NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-04-2025 1AM EDT

Episode Date: October 4, 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 New York City, I'm Dua Halisa, Cal-Town. President Trump and his budget director Russell votes say the government shutdown has given them an opportunity to cut programs they don't like or order mass layoffs. And Piers Andrea Shue reports some federal workers point out the administration's already doing that. Even before the shutdown, the National Institutes of Health had gone through mass layoffs and seen the cancellation of hundreds of research grants.

Those moves have been challenged in court, but for now the Supreme Court has allowed them to stand. Mark Highstead, a brain scientist with NIH, is part of a coalition of civil servants who say the president is overstepping his power. Heistead spoke in his personal capacity. Trump, with Russell, vote, has been taking this power, seizing this power from Congress and ignoring the Constitution. The White House argues the Constitution gives the president the power to run the executive branch as he sees fit. So far, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court largely appears to back that view. Andrea Hsu and PR News. Shortly after Hamas agreed to release all Israeli hostages dead and alive,

President Trump told Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza. And Piers Ayabatra explains that the finer points of Trump's proposal still need clarification. Basically, Hames said they agreed to release all the Israeli hostages. That means 20 who are alive and about 28 who are dead. And according to Trump's plan, that would have to happen in the first 72 hours of a ceasefire. But what Hamas said is that actually it's based on field conditions. And so what does that mean? Basically, a Hamas leader went on Al Jazeera soon after and said it could be months before the bodies of the hostages are found.

It's believed to be some of them could be buried under tunnels that are destroyed or in areas that would need heavy machinery that's not available in Gaza to reach. To date an estimated 66,000 Palestinians, 20,000 of them children are dead, according to health officials in Gaza. The U.S. Supreme Court has again allowed the Trump administration to end temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants. More on this from NPR's Sergio Martinez-Biltron. In a 6-3 ruling, Supreme Court justices sided with the Trump administration and said it can take away the temporary protected status from Venezuelans in the U.S. This while the case continues to be litigated. The decision is expected to affect more than 300,000 Venezuelans who have been in a legal limit. since earlier this year when the administration moved to end TPS for them.

Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Noam, has said Venezuela no longer meets the conditions for TPS and that the designation would be, quote, contrary to the national interest. This latest ruling means the Venezuelans are now subject to deportation. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin. And you are listening to NPR News from New York. The Church of England has named a woman as its top leader for the first time. Sarah Molli is the new Archbishop of Canterbury, leading the world's 85 million Anglicans. And Perez-Lorne Frere reports from London.

Mulali is a 63-year-old mother of two who first trained as a nurse, then an Anglican priest, then a bishop. She also sits in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the UK Parliament. and was the youngest person ever appointed as chief nursing officer for England. Mulali replaces Justin Welby, who resigned as Archbishop, after an inquiry found he failed to report child abuse at Christian summer camps. She'll lead a church divided over the consecration of women as bishops and the treatment of LGBT people. A group of Anglican churches in Africa and Asia has already said it rejects Mulali's appointment,

saying it shows the English arm of the church has, quote, relinquished its authority to lead. Lauren Freyer and PR News, London. An Atlanta-based Spanish-language journalist who had been detained for more than 100 days since live streaming, a No King's protest in June was deported from the U.S. on Friday. Hours later, according to local media, Mario Guevara, arrived in his native country of El Salvador. A court of appeals rejected his plea to remain in the U.S. for fear of retribution in his homeland for his media cover. The American Civil Liberties Union said the Emmy-winning journalist, who has lived in the U.S. for two decades, was not allowed to say goodbye to his wife and three children. I'm Dwaal-Li-Caoutal, NPR News.