of which have failed multiple times this week. As President Trump expands his federal anti-crime interventions to more Democratic-run cities, crime experts are willing. watching closely to see how well they work. NPR's Martin Kosti reports.

The homicide rate dropped sharply in Washington, D.C. during the first two months of the federal intervention there. But Jim Birch of the National Policing Institute says that's not surprising. Any city in America with a 50% increase in their officers is going to be able to have some kind of impact on public safety. But that's not reality. That's not the fiscal reality. And I also don't think that's the long-term reality for these federal deployments. It's more of a short-term strategy, a shock and all, if you will. Now that National Guard troops have been ordered to Memphis and Portland, Oregon, criminologists are watching to see whether the crime deterrent effect can hold,

especially in places where local leaders and the community may oppose federal intervention. Martin Kosti and PR News. Drones spotted over Munich Airport forced dozens of flight cancellations, stranding passengers overnight. Similar sightings in Belgium and Denmark follow recent Russian airspace violations. NPR's Terry Schultz reports, Denmark's spy chief, is warning that Russia may be plotting sabotage attacks in Europe. The head of Denmark's Defense Intelligence Service did not reveal evidence directly tying Russia to last week's seven-day wave of drone sightings, but Thomas

Arnhil did cite a number of incidents to support the Danish government's statement that Moscow has launched a hybrid war on Europe. They want to create insecurity and discord between allies, he said. They want us to stop support for Ukraine and to prevent us from making decisions that go against their interests. Aren Kiel says the risk for Russian sabotage against Danish armed forces is now assessed at high, as is the potential for military provocation against other NATO countries. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. Stocks are trading mixed on Wall Street at the sour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 273 points.

The NASDAQ composite down 115. This is NPR News in Washington. Taylor Swift's new album, The Life of a Showgirl, marks her return to full-fledged pop music. But as NPR's Rachel Treisman reports, it's not all upbeat. Swift reunited with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shelbach, whom she worked with on Red, 1989, and Reputation. They made her 12th studio album during the European leg of her heiress tour, early in her relationship with her now fiancée Travis Kelsey.

Showgirl has plenty of pop melodies and love-struck lyrics, especially about Kelsey. In Wishlist, Swift sings about her desire for marriage and motherhood. But the album also warns about the dark side of fame. One song tells the story of betrayal by a music executive, another bites back at a fellow artist. The title track itself makes clear the life of a showgirl isn't always clear. But you don't know the life of a soul girl, babe. Rachel Treisman, NPR News. The most popular beer in Japan could soon be off the shelves after a cyber attack on the country's biggest brewery.

The Tokyo-based Asahi Group says the maker of Asahi Super Dry says it's dealing with system failure from the breach, which disabled order and shipment operations at most of its 30 factories. Stores say they're running out of the product. The company says it's working. to restore operations, but there's no timeline right now for that to happen. On Wall Street, the Dow up 271 points, the S&P 500 down 4. I'm Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.