--:-- Shea Stevens: This message comes from Capital One with the Venture X-Card. Earn unlimited double miles on everything you buy. Plus, get premium benefits at a collection of hotels when booking through Capital One Travel. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. Details at CapitalOne.com.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The White House is threatening to lay off federal workers if there is a government shutdown on October 1st.
--:-- John Stoon: Senate Majority Leader John Stoon says Republicans are still open to discussions on maintaining current spending through November 21st. But he says Democrats are insisting that proposed cuts to health care spending be reversed.
--:-- John Stoon: You shouldn't hijack a bill that will keep the government open in order to do a lot of extraneous things. And this is a program that costs $365 billion. And so if we're going to have that conversation, we should. But it ought to be in a place and time where we can work through some of these issues and look at some of the reforms that would come with that.
--:-- Hakeem Jeffries: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will not support any cuts to health care spending.
--:-- Shea Stevens: President Trump canceled a planned meeting with Democrats for Thursday, saying that it would not be productive.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Authorities have now identified the gunman in a deadly shooting at an ICE detention facility in Dallas as 29-year-old Joshua John, according to CBS News.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Police say John opened fire, killing one detainee and injuring two others before taking his own life. The motive for the attack is unclear.
--:-- J.D. Vance: Vice President J.D. Vance made a stop in Concord, North Carolina, Wednesday in wake of a murder aboard a light rail train in Charlotte.
--:-- Kenneth Lee: Speaking inside the Concord Paget Regional Airport, Vance addressed the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Irena Zerutska.
--:-- J.D. Vance: Zerutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was killed in Charlotte last month while taking the city's light rail. Vance said it should have never happened. Because of soft on crime policies, she was murdered here, not in the war-torn country she came from. Isn't that a disgrace?
--:-- J.D. Vance: He encouraged Governor Josh Stein to sign the state's new crime bill, which would end cashless bail, restart the death penalty, and hire new prosecutors. Some Democrats opposed the expansion of the death penalty.
--:-- J.D. Vance: Vance also condemned the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas and said Democrats need to take a look in the mirror.
--:-- Kenneth Lee: For NPR News, I'm Kenneth Lee and Charlotte.
--:-- Hans De La Wong: The U.S. Postal Service says there will not be any additional increases in the price of stamps this year.
--:-- Hans De La Wong: The price of a first forever stamp has gone up seven times over the past four years. But the U.S. Postal Service, which is a financial supporter of NPR, says that until at least mid-year, it's staying at 78 cents.
--:-- Hans De La Wong: That's among the world's lowest prices for mailing a letter domestically. But compared to decades ago, fewer people and businesses are using first-class mail to send bills, payments, and advertising. And that's destabilizing the U.S. Postal Service, which generally receives no tax dollars to keep it running.
--:-- Hans De La Wong: USPS relies instead on selling stamps and other service fees. The Postal Regulatory Commission recently approved temporary price hikes of close to 6 percent for certain USPS shipping services starting next month.
--:-- Hans De La Wong: Like those put in place by FedEx and UPS, those increases are set to last through the year-end holiday season.
--:-- Hansi Luang: Hansi Luang, NPR News.
--:-- Shea Stevens: You're listening to NPR.
--:-- Margaret Garnett: A judge in New York is warning the Justice Department to stop making public comments about the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
--:-- Margaret Garnett: Judge Margaret Garnett says at least two senior DOJ officials have defied court rules by making comments that could prejudice the case.
--:-- Luigi Mangione: Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside of a Manhattan high-rise last December. He's pleaded not guilty to murder and stalking charges.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the indefinite closure of a key crossing between Jordan and the Israeli West Bank.
--:-- Nuha Musleh: The move comes several days after a Jordanian driver killed two Israeli soldiers.
--:-- Nuha Musleh: This crossing through the Alembi Bridge is the only passage for about three million Palestinians from the West Bank to get into neighboring Jordan from where they can then travel to other countries.
--:-- Nuha Musleh: So travelers and also much of the trade between the rest of the world and Palestinian areas of the West Bank passed through this entrance, closing it for long periods of time would paralyze Palestinian people's movement and could hold much of the West Bank's economy.
--:-- Nuha Musleh: The Palestinian Authority, which governs much of the West Bank, called the crossing's closure, quote, collective punishment, and said Palestinians are now stuck in a, quote, large sealed prison.
--:-- Nuha Musleh: For NPR News, I'm Nuha Musleh, Ramallah, the West Bank.
--:-- Shea Stevens: U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading on Wall Street on Asia-Pacific market shares are mostly higher. This is NPR News.
--:-- Shea Stevens: This message comes from Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. They offer premium wireless plans for less, and all plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and nationwide coverage. See for yourself at mintmobile.com slash switch.
