NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-07-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

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The news is saturated with coverage of President Trump, but it is easy to get overloaded. So on Trump's terms, we bring you short, digestible stories, five minutes or less, about the 47th president. Listen for same-day developments on tariffs, the economy, and all of the ways that Trump is governing like no president ever has before. Trump's terms. Listen on the NPR app wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. federal workers are now in their seventh day of a government shutdown. They're not getting paid, but they are protected by a federal law signed by President Trump in his first term, guaranteeing back pay once the shutdown ends.

But today, Trump cast doubt saying whether furloughed workers get paid depends, suggesting some workers may not deserve to be taken care of. The top Democrat in the House, minority leader Hakim Jeffries, responded. Every single furloughed federal employee is in time. to back pay. Period. Full stop. The law is clear, and we will make sure that that law is followed. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republicans said there might be something to Trump's threats. It is true that in previous shutdowns, many or most of them have been paid for the time that they were furloughed. But there is new legal analysis. I don't know the details. I just saw a

headline this morning. I'm not read in on it, and I haven't spoken to the White House about it. But there are some legal analysts who are saying that that may not be appropriate or necessary in terms of the law requiring that back pay be provided. Trump made the threat as he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada at the Oval Office. The meeting centering on trade relations as one of the world's most durable and amicable alliances has been fractured by Trump's tariffs, trade war, and annexation threats. After weeks of threats, the first National Guard troops sent to Chicago by Trump arrived today at an arming trainee center outside the city. The Associated Press reports military personnel in uniform with the Texas National Guard patch were seen at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood. Chicago and state leaders are suing to stop the deployment. A federal judge has set a Thursday hearing before deciding.

Today marks two years since a deadly attack by Hamas militants on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza that goes on until today. NPR's Anas Baba reports from Gaza City that lives in Gaza have been shattered. For many here in Gaza, time hasn't moved forward. It stands still under the weight of rubble, famine, and the endless wait for a ceasefire. Khamis Al-Hilu is among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forcibly displaced to southern Gaza by Israel. His daughter, brother, and sister are among the more than 67,000 Palestinians that Gaza's health ministry has recorded killed by Israel in the war. Al-Hilu also lost his home. It was reduced to rubble by Israel's military in the war.

He says he hopes there is a chance for permanent ceasefire under President Trump's plan. So those still alive in Gaza have a chance at life again. And as Babo, NPR News, Gaza City. It's NPR News. The price of gold has broken yet another record, hitting $4,000 per ounce for the first time. As NPR's Maria Aspen reports, this surge in gold prices is a warning sign

about the health of the broader economy. Investors see gold as a safe haven, meaning that they buy it when they're worried about everything else. This year, they're worried about how President Trump, is reshaping trade and trying to influence the Federal Reserve and how all of this could eventually damage the global economic power of the United States. Wall Street seems to have mostly shrugged off these worries recently, sending stock markets to record highs. But the value of the U.S. dollar, which underpins the global economy, is another story. It's down about 10% this year.

Now investors are looking for another safe haven, and gold is the winner. It hasn't had this This good of a year in nearly half a century since the inflation crisis of 1979. Maria Aspen and PR News, New York. Help has arrived for more than 300 people trapped by heavy snow at campsites on Mount Everest. But more than 200 of them remain stuck in frigid temperatures. One person has died from hypothermia. Saturday snowstorms buried trails, stranding hundreds of tourists on the Tibet side of the mountain. Extreme weather is stalling rescue efforts.

The first Pope from the United States has announced his first international trip of his papacy. Pope Leo will depart the Vatican for Turkey and Lebanon at the end of November, both majority Muslim countries with Christian communities. I'm Amy Held in Washington, and this is NPR News.