NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-07-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Chicagoans are bracing for the deployment of National Guard troops. Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker says troops from Illinois and Texas's National Guard have already arrived and will begin operations in the city later this week. He says Trump is using troops as political pawns and is calling on citizens to document their activities. What we can't do is just sit idly by while these things are occurring. and that's why we've called on people to take action, like creating evidence for our court cases by pulling out their iPhones and their Android phones

and filming everything. President Trump characterizes Chicago as a war zone and has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act. That allows a president to dispatch the military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law. Illinois sued to block Trump's move. A judge gave the administration two days to respond to it.

A new White House memo is raising questions about whether furloughed federal workers will receive back pay after the government shutdown ends. From member station WAMU, Jenny Abamu reports. The White House is making the case that hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers are not automatically guaranteed back pay. The memo seeks to reinterpret a 2019 law passed during Trump's first term to protect furloughed workers, like Sarah Cobran at the National Institutes of Health. She still wants Democrats to hold the line. afraid of that consequence? Yeah, of course. I have, you know, dependents and a house and a mortgage and all those things, but I can't invest in every threat or I wouldn't survive it. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen helped write the 2019 backpay law. He says the statute is clear

and, quote, there's nothing the administration can do to change that. For NPR News, I'm Jenny Abamu. Chat, GPT maker OpenAI has spent $1 trillion this year on energy to power its AI systems. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, analysts are warning the AI industry's rapid spending could lead to an investment bubble. Open AI has inked about a trillion dollars in deals for AI data centers, processing chips on its GPUs, and cloud infrastructure. AI companies like OpenAI are energy guzzlers, and companies are scrambling to build more data centers to meet AI's massive power needs. Goldman Sachs estimates, AI-driven data centers are set to consume 8% of total U.S. electricity by 2030. The trillion dollars in open AI computing power deals, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the company's revenue falls far behind those commitments. Tech analysts say the massive spending into a technology, some consider overhyped, is reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s when the NASDAQ crashed 77% and led to a recession.

Bobby Allen and PR News. The price of gold has soared above $4,000 per Troy ounce for the first time. Analysts say many investors are seeking a safe haven to park their money as the U.S. U.S. government shutdown continues. This is NPR News from Washington. Peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Egypt on the two-year anniversary of Hamas's surprise attack that triggered Israel's war in Gaza. The talks focus on President Trump's proposal to end the fighting, which would require Hamas to disarm. Indian pilots are asking the country's aviation regulator to inspect all Boeing 787 Dreamliners operating in the

country. That's after a weekend incident revived safety concerns. NPR's Dia Hadid reports from Mumbai. The request came after a dreamliner abruptly deployed an emergency power system midair during an Air India flight to Britain. The device would normally be activated when an aircraft's engines lose power or its hydraulic systems register critically low pressure or its electrical systems fail. But the Federation of Indian Pilots says the emergency power system was engaged, expectedly. Air India told AP that an initial inspection found that all electrical and hydraulic parameters were normal and that the aircraft landed safely. In June, a dreamliner bound for London crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people. The cause is

still under investigation. Dear Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai. NFL kickers are making more long-distance field goals more frequently with many exceeding 60 yards. The shift has sparked questions. about whether the balls are altered. A rule change this year allows teams to prepare balls before game day. There have already been four kicks of at least 60 yards this season close to the single season record. I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.