NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-05-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: October 5, 2025

NPR News: 10-05-2025 2PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Nora Rom. The Trump administration says Hamas has accepted its plan to release Israeli hostages. Ahead of tonight's deadline imposed by President Trump, NPR's Luke Garrett reports talks continue on who will govern Gaza after the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says nothing is guaranteed, but he celebrated President Trump's peace plan.

Here's Rubio on Fox News. Hamas has accepted the entire construct of President Trump's proposal for releasing the hostages. This plan has Hamas releasing all remaining 48 hostages. hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. Rubio says he is confident in this first phase, but the second portion, deciding who will govern Gaza after the war, that is still under negotiation. We've got a general outlines of it, and which Hamas is generally accepted, though not entirely. Some of it is going to have to be discussed moving back and forth. In Trump's 20-point plan, Hamas has no role in governing Gaza, and it allows for a Palestinian state. Luke Garrett

and PR News, Washington. The Pentagon is calling up at least 300 members of the Illinois National Guard into federal service. A memo seen by NPR says they'd be used to protect immigration and customs enforcement, the Federal Protective Service, and other federal employees. The deployment would last 60 days. It's expected to begin sometime this week. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzkerd says this is unnecessary and not a serious effort to protect safety.

He said it's the ICE agents who are causing trouble in Chicago. The raiding neighborhoods where, in the United States, where in the United States, instead of going after the bad guys, they're just picking up people who are brown and black and then checking their credentials. Are you a U.S. citizen? I don't know about you, but I don't carry around papers that say I'm a U.S. citizen. So you can imagine people are getting detained, they're getting arrested, U.S. citizens. He was interviewed on CNN. Federal workers and contractors at a town hall held by a Virginia Democratic congressman say their livelihoods have been disrupted by the federal shutdown. But they urged Democrats to continue it.

from Member Station WAMU, Margaret Barthal, reports. Jason Moses is a 23-year Army veteran who has also served in federal civilian roles. His first shutdown came in 1995 when he was about to deploy on a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia. Now, he's a federal contractor and says his paycheck may be affected if the shutdown continues for multiple weeks. He is usually frustrated by shutdowns, but says he supports this one. I didn't raise my arm to protect the U.S. Constitution from all threats foreign and domestic to watch the U.S. Constitution be shredded by the current administration. Dozens of attendees voiced agreement with him at the event.

Suha's Subramaniams District in the D.C. suburbs is home to more than 36,000 federal employees. For NPR News, I'm Margaret Barthell in Arlington, Virginia. The government shutdown is now in its fifth day. This is NPR News. Steep discounts on college tuition are fueling skepticism about the value of higher education. From member station GBAH in Boston, Kirk Carrapeza reports a new study finds that families are confused about the real cost of college. Tuition discounting is the practice private colleges have long used to manage revenue, cut in cost for some students while keeping a higher sticker price for others. Now the Strata Education Foundation reports public universities facing funding caps and enrollment declines are adopting the same approach. In the past decade, the share of undergrads at public four-year schools receiving aid rose from 49 to 62%.

Average discount rates also jumped from 24 to 31%. The result? Families are left confused and skeptical about the real cost and value. of college. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Carrapeza in Boston. Typhoon Matmo made landfall in China today, with maximum sustained winds of 94 miles per hour. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. Businesses are closed and air flights canceled. The airport in Vilnius Lithuania reopened today, afterwards shut down last night, by balloons. As many as 25 small hot air balloons entered Lithuanian airspace. Some of them were carrying smuggled cigarettes. Officials say they delayed flights for hours, affecting nearly

6,000 passengers. Europe has been on alert after drone sightings in recent weeks. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.