NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-08-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: October 8, 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 on Krova Coleman, former FBI director James Comey, is scheduled to be a reigned this hour in Virginia. He faces two federal counts for allegedly making a false statement at Congress and interfering in a congressional investigation. Comey has maintained his innocence. He's also a critic of President Trump, who has been demanding that Comey be prosecuted. And Pierre Carey Johnson says

Trump's repeated insults of Comey could play a role in any trial. Donald Trump will not be in the courtroom, but he could be a main character, especially if Comey and his lawyer decide to make an argument about selective or vindictive prosecution, basically, that Comey would not have been prosecuted except for Trump's antagonism. The president's own words on social media and video could help advance that argument. And P.R.'s Kerry Johnson reporting. This is day eight of the federal government shutdown. Democrats and Republicans need to agree on a spending bill to end it and no agreement is in sight. This means federal government workers are being furloughed. Some essential workers, such as air traffic controllers, are on the job without pay. But a new White House memo

is raising questions about whether these workers will get back pay when the shutdown is over. From member station WAMU, Jenny Abamu, has more. 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 Coburn, at the National Institutes of Health. She still wants Democrats to hold the line. Am I 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. Stocks open mixed this morning as the World Trade Organization raised its forecast for international commerce. NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the Dow Jones Industrial average slipped about 13 points in early trading. The WTO expects global goods trade to grow by 2.4 percent this year, more than twice as fast as it had been projecting just a couple months ago. That's partly thanks to robust trade in computer chips and other products tied to

artificial intelligence. Tesla's rolling out cheaper models of two of its electric vehicles, the Model Y and Model 3 will both list for under $40,000. Tesla's trying to recharge sales, which have been hurt by increased competition and political backlash to CEO Elon Musk. And gold prices continue to sparkle. After topping $4,000 an ounce this week, for the first time ever,

gold continues to see strong demand from anxious investors seeking a safe haven. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow is now down about six points. You're listening to NPR. High-level talks open today in Egypt to try to end the war in Gaza. President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will be there, so will his envoy, Steve Whitkoff. Qatar's prime minister will also join.

Hamas negotiators say they're seeking guarantees from the U.S. that if they release hostages, Israel will put a final end to the war. President Emmanuel Macron is searching for a way out of France's political crisis. He's trying to avoid dissolving the French parliament and calling fresh legislative elections. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, Macron told his outgoing prime minister, who resigned Monday, to find a last-minute agreement among the divided political parties. Political scientist Corinne Melul says France's fifth republic has a two-round voting system meant to elect one majority party, that of the president, which then governs.

But she says it's no longer working in France's increasingly fragmented political landscape, where there is no majority in agreement in the center and the largest voting. blocks are on the right and left extremes. The two do not work together. There's no political culture of compromise, like Nordic countries, Italy, Germany, where you have coalition governments. It's the only way to put a government together. In France, she says governing with a coalition is not in the political culture. Eleanor Beardsley and Pierre News, Paris. Three scientists have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry today. Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yagi are being honored for research showing how molecules can be built into structures.

These structures could lead to the creation of new materials. I'm Corva Coleman and PR News.