NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-08-2025 8AM 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 Kora-Fa-Kulman. After two days of preliminary talks, high-level news.

Negotiations begin today in Egypt to try to end the Gaza War, and Piers Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. Negotiations begin today in Sharma-ish, Egypt, with high-level mediation by senior officials. President Trump has sent his envoy Steve Whitkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Qatar's prime minister is also taking part, and for the first time, so is Turkey's intelligence chief. Israel and Hamas have senior officials attending. They don't meet face-to-face, but mediators shuttle, between the sides. Both sides are voicing optimism. Hamas officials say they seek guarantees from the U.S. and other countries that if they release Israeli hostages, that will put a final

end to the war. Hamas says it presented its list of Palestinian prisoners. It wants Israel to release an exchange. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is day eight of the federal government shutdown. There is some slowness reported in air traffic. The Federal Aviation Administration is reporting staffing shortages at airports in Houston, Dallas, Boston, and others. Members of the Texas National Guard have arrived in Illinois under orders from President Trump. A federal judge in Oregon has blocked Trump's deployment of other guard troops to Oregon. Trump is appealing that decision. From Houston public media, Andrew Schneider, has more.

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. Federal Reserve Board Governor Stephen Myron says keeping interest rates too high could pose a risk to the U.S. economy. NPR Scott Horsley reports the White House economist turned central banker spoke to a group of financial managers in New York. Stephen Myron, who joined the Fed Board in September, cast the loan vote that month for a supersized rate cut.

He also projected two more jumbo rate cuts by December. forecast far more aggressive than anyone else on the Fed's rate-setting committee. One reason for why my, you know, sort of dot for 2025 sticks out so much from everyone else's is because I'm more sanguine on the inflation outlook than a lot of other people are. Myron says he expects housing costs to cool, and he doesn't believe Trump's tariffs will cause much of a jump in prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. A Missouri judge has approved language for a state ballot measure about

abortion. The Missouri Secretary of State has submitted a measure that says abortion would be allowed in certain circumstances. But critics say what it really means is that most abortions would be banned again in Missouri. Last year, Missouri voters approved a measure to guarantee abortion rights in the state's constitution. Researchers say there's more evidence that taking the stairs and other short bursts of physical activity can help improve a person's cardiovascular fitness. NPR's Alice and 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 cardio-respiratory 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 and Spain. Small and consistent vouch 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 and PR News. Three scientists have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Tsushima Kittagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yagi are being honored for research showing how molecules can be built into structures and then create new materials. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.