--:-- Windsor Johnston: This message comes from NPR's sponsor, Odoo Business Management Software. Some say Odoo is like fertilizer because it promotes growth. Others say it's a magic beanstalk, scaling with efficiency. Odoo, exactly what a business needs. Sign up today at odoo.com.
--:-- [Windsor Johnston transitions to the news]
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The government is shut down this morning. Federal agencies went dark shortly after midnight when Congress failed to pass two short-term funding bills.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed and many public services have come to a halt. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports there's no clear path to a deal that would reopen the government.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: The tightly held Republican-led Senate saw stopgap proposals from both parties fail last night, so they'll vote again to reach a required 60-vote threshold. Republicans will likely need at least eight Democrats to vote with them, and they're hoping to build on some defections from the first round of voting.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: But most Democrats are voting no to get bipartisan talks to address soon-to-expire subsidies for the Affordable Care Act program that will force premiums to spike.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: As much of the government shuts down some critical federal workers will stay on the job unpaid such as airport security personnel and air traffic controllers, while programs like Social Security, Medicare and National Security will continue.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Clyde Grisales, NPR News.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: One of the first programs that could be impacted will be WIC, federal food assistance for low-income mothers and children. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont says his state has a little cushion, but not for long.
--:-- Ned Lamont: About 50,000 mothers and infants who get a lot of food support through that program. I think we have reserves in place that can keep us going for the near term, but just the very near term.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: A poll released yesterday by NPR, PBS News, and Marist says Republicans would get more of the blame for a shutdown than Democrats. But nearly a third of respondents said they would blame both parties.
--:-- Emily Fang: A massive flotilla of private ships attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver food is approaching Israeli waters. NPR's Emily Fang reports Israel's military is preparing to detain the hundreds of people on board.
--:-- Emily Fang: The boats organizers say they were circled by a warship belonging to the Israeli military early Wednesday But they vowed to press on even though Italy has withdrawn its naval escort Meanwhile Israel military said this week that they found Hamas documents linking two of the flotilla's organizers to the group.
--:-- Emily Fang: And Israel has repeatedly called the flotilla a provocation. Israeli television reports the military has prepared a large ship with detention cells to hold activists who refuse to be voluntarily deported.
--:-- Emily Fang: All previous flotilla attempts have been intercepted. In 2010, Israel raided another Gaza flotilla, killing nine of the passengers on board and leaving 10 Israeli soldiers injured.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: This is NPR News in Washington. A federal court in El Paso will hear arguments today in a lawsuit challenging a mid-decade round of congressional redistricting in Texas.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports plaintiffs are seeking to block the new map from taking effect before Texas congressional candidates have to file for next year's elections.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: Republican state lawmakers passed the map in August under pressure from President Donald Trump and Governor Greg Abbott.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: Attorneys for Texas contend the map is a purely partisan gerrymander designed to maximize Republican gains. But voting rights attorney Chad Dunn says the map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: It has been the law for decades long before even the Voting Rights Act was passed that a legislature cannot draw districts on the basis of race. And that's exactly what the legislature did here.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: Plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to block the new map from taking effect before candidates have to file for the 2026 midterms.
--:-- Andrew Schneider: Whichever party loses that decision could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: This year's Fat Bear Week champ has been crowned, and the distinction goes to 32-chunk. The burly brown bear weighs in at roughly 1,200 pounds and sports a distinctive scar and a jaw injury that never fully healed.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The annual competition, now in its 11th year, celebrates the fattest bear at Alaska's Katmai National Park as they try to pack on the pounds for winter hibernation.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: On Wall Street, Dow futures are trading lower at this hour.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.
