NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-08-2025 2AM 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, I'm Shay Stevens. Travelers are facing delays at the nation's airports, and NPR's Giles Snyder reports that staffing shortages are hitting control towers as the government shutdown drags on. The list of airports reporting staffing shortages is widening. The FAA adding Houston and Dallas to the list that includes Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia, as well as control centers in Atlanta and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In Nashville, the FAA implemented a ground stop Tuesday evening due to insufficient staff.

to the flight tracking website, Flight Aware, there were more than 3,000 delays on Tuesday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that there has been a slight increase in controllers taking sick leave. And with controllers, as well as airport security screeners working without pay as the government's shutdown stretches on, union leaders are warning the situation could get worse. Trial Snyder, NPR News. In a combative hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi defended her leaders, at the Justice Department. As NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, Bondi also dismissed allegations that she's weaponized the DOJ. In many cases, she tried to deflect actually by going after

Democratic senators themselves. Here's an exchange with California's Adam Schiff, who said that Bondi was personally attacking Democrats instead of answering questions. Personal attacks. You've been attacking my FBI director. You've been attacked in my office. You've been attacked. We're interested in. What we're interested in is the answer to these oversight questions. So you were asked by my colleague, you were asked by my colleague, attacking good people. A regular word of Madam Shears, so I can ask a question. So this was a combative hearing at times, and that exchange gives you a bit of a taste of what it was like. NPR's Ryan Lucas.

Meanwhile, Republicans say the Biden administration weaponized the DOJ to target President Trump. And they say a 2003 FBI analysis of phone records as part of a phone probe into interference in the 2020 election. A Michigan town is finding strength in unity. Following a deadly attack on a local church, Zena Issa reports from Michigan Public Radio. Grand Blank, Michigan, about 50 miles north of Detroit, joined together at a memorial service Tuesday night to recover from the tragedy that struck the small, tight-knit community. Bridger Frampton, who was at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the shooting occurred, said he saw people in front of him and behind him get hurt.

He believes that despite the tragedy, the community, has a clear path forward. Tragedy struck, it's not allowed to stay. We get to choose now how we carry this forward. Other community members at the memorial noted that their future is defined by unity, mutual support, and determination to not let the violence define them. Zena Issa in Grand Blank, Michigan. This is NPR.

Thousands of people gathered in Southern Israel Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the war in Gaza. Indirect talks on a U.S. ceasefire plan that calls for the release of all remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza are continuing in Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the proposal, while Hamas is opposing a provision that calls for its disarmament. White House envoy Steve Whitkoff is set to join the talks on Wednesday. Chat-GPT maker OpenAI has spent a trillion dollars this year on energy to power its systems. As NPR's Bobby Allen tells us, analysts are warning that 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-a-I 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 percent and led to a recession. Bobby Allen and PR News. U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading on Wall Street following Tuesday's losses.

On Asia-Pacific markets, shares are mostly lower. but up a fraction in Shanghai. This is NPR News. Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kreske Foundation with Pathbreakers, a podcast about transforming communities through innovation,

from revolutionizing higher education to supporting artists who are driving change. Pathbreakers is available on podcast platforms.