NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-03-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Cora of a Coleman. This is day 34 of the federal government shutdown. If it lasts through tomorrow, it will equal the longest government shutdown ever. That was in early 2019. But NPR's Barbara Sprunt says a key deadline passed over the weekend. November 1st is a really important date here. In a lot of ways, it represents both sides of this shutdown. It's the day that Snap, formerly known as food stamps, ran out of money. People who want to go to the grocery store to use their food assistance. to buy groceries for their families, just don't have that money. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reporting. Today is the deadline for the Trump administration to respond to two federal judge's orders. The judges have ruled that the Trump administration must turn to contingency funding in the Agriculture Department to keep funding the food assistance program. The federal government shutdown also means flight delays persist. Air traffic controllers must stay on the job, but they're not getting paid.

The tracking site Flight Aware says there has. have already been more than 500 delays to, from, or within the U.S. today. President Trump says he has ordered the Pentagon to plan for potential military action in Nigeria. He says he's responding to violent attacks on Christians in Nigeria. Nigeria welcomes military assistance but pushes back on claims that only Christians are being persecuted. Officials say both Christians and Muslims are affected. And Piers Immanuel Akinwutu reports. President Trump warned that if Nigeria continues to allow the killing of Christians,

the U.S. military would intervene to, quote, completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. A Nigerian government spokesperson said assistance fighting insurgents was welcome, as long as its sovereignty was respected. This week, the U.S. designated Nigeria a country of particular concern for failing to protect Christians. It centers on attacks in north and central Nigeria, where mass killings by herders against farming communities

have displaced millions of people. The plight of majority Christian communities have led U.S. lawmakers to campaign for their protection. Emmanuel Akimoto, NPR News, Lagos. The Indiana Legislature is meeting this week to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Republicans. From member station WFIU, George Hale reports, one Indiana GOP lawmaker is still undecided.

At a town hall in Terre Haute, Indiana, Senator Greg Goode listened for hours as constituents lined up out the door waiting to share their objections. Kevin Chris said Indiana doesn't have to follow other states who are moving towards redistricting. District of California and Illinois are doing it doesn't mean we should do it. I remember my parents telling me just because other children play in the street doesn't mean you should do that.

No one spoke in favor of the proposal to add a Republican congressional seat to the already red state. Senator Good says he's keeping an open mind. For NPR News, I'm George Hale and Terre Haute, Inde. Indiana. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The White House says it's going to resume public tours very soon. These had been interrupted after President Trump tore down the east wing of the White House to build a ballroom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 students started missing a lot of school, but recently, attendance rates in some states have been steadily improving. NPR's Kaden Mills reports on new research that might explain more. California, Maryland, and Connecticut are among the states highlighted in a new report on chronic absenteeism. That's when K-12 students missed 10% or more of the school year. The report by the nonprofit Ed Trust credits those states for trying to address the root causes of chronic

absenteeism, including by investing in services like mental health supports and at-home visits. Carl Fulton III with Ed Trust authored the report. We need to prioritize investments and policies that focus on engaging students and families and making sure that they get the support that they need to show up daily. Felton says that's the proven way to get student attendance rates back up. Caden Mills, NPR News. Brazil's government has released a report saying that deforestation in its Amazon rainforest has fallen 11%.

This is from the 12 months that ended in July compared to a year earlier. The news comes just days before Brazil hosts the UN's climate situation. summit cop 30. Brazil says lesser deforestation is due to stronger enforcement and monitoring, but climate experts say Brazil is still approving drilling projects in the region and that wildfires also make the situation less clear. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.