--:-- Korva Coleman: This message comes from Mint Mobile. Starting at $15 a month, make the switch at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment for three months. 5-gigabyte plan equivalent to $15 a month. Taxes and fees extra. First three months only. See terms.
--:-- [Korva Coleman transitions to the news]
--:-- Korva Coleman: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.
--:-- Nina Totenberg: The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today in a major case. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports it could invalidate the last major provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that remains standing.
--:-- Nina Totenberg: Once considered the jewel in the crown of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act has been largely dismembered since 2013 by the increasingly conservative Supreme Court conservative majority.
--:-- Nina Totenberg: The major exception is the provision aimed at ensuring that minority voters are not shut out of the process of drawing new congressional district lines.
--:-- Nina Totenberg: Just two years ago, the court upheld that provision, but now a group of a dozen Louisiana voters calling themselves non-African Americans are challenging the voting rights law, contending that it unconstitutionally discriminates based on race.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.
--:-- [New segment begins]
--:-- Korva Coleman: The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is experiencing some setbacks.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Hamas has released eight bodies to Israel but the Israeli military said today testing revealed one of those bodies was not that of a hostage.
--:-- Korva Coleman: There are also reports of several shooting incidents in Gaza. These involve Israeli troops and clashes between Hamas fighters battling rival Palestinian militias.
--:-- Korva Coleman: The federal government shutdown is more than two weeks old.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Senate Republicans and Democrats failed again last night to pass a spending bill that would reopen the government.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Federal agencies are closed. Most federal workers are not getting paid.
--:-- Korva Coleman: But Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told CNBC Today members of the U.S. military will get paid today.
--:-- Korva Coleman: We are paying our military today. The Pentagon went into surplus funds and will be able to make the paychecks.
--:-- Korva Coleman: President Trump continues to fire federal workers.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Unions representing federal workers have sued the Trump administration.
--:-- Korva Coleman: There's a hearing scheduled today on the matter in a federal court in San Francisco.
--:-- [New segment begins]
--:-- Korva Coleman: Stocks opened higher this morning on news of more big profits at big banks.
--:-- Korva Coleman: NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 360 points in early trading.
--:-- Scott Horsley: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported better quarterly profits fueled in part by robust deal fees.
--:-- Scott Horsley: B of A helped two big railroads couple up this summer while Morgan Stanley helped brew the coffee merger combining Keurig Dr. Pepper and Peet's.
--:-- Scott Horsley: The solid results echo the profit reports from other big banks earlier this week.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Stock in Papa John's Pizza jumped after reports that a private equity firm wants to take the company private, Apollo Global Management's offering $64 a share.
--:-- Korva Coleman: And this was the day we were supposed to get an inflation report for September.
--:-- Korva Coleman: That report's been pushed back until next Friday, though, as a result of the government shutdown.
--:-- Scott Horsley: The Dow is again up 360 points.
--:-- Korva Coleman: This is NPR.
--:-- [New segment begins]
--:-- Korva Coleman: About 30,000 nurses and some health care workers with Kaiser Permanente across the West Coast are in the midst of a five-day strike.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Workers in California, Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington state are off the job, seeking higher wages.
--:-- Korva Coleman: Kaiser says that it has offered the unionized workers above market wages.
--:-- [New segment begins]
--:-- Korva Coleman: President Trump honored conservative activist Charlie Kirk posthumously yesterday with the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
--:-- Bersdipa Shivaram: Bersdipa Shivaram reports Kirk founded Turning Point USA one of the country's largest conservative youth organizations that has chapters all over the country.
--:-- Bersdipa Shivaram: The Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony was held on what would have been Kirk's 32nd birthday. He was assassinated last month at an event in Utah.
--:-- Bersdipa Shivaram: In the White House Rose Garden, Trump called Kirk a martyr and an American hero.
--:-- Bersdipa Shivaram: So today, like those martyrs before him, Charlie's voice, his message and his legacy are stronger and greater than ever before.
--:-- Korva Coleman: The ceremony took place shortly before the State Department started revoking visas of people who they described as foreigners who had, quote, celebrated Kirk's death.
--:-- [New segment begins]
--:-- Korva Coleman: Retailer Walmart says it's going to partner with artificial intelligence company OpenAI.
--:-- Korva Coleman: They say they will use ChatGPT to help consumers shop.
--:-- Korva Coleman: It is supposed to assist customers who are searching online for Walmart items, including clothing, food and entertainment.
--:-- Korva Coleman: The Walton Family Foundation is a financial supporter of NPR.
--:-- Korva Coleman: I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, from Washington.
