--:-- Ryland Barton: The federal government has shut down. What are lawmakers arguing about? And what does it mean for you?
--:-- Ryland Barton: The NPR Politics Podcast is here to make sense of it all, giving you updates and news every day to keep you informed. The NPR Politics Podcast. Listen every day.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Officials say they're searching for 19 people feared dead after an explosives manufacturer in Tennessee blew up.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The cause of the explosion is unknown. It took place near Buxnort, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Emergency crews initially weren't able to enter the site due to ongoing detonations, but the scene is now under control.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The entire building is gone.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The White House has begun mass firings of federal workers during the government shutdown.
--:-- Ryland Barton: As NPR's Stephen Fowler reports, the administration is providing few details about the reductions in force, or RIFs.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: An OMB spokesperson not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the process was starting and that it would be, quote, substantial.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: But we don't really know what that means.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Now, NPR has seen screenshots of notifications at places like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Housing and Urban Development, saying there will be rifts.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Some unions representing employees at agencies like the Education Department say they also been told layoffs are coming.
--:-- Ryland Barton: NPR Stephen Fowler reporting.
--:-- Ryland Barton: President Trump says there no point in meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after China announced new restrictions on exports of rare earth materials
--:-- Ryland Barton: As NPR's Adipa Shivram reports, the two were supposed to meet in South Korea later this month.
--:-- Adipa Shivram: Trump says the meeting was set to take place during the APEC summit in Korea in a few weeks.
--:-- Adipa Shivram: It would have been the first in-person meeting between Trump and Xi in Trump's second term.
--:-- Adipa Shivram: But in a post-it-truth social, Trump accuses Xi of surprising him and other world leaders with the announcement of the export restrictions.
--:-- Adipa Shivram: It's a move seen as an effort by China to boost its leverage in trade talks with the U.S.
--:-- Adipa Shivram: Trump says the U.S. is considering how to respond to China, and that one option might be a, quote, massive increase in tariffs on Chinese products coming into the U.S.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Deepa Shiveram, NPR News, the White House.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The Trump administration says that assaults on ICE officers are up 1,000 percent.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Colorado Public Radio's Allison Sherry says a review of federal court filings doesn't back that up.
--:-- Allison Sherry: The administration has not only claimed an eye-popping increase on assaults on federal immigration officers, but they've also assured the public that anyone who assaults an officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
--:-- Allison Sherry: Colorado Public Radio looked nationally at federal court charges for assaults on federal officers and have seen an increase since Trump took office.
--:-- Allison Sherry: Roughly 25 more cases have been filed against people for assaulting an ICE officer
--:-- Allison Sherry: A lot of those charges come from cities that have seen increased immigration enforcement, including Los Angeles.
--:-- Allison Sherry: The administration has not commented, though, on how or where they're coming up with the 1,000%.
--:-- Ryland Barton: For NPR News, I'm Allison Sherry in Denver.
--:-- Ryland Barton: U.S. stocks fell after President Trump threatened to impose even higher tariffs on China.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The S&P 500 sank 2.7 percent, its worst day since April.
--:-- Ryland Barton: This is NPR News.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect today.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The deal has raised hopes for ending the war.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are set to be released in the coming days.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Questions remain over who will govern Gaza and whether Hamas will disarm.
--:-- Ryland Barton: France's Emmanuel Macron has reappointed his recently resigned prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, as he again tries to form a government.
--:-- Ryland Barton: France is struggling with protests amid mounting economic challenges and ballooning debt.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The appointment is widely seen as the president last chance to revive his second term.
--:-- Ryland Barton: California has become the first state in the nation to ban some ultra foods and school meals
--:-- Ryland Barton: As NPR Maria Godoy reports HealthSA experts are increasingly concerned about ultra-processed foods, which dominate the diets of American kids and teens.
--:-- Maria Godoy: The new law prohibits public schools in California from serving children what it terms as, quote, ultra-processed foods of concern.
--:-- Maria Godoy: This category of foods has been linked to health risks such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but regulating them has been tricky because scientists have yet to agree on a precise definition.
--:-- Maria Godoy: The new law tackles this issue by defining ultra-processed foods as those that contain high levels of salt, fat, and added sugars, as well as certain ingredients such as artificial sweeteners, synthetic food dyes, emulsifiers, and thickening agents.
--:-- Maria Godoy: Schools will be required to start phasing these foods out by mid-2029 and complete the changes by 2035.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Maria Godoy, NPR News.
--:-- Ryland Barton: I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News.
--:-- Terry Gross: Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air.
--:-- Terry Gross: Hey, take a break from the 24-hour news cycle with us and listen to long-form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians, and musicians, the people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times.
--:-- Terry Gross: So listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
