NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-24-2025 4AM 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 Shea Stevens. Half a million Americans will soon miss their first full paycheck as the government's shutdown drags on.

And millions are about to find out how much more they'll have to pay to keep their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is among Democrats who are worried about how their constituents are coping. I'm already hearing from Wisconsinites who are seeing doubling, tripling, quadrupling of their costs. As my Republican colleagues start hearing from their constituents, constituents, this hopefully will elevate as an urgent issue for them. Baldwin says President Trump's tax cut in spending bill contains the largest reduction in decades in funding for food assistance to low-income Americans. The top agricultural official in Texas is pushing back against the president's plan to

expand beef imports from Argentina. The tales from the Texas newsrooms, Lucio Vasquez. The Trump administration wants to quadruple beef imports from Argentina. Montana, an effort to bring down grocery store prices. But that plan isn't sitting well with U.S. cattle ranchers. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a longtime Trump supporter, says he sent some alternative ideas to the White House. He says the real problem is a shortage of cattle here in the U.S. We're at a 50-year low. The lowest number of cattle we've had on record since they're starting keeping records.

This week, the Trump administration announced it would allow ranchers to use portions of federal land for grazing purposes. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association says Trump's plan to buy more Argentine beef could create more chaos for producers while doing little to help consumers. For NPR news, I'm Lucio Vosquez in Houston. Target is cutting 1,800 corporate jobs as the retailer tries to revive sales and increase customer traffic. As NPR's Alina Selyuk reports, Target sales have been down or flat for nearly three years. Target says it's laying off 1,000 corporate employees, particularly managing. and it will not hire for another 800 open positions.

That's one of the biggest job cuts in Target's history, about 8% of the global team. And it's coming from Target's incoming CEO, Michael Fidelke. He's a longtime company executive who's getting the top job, despite investors' hopes for an outsider to shake up the retailer. Target sales have been flat or down for going on three years, as shoppers look elsewhere for cheaper prices or more unique offerings. Fidelke in a memo says job cuts are meant to simplify. complexity, quote, too many layers and overlapping work that slowed decisions and ideas. Alina Selyu, NPR News. Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its flights last night after an IT outage affected operations.

The carrier says it's implemented a flexible travel policy that includes hotel accommodations and ground transportations for displaced passengers. This is NPR. New York Attorney General, Letitia James, is set to make a court appearance today. The Justice Department alleges she committed mortgage fraud by listing investment property as a primary residence on a loan application. James denies the allegation originally coming from an official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The FBI has announced criminal charges alleging sports betting and rigged poker games involving the NBA and the mafia. Among the more than 30 people arrested, Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups is accused of rigging poker games run by organized crime.

The indictment also names Miami Heat Point Guard, Terry Rosier, who was cleared of wrongdoing last year, and former Toronto Raptor Center, Jonte Porter, who the NBA banned for life. A former British soldier has been acquitted of murdering two of the 13 unarmed civil rights protesters shot to death in 1972. NPR's Fatima al-Kasab has more from London. Bloody Sunday was one of the deadliest days in the decades-long conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles. A public inquiry in 2010 found none of the people who were killed posed any threat to the army. Only one British Army veteran was charged over the shootings. Soldier F, whose identity has kept secret, was charged with murdering two of the unarmed protesters

and attempting to murder five others. Today, a judge in Belfast said the soldiers involved had lost all sense of military discipline, but he said the evidence against Soldier F fell short, and he found him not guilty on all charges. Fatim Al-Kasab, NPR News, London. This is NPR News. Fall in love with new music every Friday. At All Songs Considered, that's NPR's Music Recommendation podcast, Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week.

Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, available wherever you get your podcasts.