Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Chapter 2: What recent legislation has Congress passed to reopen the government?
Congress has passed a bill to reopen the government. The White House says President Trump will sign it. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the package, 222 to 209, bringing it one step closer to ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history, NPR's Sam Greenglass reports.
After 43 days, the federal government is on track to reopen for the first time since September 30th. The record-long shutdown has resulted in federal employees going without pay, airport delays, and pauses to food assistance.
Chapter 3: What impact will the government shutdown have on federal employees?
The package, passed Monday by the Senate, will temporarily fund most of the government through January and some specific agencies through next September. It also includes a provision that would ensure federal employees get back pay and rehire those who were laid off during the shutdown.
Most House Democrats voted against the measure because it does not extend the expiring health insurance subsidies they have been pushing to preserve.
Chapter 4: How are tariffs affecting Italian pasta imports to the U.S.?
Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.
As part of the shutdown deal, Senate Republican Leader John Thune says he'll hold a vote in December to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Much-loved Italian pasta could vanish from American supermarket shelves in January if the U.S. Commerce Department goes ahead with the decision to slap heavy duties on Italian pasta brands. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports.
Chapter 5: What issues were raised at the G7 meeting regarding U.S. military actions?
The Commerce Department is accusing major Italian pasta producers of anti-dumping practices. That's when a foreign company sells their goods at a cheaper rate than at home. The department threatens to impose duties which, when combined with recent new charges on European Union goods by the Trump administration, would push tariffs on Italian pasta to 107%.
Anti-dumping probes are fairly routine, but Italian pasta companies say they have never resulted in such extraordinarily high duties. Italy's influential agribusiness association, Coldiretti, warns this barrier is so high that it would, quote, practically wipe out Italy's pasta exports to the United States. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News.
European countries have raised concerns about America's military buildup in the Caribbean, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio says no one brought it up with him at a G7 meeting in Canada, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Canada, Secretary Rubio brushed off reports that the U.K. is withholding certain intelligence from the U.S. because of concerns about deadly strikes on alleged drug boats from Venezuela.
Chapter 6: What are the latest statistics on tuberculosis diagnoses worldwide?
We have very strong partnerships with the U.K. and other countries. Again, nothing has changed or happened that has impeded in any way our ability to do what we're doing, nor are we asking anyone to help us with what we're doing in any realm, and that includes military.
Rubio says the U.S. has plenty of military assets in the region that can collect intelligence for what he calls a counter-narcotics campaign, and he says this issue never came up during his meetings with other G7 foreign ministers. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.
It's NPR. The number of people diagnosed with tuberculosis across the world rose again last year. About 8.3 million people were reported as newly diagnosed with TB in 2024, but the number of deaths caused by TB fell. The vast majority of TB cases in the U.S.
Chapter 7: Why is the U.S. Mint ending the production of the penny?
are diagnosed in people born in other countries. After more than two centuries in existence, it's the end of the penny. The U.S. Mint just announced it has minted the last of the coins in Philadelphia. To save money and in recognition of the one-cent coin's growing irrelevance, NPR's Rafael Nam has the story.
The end of this tiny little coin had already been announced by President Trump back in February. Producing each penny was costing the U.S. government nearly four cents. And ending production would save the U.S. more than $50 million a year. But the move to face at the penny has been a big pain for many retailers and banks, which are struggling to provide exact change.
After all, pennies remain legal tender, meaning that they can still be used. Chances are, though, many of them will stay where they've probably been for years, in big jars, coffee cans, or somewhere under the cushion of your couch. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
An artist is auctioning off his archive for a sculpture at CIA headquarters that's transfixed codebreakers for decades. The 10-foot-tall copper screen, called Kryptos, was designed to look like a piece of paper coming out of a fax machine. One side features a series of alphabets that are key for decoding the four encrypted messages on the other side. I'm Ryland Barton.
This is NPR News from Washington.
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