NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-07-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The federal government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history at 38 days. It's affecting air travel because air traffic controllers aren't getting paid and there are staffing shortages. Starting today, the federal government will begin reducing air traffic at dozens of airports. Airline traveler Reginald Dumas is in Dallas. He says he's preparing for chaos at the airport. Continue to maybe adjust, you know, your times, your budgets, a lot of things like

that to try to stretch things out. I don't think it's going to last that much longer because eventually I'm praying about it. It has to break. By next week, up to 10% of flights will be reduced in the U.S. as the number of air traffic controllers continues to shrink. The shutdown is also affecting federal food assistance known as SNAP. But a federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to start paying full SNAP benefits starting today. But NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the Trump administration has already appealed. Just last week, the same judge John McConnell Jr. ordered the release of at least partial snap payments. A group of cities and nonprofits argued that was not enough and could take weeks for some states to administer. Judge McConnell agreed. He

said the administration had ignored the harmful consequences of slashing the nation's biggest anti-hunger program. He also said President Trump showed intent to defy a court order when he posted on truth social this week that SNAP benefits would not restart until after the federal shutdown was over. The administration's appeal once again puts food aid on hold for millions of people as food banks around the country scramble to help fill the gap. Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court will let President Trump require people applying for passports list their sex at birth. No accommodation will be provided for people who are transgender. For now, the decision overturns a lower court ruling, as NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The Trump plan overturns policies adopted by six previous administrations, including his own first term, that allowed what the plaintiffs say was their ability to list on their passports, what they refer to as their apparent transgender identity instead of their sex at birth. But in the second administration, Trump reversed course allowing only the designation of of person's sex at birth. Transgender passport applicants went to court, contending the new rule amounted to unconstitutional sex discrimination. A lower court agreed, but yesterday the Supreme Court, bowing to the Trump administration's appeal, allowed the new Trump plan to be put in place for now. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. President Trump is to welcome Hungarian Prime

Minister Viktor Orban to the White House today. The two leaders are expected to review potential sanctions against Russia. over the war in Ukraine. This is NPR. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military has attacked another boat in the Caribbean and three people were killed. Writing online last night, Hegseth alleged the boat was involved in drug trafficking. He has offered no evidence of his claim. The Congressional Budget Office says it's been hacked. It's possible saboteurs could have accessed important government information. A spokeswoman says the CBO identified the CBO identified the CLE.

security incident and has taken immediate action to contain it. The CBO offers nonpartisan analysis to congressional lawmakers during the budget process. Just in time for the holiday rush, a few new records are making their way onto the Billboard charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson has more. This week, three new records debut in the top 10 of the Billboard Albums chart, including the first ever top 10 hit from rising R&B singer Daniel Caesar, son of Spurgy, debuts at number four. Brandy Carlisle hits the top ten for a fifth time as returning to myself debuts at number seven. And returning to myself is such a lonely thing to do.

And pop star Demi Lovato's ninth studio album is also her ninth top ten hit. It's Not That Deep debuts at number nine. None of them could displace the season's biggest hit. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl holds at number one for a fourth straight week. Stephen Thompson, NPR News. And I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News, from Washington.