NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-08-2025 5AM 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 Dave Manningley. Former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Comey is facing two felony counts, making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. He was indicted by a federal grand jury last month.

The charges stem from testimony Comey gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee five years ago about the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Members of the Texas National Guard have arrived in Chicago under orders from President Trump. Similar guard deployments to cities, including Portland, are on hold for now, as Andrew Schneider with Houston Public Media reports. Trump has federalized the Texas National Guard by invoking Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. It allows Congress to summon the militia to suppress a rebellion or whether the president is unable to enforce U.S. law with regular forces. Law professor Jeffrey Korn of Texas Tech University says that rationale may be difficult to argue in court. All these statements of war zones and Portland is a war zone and Chicago is the worst city in the world.

When these cases get into court, the administration lawyers have to back that up with facts. And to date, they have been unable to do that successfully. A U.S. District Court judge in Illinois is set to reconsider a request to block the deployment on Thursday. For NPR News, I'm Andrew. Schneider in Houston. President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, is expected to join the ongoing indirect talks in Egypt between Israel and Hamas today. They've been discussing the president's 20-point proposal for ending the war in Gaza. Hamas is seeking guarantees that Israel won't resume the fighting if the militants release the remaining hostages as part of that

peace agreement. The price of gold has reached another milestone, surpassing $4,000 and ounce. NPR's Maria Aspen has details. 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

good of a year in nearly half a century since the inflation crisis of 1979. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York. Wall Street futures are higher this morning. This is NPR News from Washington. Tennessee's special congressional election in December will pit Republican Matt Van Epps against Democrat Afton Bain. The two emerged as winners of their party primaries yesterday. They will face off to fill the seat left vacant by Congressman Mark Green's decision to leave the House for the private sector. President Trump is endorsing Van Epps for the state's 7th Congressional District, which includes parts of Nashville. researchers say there's more evidence that taking the stairs and other short bursts of physical activity can help a person's cardiovascular fitness. NPR's Alison Aubrey reports on studies of adults in

North America, the UK, and Australia. Short bouts of a few minutes of moderately intense movement a couple of times a day is linked to improved cardiorespiratory fitness, which is the ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the muscles. and sustain aerobic activity. Researchers studied adults who'd been sedentary and tracked progress over a few days, up to 12 weeks, explained study author Miguel Rodriguez of University of Oviedo in Spain. Small and consistent bouts of movement are beneficial for health and fitness.

Short bursts of exercise included climbing stairs and other leg exercises, such as leg presses, which also helped participants to build strength. Alison Aubrey, NPR News. The National Hurricane Center in Florida says Tropical Storm Jerry in the Caribbean will likely be moving near the northern Leeward Islands by late tomorrow or early Friday. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington. You care about what's happening in the world. Stay informed with NPR's State of the World podcast. In just a few minutes, we take you to stories around the globe.

You might hear the latest developments in world conflicts or about what global events mean for the price. of your coffee. Listen to the state of the world podcast from NPR.