NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-23-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: October 24, 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. More than 1 million federal workers will soon miss another paycheck due to the government shutdown.

As NPR's Andrea Shoe reports, community organizations are being flooded with requests for help. The Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, created its Federal Workers Solidarity Fund earlier this year to help federal employees who'd lost their jobs in mass layoffs. Now, with tens of thousands of federal workers in the region, going without paychecks during the shutdown, Applications for emergency assistance have soared. Sig Males is the group's director. It's folks asking for food assistance, it's rent, mortgages, its utility bills, and car payments. Elsewhere in the country, credit unions have seen a surge in applications for short-term

interest-free loans, which they're providing to help their federal employee members bridge the gap until the shutdown ends. Andrea Shue and PR News. The U.S. Senate has again rejected two competing bills to pay some federal workers during the shutdown. Meanwhile, some furloughed workers are being called back to work to manage open enrollment for Medicare supplemental insurance plans. President Trump has called off a federal surge in San Francisco that had been planned for this weekend. As NPR's Kat-Lonsdorf reports, Trump says the decision follows his conversation with tech industry executives. Trump says he got calls from Mark Zuckerberg and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, among others, asking him to hold off.

The president also posted that he had a phone call with San Francisco. Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, about crime in the city. Lurie has confirmed that call and says that he told Trump that crime is down and San Francisco is, quote, on the rise. But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at Coast Guard facilities in the area this week with protesters gathering outside. Trump has also said he wants to send National Guard troops into San Francisco, something he's done in several other Democratic-led cities. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Washington.

California wildlife officials say they've seized thousands of pieces of elephant ivory and suspected rhino horns in Los Angeles County. Details from NPR's Nate Roth. California prohibits the sale of ivory and rhino horns, as do 10 other U.S. states, because of the trade's horrendous effects on wildlife. Poaching of elephants and rhinos has caused steep declines in populations globally. Law enforcement officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife say they found what appear to be at least nine rhino horns, thousands of pieces of elephant ivory, and several large, intricately carved tusks, and a sea turtle shell. Officials say they've linked the suspected trafficked animal parks to an L.A. County business. They say they're going to forward that

information to the local district attorney. Nate Rot, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. More than 30 people have been arrested on federal charges of colluding with gamblers who bet on on games. Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat, point guard, Terry Rozier, and Center Jonte Porter, who previously played for the Toronto Raptors, are implicated in the scandal. Billups is accused of rigging poker games run by organized crime groups. The Trump administration has finalized this plan for expanded oil and gas drilling on one and a half million acres in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The plan calls for at least four lease sales over the next decade. Environmentalists consider the pristine Alaska wilderness,

the crown jewel of the nation's public land system. Broadway musicians and producers have reached a tenet of three-year contract agreement averting a strike that would have shut down 23 musicals. Jeff London reports it was a dramatic last-minute turn of events. Following an all-night negotiation, local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians in the Broadway League, the Association of Producers and Theater Owners, came to an agreement at 4.30 a.m. According to the Union, the three-year deal provides both meaningful wage and health benefit increases while maintaining strong contract protections. The Union had been working without a contract since August 31st. The agreement still needs to be ratified by

members, as does an agreement between producers and actors who settled less. Last week. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply.