NPR News: 10-08-2025 4AM EDT
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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org.
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. President Trump says he'll follow the law when it comes to furloughed federal workers getting back pay when the government shutdown ends. But as NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports, the administration argues that it does not necessarily mean that all workers will be paid.
A law from 2019 signed by President Trump in his first term stipulates that all federal workers whose paychecks are paused during a government shutdown will receive the pay they've missed. But this time around, when Trump was asked whether furloughed workers should be paid... But it really depends on who you're talking about.
But for the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a different way.
Trump's comments come on the heels of a draft memo from the White House that suggests that any back pay would require congressional action. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News, the White House.
There's a legal fight brewing over the Trump administration's official federal website postings blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. NPR's Kirk Sigler reports that Democrats and a union argue that it's a violation of federal law.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, former Idaho Democratic state legislator Todd Achilles takes aim at a banner currently posted atop the U.S. Forest Service website. It advises the public there could be a slow response due to the fact that, quote, radical left Democrats shut down the government. The complaint alleges this partisan political message violates the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch employees from doing anything partisan while on duty. The USDA press office has also had automated email responses with similar language. A union representing federal workers has filed a separate lawsuit against the U.S.
What are President Trump's comments on federal workers' back pay during the government shutdown?
Department of Education about the out-of-office email language. Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Boise.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Department's actions under the Trump administration during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. Bondi bristled when asked if DOJ is being weaponized and said that that happened during the previous administration.
They were playing politics with law enforcement powers and will go down as a historic betrayal of public trust. This is the kind of conduct that shatters the American people's faith in our law enforcement system. We will work to earn that back every single day.
Bondi deflected questions on bribery allegations against border czar Tom Holman and unfinished business with the Jeffrey Epstein files. President Trump is predicting that Canadian snowbirds and tourists will return to the United States. Canadian visits to the U.S. have dropped 23 percent in protests of Trump's policies. In an Oval Office meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, the president promised fair trade with Canada. The U.S. has imposed higher tariffs on a range of Canadian products, including lumber, steel and aluminum. This is NPR. The Associated Press has rejected a former Tennessee commissioner as the winner of the Republican primary for an open U.S. House seat. Trump endorsed candidate Matt Van Epps has apparently defeated 10 opponents, although two suspended their campaigns.
Van Epps will face Democrat Afton Bain in the December 2nd general election. The winner will fill a seat vacated by former Congressman Mark Green. Federal health officials are warning about the spinach in certain HelloFresh subscription meals. The spinach may have been contaminated with listeria, as NPR's Giles Snyder reports.
The Agriculture Department has issued a public health alert warning people not to eat the HelloFresh meals with spinach. They include the pork pepper pasta ready-made meal and unstuffed peppers with ground turkey.
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