NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-03-2025 3AM 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 says he's meeting with his budget director, Russ Fote, during the shutdown, to discuss ways to reshape the federal workforce and slash more spending. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the White House is trying to determine which agencies to cut.

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. Leibbitt says thousands of federal workers could be laid off as soon as today. 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 expiring tax credits for health care. 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 that Democrats have not heard from the White House since the shutdown began. The Energy Department is canceling billions of dollars in funding for hundreds of projects. The agency says did not adequately advance the nation's needs. The cuts target nearly $8 billion in grants, supporting hundreds of projects in 16 mostly blue states. They affect battery plants, hydrotect technology projects, power grid improvements, and other efforts. The Energy Department says a quarter of those projects were approved in the the final days of the Biden administration. Federal health officials have approved another

generic version of the abortion pill, Mitha Pristone. The move has outraged activists who are seeking a safety review of the drug. The group Students for Life calls another approval of a version of Mitha Pristone a stain on the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the FDA says the agency has limited, say, in the approval of generic drugs. More than 200 Ukrainians have returned home as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia. NPR's Hannah Panamarenko has details. In a video published by the State Border Service, the freed prisoners of war hugged their relatives and make phone calls.

A man wrapped in the Ukrainian flag tells his family by phone that he has returned from captivity. I'm back in my native Ukraine, he exclaims. The coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war reported that almost all of the freed Ukrainian military and civilians had been held captive in Russia since 2022. Some of them were exchanged in accordance with the agreements in Istanbul and some as part of the 69's exchange. Hannah Palomarenko, NPR News, Kyiv.

U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. An Atlanta journalist who's covered the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants is facing deportation to El Salvador. Mario Guevara was detained following his arrest during an anti-Trump protest in June. Guevara applied for asylum in 2005 but was deemed, was denied, and has exhausted his appeals. Meanwhile, the Maryland man, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and returned to the U.S. under court order has been denied asylum. Attorneys for Kilmar Obrego-Garcia say they plan to appeal. President Trump says drug cartels are unlawful combatants and the U.S. is in armed conflict with them.

The message follows three deadly U.S. strikes in the Caribbean, targeting boats, the administration says, were hauling illegal drugs. The U.S. recently dispatched eight warships and thousands of troops to the Caribbean. Trade officials are rejecting President Trump's proposal to move 50 percent of all chip manufacturers, to the United States. As Acheesh Valentine reports, America's appetite for Taiwanese chips is often seen as a deterrent from a potential Chinese invasion.

From smartphones to automobiles, Taiwan produces the vast majority of the high-tech chips modern technologies need. Many Taiwanese believe the global dependence on Taiwan's semiconductor industry helps protect the island

from a potential Chinese attack. Taiwan's chief negotiator, Zheng Li Zhu, emphasized she'd never promised Washington and the 50-50 split and would not agree to any such terms in the future. Agis Valentine reporting. This is NPR News. On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog

and get to what's important in the news. Close out the week with us on our Friday News Roundup. We're from reporters who've been embedded with the biggest news of the week. Join us every week for the Friday News Roundup. to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU.