--:-- Rylan Barton: Latin music has never been bigger, but it's always been big on Alt Latino. Fifteen years in, we continue celebrating Latinidad through a music lens, transcending borders through ritmo. Get to know artists from La Cultura on a deeper level, and throw some new Latin music recs into your rotation. Listen to Alt Latino in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The longest government shutdown in history has ended after 43 days, and today many federal workers have returned to the office. Jenny Abamu with member station WAMU reports some workers are wary.
--:-- Jenny Abamu: Ian Morgan says he's happy to be back at the National Institutes of Health looking for ways to combat antimicrobial resistance. But with Democrats and Republicans still at odds on key issues like health care subsidies, it's hard for him to feel settled.
--:-- Ian Morgan: I got in this morning to saying, well, you know, if since this has only been extended a short period of time, here's some some resources just in case this happens again. So I think people are acutely aware that this could happen again. Colleagues are putting together lists of food and monetary support. And with the funding extension ending January 30th Morgan says they have to be prepared.
--:-- Jenny Abamu: For NPR News, I'm Jenny Abamu in Bethesda.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Israeli settlers torched a mosque in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank last night just a day after some Israeli leaders condemned such attacks. Settler violence against Palestinians has hit a record high, according to the UN, as NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: The mosque was outside the city of Nablus in the central West Bank. Israeli settlers set it on fire and scrawled graffiti on a remaining wall in Hebrew that read, quote, we are not afraid and keep condemning after an Israeli military commander issued a rare call for a crackdown on the violence earlier this week.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: It's the latest in what the U.N. says is an average of eight settler attacks a day in the West Bank, an all-time high that has coincided with the Palestinian olive harvest. The attacks have provoked expressions of concern from top Israeli officials, military leaders, and members of the Trump administration, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Still, most such attacks go unpunished by Israel. Kat Lonsdorff, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
--:-- Rylan Barton: At the close, the Dow fell more than 1.5% after the index hit a series of record highs. As NPR's Rafael Nam reports, other major indexes also fell as tech shares gave up some of their recent gains.
--:-- Rafael Nam: It was one of those days where there no one major thing that can fully explain the market declines. Instead, it was a day for investors to catch a breath after the record rally we seen in markets On Wednesday for example the Dow closed above 48 points for the first time.
--:-- Rafael Nam: And investors are also waiting to see what will happen with the economic data the government was unable to release during the shutdown. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq index also fell as technology shares retreated.
--:-- Rafael Nam: For NPR News.
--:-- Rylan Barton: West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey says crews have found the body of a coal miner missing for days after a mine flooded near Charleston. Foreman Steve Lipscomb had been missing since Saturday when a mine crew hit a pocket of water.
--:-- Rylan Barton: This is NPR News from Washington.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The Justice Department is joining a lawsuit to block a new congressional map approved by California voters on Election Day. It's part of the redistricting battle that could determine which party wins control of the U.S. House next year.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The lawsuit sets the stage for a high-stakes clash between the Trump administration and Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who's seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The music of two annual celebrations collides on this week's Billboard charts as the Halloween rush gives way to Christmas music. NPR's Stephen Thompson reports if you think the Christmas season starts earlier every year, there's data to back you up.
--:-- Stephen Thompson: The new charts cover the weekend of Halloween so they full of spooky music, Ghostbusters, Somebody Watching Me, Monster Mash, and Michael Jackson's Thriller, which re the top ten. But a fair bit of Christmas music also re-enters this week's charts, as fans started streaming their favorites while pumpkins were still on their doorsteps.
--:-- Stephen Thompson: Michael Buble's album Christmas is one of four holiday records re-entering the album's chart, while two holiday classics make their way back to the Hot 100. They're by Mariah Carey and Wham!
--:-- Stephen Thompson: For NPR News.
--:-- Rylan Barton: A small alligator spotted along the Charles River in Boston this week has been rescued and delivered to safety. Officials say a local wildlife educator captured it last night and it's now awaiting a permanent home.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The alligator was most likely an escaped pet, although it's not legal to keep alligators as pets in Massachusetts.
--:-- Rylan Barton: I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Instead of letting an algorithm throw mediocre podcast recommendations at you, sign up for NPR's Pod Club newsletter. We comb through hours of audio to find the gems, the episodes that will make you gasp, cry, or crack up in a public place. Then every week we send those picks to your inbox and tell you why they're worth your time. Subscribe now at npr.org slash podclub.
