NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-06-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: October 6, 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 Khorva Coleman. today is the sixth day of the federal government shutdown. There's no end in sight. Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the impasse.

President Trump says the shutdown means that he is laying off federal workers. He says that has already started. It's taking place right now, and it's all because of the Democrats. The Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs with their – it's a shutdown. It's their shutdown. It's their shutdown. Both sides are deeply set in their positions. Republicans are demanding the Democrats agree to a stopgap bill to lift the shutdown. Democrats say Republicans need to first rescind their deep cuts to federal health care programs.

The Senate is scheduled to vote today on a spending measure. A federal judge has again blocked President Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Oregon. This is the judge's second ruling on this issue this weekend. She found that the Trump administration did not meet a legal standard to deploy the National Guard. National Guard troops. Oregon and California had sued to block Trump's action. Meanwhile, President Trump has also ordered National Guard troops from Texas to go to Illinois, as well as Oregon. Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker is calling this action, quote, Trump's invasion. And that's not all. NPR's Tom Bowman reports defense secretary Pete Hegeseth has ordered the Illinois

National Guard to deploy in Illinois to protect immigration agents and federal facilities. The troops are expected to deploy to Chicago sometime this week. Higgs, as Saturday memo, says the troops are to protect facilities where, quote, violent demonstrations are occurring or could occur based on threat assessments. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has refused to deploy his guard, so President Trump has taken control by federalizing them. Sending guard troops to protect ICE agents and other federal offices doing their jobs could run afoul of the law. Tom Bowman, NPR News. Three scientists have been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine today. NPR's Rob Stein reports this is for their work, discovering how the human immune system is kept in check.

The three scientists are two Americans, Mary Brunco and Fred Ramsdale, and one Japanese, Shimon Sekiguchi. The researchers won for explaining something called peripheral immune tolerance. This is a key part of how the immune system protects but does not harm. the body. The Nobel Committee says the trio made groundbreaking discoveries that explain the function of cells the committee calls the immune systems security guards, cells called regulatory T-cells. Those cells help prevent other immune system cells from attacking healthy tissue. The three scientists will share more than $1.1 million. Rob Stein, NPR News. Andrew, listening to NPR News from Washington. Negotiators from

Israel and Hamas are supposed to hold indirect talks today in Egypt. It's about ending the war in Gaza. Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Hamas's invasion of Israel. President Trump and Arab nations are pressuring the negotiators to work fast. Israel is continuing to strike Gaza, killing dozens of people over the weekend. A study of hundreds of species of mammals finds females tend to outlive males. NPR's Alice and Aubrey reports the longevity gap mirrors what is seen in human. and offers clues on how to narrow it. Women are much more likely to outlive men. On average, men can expect to live 76 years

compared to 81 for women. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute studied 528 species of mammals and found females live about 13% longer in many species. Study author Fernando Colchero says genetics play a role, pointing to a protective effect of two X chromosomes, and risky mating behaviors are a factor too. This female advantage in longevity is something that goes back millions of years.

The sex that spends more time caring for offspring tends to live longer. Researchers say mimicking the preventive care habits of women could help narrow the gap. Alison Aubrey, NPR News. Hundreds of climbers have gotten stuck on Mount Everest. There's a storm that dumped heavy snow on their campsites. Rescuers have been able to reach about 350 other climbers who were trapped on Tibet side of Mount Everest. One report from a climber says the snowfall was so heavy that it had crushed tents. This is NPR.