NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-03-2025 9AM 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 Janine Herbst. Republicans and Democrats are still dug in on this third day of the government shutdown. Democrats want health care subsidies preserved. Republicans say it's too costly.

The White House says it may use the shutdown to fire thousands of federal workers. White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt told NPR today the administration is looking at which agencies they want to cut and who to lay off. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock. Basically, they're saying what we've cut off health care. and you either allow us to do this or we're going to lay off and in some cases fire thousands, thousands of federal workers. And that's what the Trump administration is doing right now.

And they're tweeting and they're bragging about it. Speaking there on NPR's Morning Edition, the Senate returns to vote today on another short-term funding measure. The Trump administration put on hold $2.1 billion in infrastructure projects in Chicago. On social media, OMB director Russell Votes says the cancellation of funding for two efforts to improve the city's transit system is to ensure that the money isn't going to race-based contracting. This says the administration targets funding in cities and states mostly led by Democrats, who President Trump blames for the government shutdown. Yesterday, votes said the administration was freezing $18 billion in federal funding for two major infrastructure projects in New York City. And as President Trump expands his federal anti-crime interventions to more Democratic-run cities, crime experts, are watching closely to see how well they work.

And here's Martin Costi 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. Sarah Malali is the new Archbishop. of Canterbury. The 63-year-old will lead the 85 million Anglicans around the world as the first woman to lead the church. She also served as the first female bishop of London. Bishop Malalley succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned from the post last November, after a report found he failed to investigate allegations of child sex abuse decades ago at a summer camp. Welby himself wasn't accused of abuse. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Denmark's intelligence chief says the likelihood is high that Russia will stage sabotage incidents against Danish and European armed forces. Terry Schultz reports the updated threat assessment comes amid more drone disruptions of European airspace. 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 Arnkeel 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 for making decisions that go against their interests. Arn 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. Victim impact statements will be heard today in New York in a courtroom before Sean Diddy Combs is scheduled to be sentenced in a criminal case that could put him in prison for years. The hip-hop mogul was convicted in July after an eight-week trial on prostitution-related charges, but he was acquitted of the more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.

Yesterday, he made a plea for leniency in a letter to a federal judge saying he was humbled by the criminal case and wouldn't commit another crime. Prosecutors say he should spend more than 11 years in prison. His lawyers want him freed based on time served. I'm Janine Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.