NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-05-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kreske Foundation with Pathbreakers, a podcast about transforming communities through innovation, from revolutionizing higher education to supporting artists who are driving change. Pathbreakers is available on podcast platforms. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shays Stevens. Socialist Democrat Zora Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City. Mamdani has capped a remarkable political rise by beating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Slewa. NPR's Brian Mann reports from New York. A year ago, Mamdani, who'll be New York's first Muslim mayor, was relatively unknown, and Cuomo was a political titan.

But last night, it was Mamdani declaring victory. The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynamism. Quoble was hobbled in this race by sexual harassment scandals that drove him from office in 2021. In his concession, Cuomo voiced anger at Mamdani's embrace of socialism. We support an economy of jobs, of opportunity, of entrepreneurship. But many of Mamdani supporters say his victory was assigned. Voters want new, more hopeful politics.

Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. Democrats won big on Tuesday. In Virginia, voters elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, and New Jersey voters have chosen Democrat Mikey Cheryl as their next governor. In California, voters have approved the new pro-democrat redistricting map, drawn in response to the Texas redistricting that added five new Republican seats in the U.S. House. Voters in Missouri's largest school district have voted in favor of a four-day school week. Details from KCURR's Jody Fortino.

The Independent School District, located in a Kansas City. suburb adopted the shorter week two years ago to attract more teachers amid a statewide shortage. But a new Missouri law requires that larger school districts get voter approval by the next school year to start or continue a four-day week. About a third of the state school districts are participating in a four-day week as they navigate how to keep educators while struggling with limited resources to raise salaries. Most of the school districts on the shorter week are small in located in rural areas, but the one in independents may push more suburban schools to consider changing their schedule. For NPR news, I'm Jody Fortino in Kansas City.

Crews are still trying to douse the flames from a massive explosion at the main airport in Louisville, Kentucky. A UPS cargo plane exploded during an attempted liftoff or a flight to Honolulu, killing seven people and injuring 11 others. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says the death toll may continue to rise. Anybody who has seen The images in the video know how violent this crash is. And there are a lot of families that are going to be waiting and wondering for a period of time. This year says the UPS plane struck a petroleum recycling company and an auto parts plant during the crash and indirectly affected others.

This is NPR. The U.S. military has attacked another small boat in the eastern Pacific. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsef says two people were killed in that attack. At least 64 people have been killed in U.S. military strikes on boats, the Trump administration, as insisted, were hauling drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific. Alabama is joining a host of states and local governments stepping in to help people who lost food aid because of the government shutdown. The Gulf States newsrooms Joseph King has details.

$5 million will go to food banks, $2 million from the Emergency Fund, and $3 million from the Alabama Department of Human Resources. $300 would be given to families enrolled in the temporary assistance for needy families program. Jamie Leo is the director of the Christian Service mission, a local nonprofit that assists food banks. Between the government shutdown, SNAP benefits, there's just a lot of need out there.

Food banks were already low on resources, and so this money will really help them. The Birmingham City Council also voted to release a million dollars of the city's reserves to help people with food needs. For NPR News, Joseph King and Birmingham. Some members of the U.S. Senate are holding closed-door meetings on how to end the now 36-day-old government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

Lawmakers from both parties say they hope to resolve a stalemate over expiring tax subsidies for people who are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, which is also called Obamacare. Meanwhile, President Trump is threatening to cut off more food aid, although a spokesperson for the administration says it is compliant with court orders to release the funds. futures are lower in 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 Cs apply.