NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-07-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Air carriers have begun reducing domestic flights at dozens of major U.S. airports as the government shutdown drags on. Delta and United Airlines are confident that they can accommodate most ticket holders because of below demand around this time of year. NPR's Joel Rose reports on the reasons why the FAA ordered the flight reductions. The official explanation from the FAA is that it's necessary for safety. The government shutdown is clearly taking a toll on air traffic controllers who are required to work without pay. Some of them have taken on second jobs. Many are calling out sick. And overall, the air traffic control system had been working fairly well during the shutdown until this past weekend, when we did see some staffing shortages at dozens of facilities around the same time.

And peers, Joel Rose, speaking on all things considered. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has forced federal workers to go weeks without a paycheck. And community organizations are stepping. up. From Member Station, W.A.M.U. Jackson Sineberg reports on how one school district in the Washington, D.C. area is helping out. Arlington is the first Virginia suburb you hit west out of D.C. and home to the Pentagon. It's a hotbed for federal employees. That's why the superintendent of Arlington Public Schools asked the district to come up with ideas to help families. One solution, serve dinner at three schools while the shutdown lasts. Arlington Public Schools Frank Belavia. When you think about communities, you think about the schools that are there, and these really are the backbones of the community. So us being here

and doing this means is nothing different. The school system plans to serve 250 meals at each school every weeknight for 30 days, or until the shutdown ends. For MPR news, I'm Jackson-Sinberg in Washington, D.C. It's been nearly one month since Israel secured the release of its last surviving hostages from Gaza. Their testimonies about life and captivity are now beginning to emerge. As Itey Stern reports from Tel Aviv, one former captive says he was sexually abused in captivity. Romber Slavski, an Israeli soldier, was kidnapped from a music festival in southern Israel and held in Gaza for more than two years. In an interview with Israeli media, he said he endured repeated sexual assaults by his captors, members of the Islamic Jihad. They stripped me

of everything, tied me up naked. He said, it was sexual violence. men to humiliate. Previously, other released Israeli hostages have told similar stories of sexual assault in captivity. Berislavsky said his captors urged him to convert to Islam, promising food if he did, and offer he refused. Israel is still awaiting the return of six hostages' bodies from Gaza, five Israelis and one Thai national. For NPR news, Amita is turn in Tel Aviv. U.S. futures are higher in after-hours trading on walls. Street. This is NPR. Where the second time in less than three months, Ukrainian drones have attacked a major oil

refinery in southwest Russia, according to Ukraine's Army General Staff. The facility is the largest producer of fuel and lubricants in Russia's southern federal district and accounts for 5% at the country's total refining capacity. Officials in Moscow have not confirmed the report, although a local governor says that drones started a fire at an unspecified facility in the region. A Colombian man who survived a U.S. attack on a submarine suspected of transporting no codics in the Caribbean will not face charges in his home country. This despite assurances from both Colombia and President Trump that he would.

More from NPR's Gary Kahn. According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Jonathan Obando Perez, was discharged last week from a Bogota hospital. The 34-year-old was one of two survivors. of a U.S. military strike on a suspected drug smuggling submarine. Federal officials in Bogota say there were no plans to launch a formal investigation against Obando, as it has no evidence he committed a crime in Colombia. President Trump had posted on social media that Obando would be detained and prosecuted in Colombia. Officials there also made similar

assurances. The other survivor of the attack, an Ecuadorian, with a criminal narcotics record in the U.S. was also released once returned to his home country. Kerry Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. On Asia-Pacific market, shares are mostly lower, down around 1% in Tokyo and in Hong Kong. This is NPR News.