NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-04-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Senate Republicans are again attempting to overcome Democratic opposition to a short-term spending measure that would reopen the government. They were unable to do so the last 13 times, and that's dragged out the shutdown to 35 days, tied now for the longest in U.S. history. Last time we went that long was during President Trump's first term. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed or work-eastern. without pay. Services are limited. The federal food assistance program, SNAP, ran out of money over the weekend. Even though the Trump administration said it was tapping into contingency funds, it says it can only pay out 50% this month of what people normally get. That stands to affect tens of

millions of people, such as Phoenix residentialise Hooks, who is unemployed and has a 15-year-old son. It's hard because he's in high school and when he comes home, he's hungry. That's okay, I'm like, no, it's not okay. Hooks is among 42 million people who depend on federal food assistance. Voters across Virginia are heading to the polls in central Virginia, where demographics and political leanings have led to a blue shift in the once red state. Radio IQ's Brad Cutner spoke to voters about what got them to the polls early today. Though they didn't want to say who they voted for in the race for Virginia governor between

Democrat Abigail Spamberger and Republican winsome Earl Sears, two voters. voters talked about why they voted. Keisha Spencer is a preschool center director in Chesterfield. She said federal cuts to programs inspired her to vote. Cutting things like Head Start is terrible for our community. These are children that's going to be taking care of us once we're old. 68-year-old retired CPA James Walker says he's voted every year since he was 18. He said it was his duty, responsibility, and privilege to vote.

I'm worried about my country. And I'm more concerned about that. And so to that extent, I think a more conservative approach. in this country is better at this time. For NPR News, I'm Brad Cutner in Richmond. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died. He was 84. NPR's Don Gagne looks back at Cheney's long tenure as a Washington power player. Dick Cheney grew up in Nebraska, flunked out of Yale, but eventually headed back to school.

By age 34, he was chief of staff to President Gerald Ford. He won a congressional seat in Wyoming and later was Defense Secretary to President George H. W. Bush. After a stint as CEO of the energy firm Halliburton, Cheney was named George W. Bush's running mate. He was an unusually influential vice president and an unwavering proponent of an aggressive U.S. military policy following the 9-11 attacks. That included going to war in Iraq to confront Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever found. Cheney, though, was unrepentant to the end. NPR News. It's NPR.

The World Health Organization estimates foreign aid from the U.S. and other countries will drop by as much as 40% this year. NPR's Jonathan Lambert says the WHO is advising those countries receiving aid to adapt long-term. The Trump administration's abrupt cuts to foreign aid have thrown many lower-income health systems into crisis. In the short term, the WHO is advising countries to prioritize essential health services like primary care and programs used by the most vulnerable. But the agency is also prompting countries to think about a future that's less reliant on foreign aid. In part, that would require governments to change tax policies to generate more

revenue to spend on health care. WTO is also calling on countries to expand insurance access to ensure that more people can get that care. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Comedian John Stewart says a daily show will keep going another year. Here's NPR's Mandalay-Del Parco. John Stewart told his audience the news on last night's show. The Daily Show will be coming back for another year.

Stewart will continue to be executive producer for the series through its 30th year, and he'll host the satirical news show every Monday through December of 2026. It's been a rocky road for late-night hosts. President Trump has lashed out against them for regularly mocking him and his policies. Earlier this year, CBS and Parent Company Paramount announced Stephen Colbert's late show is ending in May. And Disney briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel's show over his controversial monologue that mentioned the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Mandolite Del Barco, NPR News. This is NPR.