NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-04-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Voters in several states are choosing new governors, mayors, or voting up or down major ballot measures. NPR's Ashley Lopez is following the three-way race for mayor of New York City. The frontrunner for that race is Zora Mamdani, who is 34 years old and he's a member of the New York State Assembly. He won the Democratic primary this summer, which surprised a lot of folks because he was relatively unknown when he entered the race. and he beat a former governor in that primary contest, Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo decided to stay on the race by running as an independent. In the last days of the campaign, Cuomo has gotten some big endorsements, including the presidents.

But this hasn't been an easy fight for him. Mamdani has a very energetic grassroots campaign that has engaged a lot of young voters in the city, especially on affordability issues. That's NPR's Ashley Lopez. The Republican nominee is Curtis Lewa, the founder of the anti-crime organization Guardian Angels. The three are competing to succeed. Eric Adams. The government shutdown is placing new strain on federal workers in high-stakes jobs, the people responsible for keeping the public safe. Here's NPR's Windsor Johnston.

TSA agents, air traffic controllers, and other federal workers responsible for public safety are showing up for duty without pay, and for many, the stress is mounting. You know that you have to show up for work, even though the whole part of your body is saying, no, it's not okay, it's not fair. I'm not being paid for my critical work. Martha Wadsworth is a psychology professor at Penn State University. She says that kind of chronic stress can interfere with the very judgment these workers rely on to keep others safe. She says the longer the shutdown drags on, the deeper the impact. And for federal employees with families, the pressure is even greater, both on and off the job.

Windsor Johnston and PR News, Washington. The United Nations says people in southern Gaza have seen improved access to food since the start of a ceasefire. But as NPR's Aibatrawi reports, food insecurity remains acute in northern Gaza where a famine was declared over the summer and where no food aid convoys have been allowed entry by Israel in two months. The World Food Program says meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables remain very rare in Gaza. The agency says Israel is only opening two crossings into Gaza. severely limiting how much aid can be brought in. Food supply remains insufficient, and families are still struggling to put food on the table nearly a month into the ceasefire. The UN Humanitarian Agency Ocha says around 20% of households in Gaza report still eating only one meal a day. That's

despite more bakeries and food kitchens now operating and the distribution of UN food parcels to a million people in recent weeks. And with no electricity or enough cooking gas entering, the UN says most are still burning trash to cook with. The Israeli agency responsive, for facilitating aid to Gaza, has not commented on the continued impediments. It's NPR news. The world is still on track for damaging climate change impacts, according to a new report from the United Nations. The findings come just before international climate negotiations begin in Brazil next week. Here's NPR's Lauren Summer.

Many countries have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, which are warming up the atmosphere like a big blanket. But right now, they're not hitting those goals. The world is still on track for 5 degrees Fahrenheit of warming by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial temperatures, according to the United Nations Environment Program. Research shows that would create more extreme storms, heat waves, and droughts. Countries are gathering next week to discuss their climate change efforts, but the U.S. is not planning to send an official delegation.

In its first day in office, President Trump announced that the U.S. would pull out of the international agreement on climate change. Lauren Summer, NPR News. Norway's sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla's biggest investor, says it will reject a proposed compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Marcus Bank Investment cites several concerns, including with a total size of the award. The package could pay Musk as much as a trillion dollars over a decade. Today, California voters are deciding on Proposition 50, which would enact a new

congressional map that may flip up to five GOP held house seats in the midterms. In Pennsylvania, votes are being cast on whether to retain three justices on the state Supreme Court, which currently has a five to two Democratic majority. U.S. stocks trading lower, the Dow's down nearly 300 points. It's NPR News.