NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-15-2025 2PM EDT

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

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The federal government has shut down. What are lawmakers arguing about? And what does it mean for you? The NPR Politics Podcast is here to make sense of it all, giving you updates and news every day to keep you informed. The NPR Politics Podcast. Listen every day. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The federal government shutdown is more than two weeks old now. The GOP-led Senate will try again today for a ninth time to vote and pass. a spending measure that ends the political impasse that's affecting hundreds of thousands of federal workers. A federal judge holds a hearing today on a lawsuit challenging President Trump's decision to fire employees during the shutdown. And P.R.'s Jennifer Ludden reports that at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 300 workers have already been laid off. A HUD spokesperson says the layoffs are to align programs with the Trump administration's priorities. The agency did not provide specifics, but a union tally finds nearly a third of those cut are people who investigate

allegations of housing discrimination. HUD union steward Paul Osadabe says they do labor-intensive work that requires expertise. Looking through documents, interviewing people, sometimes going out to visit properties. And without that, it's not possible to enforce the fair housing laws Congress has passed. He says the layoffs appear to gut some entire offices that come on top of previous major cuts to HUD's fair housing staff, including an attempt to fire Ossedeby. Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington. Workers are worried about not getting paid as the shutdown drags on. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson talks about the impact on the military.

We are paying our military today. The Pentagon went into surplus funds and will be able to make the paychecks. Besson speaking to CNBC, Defense Secretary Pete Hacks. Seth is not yet saying if Ukraine's getting long-range tomahawk missiles against Russia, but Hexeth confirms. Firepower. That's what is coming. We expect it is coming from NATO.

And it was a historic summit just a couple of months ago, brought about by leadership of President Trump to say, we need our allies to step up. And they did, and they have in those commitments. Hexsth speaking ahead of a NATO meeting in Brussels today. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports, Hexseth has ordered all. service members to watch his recent address to general officers where he discussed what he calls the warrior ethos. In a memo obtained by NPR, Hegeseth made his recent speech mandatory viewing

for the entire U.S. military. Last month, Hegset had generals and admirals from all over the world, most with extensive battlefield experience, come to Virginia. There he gave a lecture about physical fitness, grooming standards, and what he calls woke policies that he says have tied the hands of U.S. troops at war. His memo instructs all personnel to view the talk by October 31st. This comes as Heggseth imposed a new press policy that reporters pledged not to gather information except press releases. No major news outlets, NPR included, have signed that pledge. Quill Lawrence NPR News. This is NPR News. The federal judge is blocking key aspects of a Texas law that seeks to limit expression

on public university campuses after dark. Hughes and Public Media's Bianca Seward has details. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Allen Ezra said, quote, the First Amendment does not have a bedtime of 10 p.m. The law imposes several restrictions during the last two weeks of a semester, including banning amplified sound, speaker events, and overnight encampments. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also known as Fire, sued the University of Texas System on behalf of several student organizations.

J.T. Morris is a individual. the senior supervising attorney with fire. Court applied the principles that should have. The analysis was very sound, so we're pleased with it. Fire is now seeking a permanent injunction. I'm Bianca Seward in Houston. Declaring it is time for a new generation of leadership, U.S. representative, Seth Moulton, says,

he plans to challenge Senator Edward Markey for the Democratic nomination in next year's Senate race in Massachusetts. The race between 46-year-old, Moulton, and 79-year-old Markey is expected to be one of the most anticipated primary contests in the U.S. A bipartisan group of 15 governors is working to improve public health coordination and emergency response. The governor's public health alliance launched today involves top state and U.S. territory leaders who collectively represent more than a third of the country's population.

The Dow is up 35 points. It's NPR News. Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of fresh. Air. Hey, take a break from the 24-hour news cycle with us and listen to long-form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians, and musicians, the people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the Fresh Air Podcasts from NPR and WHOYY.