--:-- Nora Rahm: This message comes from the NPR Wine Club, which has generated over $1.75 million to support NPR programming. Whether buying a few bottles or joining the club, you can learn more at nprwineclub.org slash podcast. Must be 21 or older to purchase.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm.
--:-- Nora Rahm: The Trump administration says more than 4,000 federal employees have received layoff notices, and officials say that number is subject to change.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: About 4,200 people across seven agencies were slated to receive reduction in force notices Friday, including about 1,500 in the Treasury Department and 1,200 at the Department of Health and Human Services.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Earlier in the day, the White House Budget Office called the layoffs quote substantial, and President Trump said the cuts would be quote a lot.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: After earlier cuts to the federal workforce made by the previous administration and voluntary buyouts. There are about 2 million civilian federal employees.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta.
--:-- Nora Rahm: An annual flu shot can reduce the chance of getting very sick this flu season, and now may be a good time to get one.
--:-- Ping Huang: Health officials recommend getting the flu vaccine before Halloween so you develop antibodies before flu cases start picking up.
--:-- Fiona Havers: Every year the flu vaccine is effective in decreasing your risk of severe disease, including hospitalization and death. And so people should get their flu vaccine every year.
--:-- Ping Huang: Last flu season was bad. At least 43 million people got sick, and more than half a million got hospitalized, leading to the highest rate in more than a decade.
--:-- Ping Huang: Over the past few months, the new flu vaccine cut doctors' visits and hospitalizations in the southern hemisphere by around 50 percent, according to estimates in a CDC weekly report.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Flu season south of the equator typically runs from April to September and is often a harbinger for the northern hemisphere.
--:-- Ping Huang: NPR News.
--:-- Nora Rahm: As a ceasefire in Gaza holds, rescue workers have been retrieving bodies from the rubble after Israeli troops pulled back from some areas.
--:-- Hugo Boshega: The BBC's Hugo Boshega reports an estimated 200,000 Palestinians have already returned to neighborhoods in the north of the territory.
--:-- Hugo Boshega: Obviously there is the joy that has been brought by the ceasefire, finally some peace for the population in Gaza, but there's also a lot of sadness, desperation caused by the scale of the destruction in Gaza.
--:-- Hugo Boshega: A lot of people are returning home only to find out that there nothing left to go back to. So medical teams are also now searching for bodies under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
--:-- Hugo Boshega: The authorities are saying that more than 100 bodies have been recovered so far and thousands more are expected to be retrieved.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Health officials in Gaza say they retrieved the remains of 116 people who had been killed earlier in the war but couldn't be retrieved until the Israeli troops left.
--:-- Hugo Boshega: Meanwhile, in Israel, authorities found the body of a man who had survived the Hamas attack two years ago when his girlfriend had been killed. He left a post on Instagram that he couldn't go on anymore.
--:-- Nora Rahm: This is NPR News in Washington.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Voting is underway in New Orleans for new city leaders, including the mayor.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Incumbent Latoya Cantrell is prevented by term limits from earning again.
--:-- Nora Rahm: If no candidate receives 51 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held on November 15th.
--:-- Nora Rahm: The election comes as President Trump has suggested he might send National Guard troops to New Orleans.
--:-- Vicki Barker: Britain's cider makers are enjoying one of their best apple harvests in years.
--:-- Vicki Barker: But as I report, that can actually make it harder for the hard cider industry.
--:-- Vicki Barker: This summer record high temperatures have produced apples with record high sugar levels resulting in similarly high alcohol levels in cider as much as 10 percent.
--:-- Vicki Barker: But once a cider is stronger than 8.4 percent, much higher government excise taxes kick in, making it prohibitively expensive for pubs and producers alike.
--:-- Vicki Barker: The big industrial outfits can water down their product, but smaller traditional cider makers stake their reputations on quality, not quantity.
--:-- Vicki Barker: So many will likely have to sell that potent 2025 vintage at farmers markets or even in wine stores.
--:-- Nora Rahm: For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Today is World Migratory Bird Day, a biannual event to celebrate the millions of birds who are taking off about this time of year on their journeys across plains, seas, and mountains.
--:-- Nora Rahm: This year's theme is Shared Spaces, Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities where both birds and people can thrive together.
--:-- Nora Rahm: I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.
--:-- Nora Rahm: Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.
