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Shutdown’s Next Impact, Trump Demands Millions & ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Deal - Wednesday, October 22, 2025
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The news to know for Wednesday, October 22, 2025! What to know about the government shutdown that is now one of the longest in history—including what President Trump is urging Republicans to do next, and how some families could start losing food aid...
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Today is Wednesday, October 22nd. What to know about the government shutdown that is now one of the longest in history, including what President Trump is urging Republicans to do next and how some families could start losing food aid in a matter of days. Also, why President Trump wants the Justice Department to pay him hundreds of millions of dollars. Plus what a judge decided about book bans at school libraries on military bases. Amazon's next big move might involve half a million robots and and what to expect next year from the hugely popular K pop demon hunters. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the days news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun and on the go. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. The government shutdown is now the second longest in history and and lawmakers seem no closer to ending it. In fact, at a White House meeting yesterday, President Trump told Republicans to hold the line. And he said Democrats would bear the political fallout, or as the president put it, quote, we will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. As we've told you, Democrats are holding out for a deal on health care to avoid insurance premiums rising for more than 22 million Americans. But Republicans want to pass what they call a clean bill that keeps spending levels the same. Trump says he will meet with Democratic leadership, too, but only after the shutdown ends. There's about to be more incentive for lawmakers to come up with a compromise, though. In the next couple of days, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss a second paycheck. And in just about a week, military service members could miss one, too. Senators in both parties are preparing bills to keep paying federal workers even if the shutdown continues. Democrats want everyone to get paid, even those who have been furloughed. The Republican bill calls for essential employees to be paid since they've kept working during the shutdown. But many federal workers say they're not counting on either one. Passing near the Capitol yesterday, long lines wrapped around a food bank as many federal workers showed up in many cases for the first time outside of D.C. many states are warning that tens of millions of families could go without food aid starting next month. They say they're going to be forced to suspend the Supplemental Nutrition assistance program come November 1st. If the shutdown continues. Funds could also run out for the special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children that helps millions of low income mothers, young children and expectant parents. And those are just a few of the key impacts to watch for as the shutdown marches on, President Trump is reportedly demanding hundreds of millions of dollars to be paid by his own administration, and that would be covered by taxpayers. The New York Times cites sources who say Trump wants $230 million from the Justice Department as compensation for the federal investigations into him. We're talking about the one that looked into connections between his campaign and Russia and, and the other over classified documents. He says Both investigations were politicized. The Times report says typically, the people who would approve such a payout are DOJ officials who are now Trump's former defense lawyers. When President Trump was asked about a possible payout yesterday, he said the DOJ could owe him a lot of money and that he's the one who can make the decision. Still, Trump says if he did get any payment, he would give it to charity. The DOJ would not comment on the status of any negotiations, but said it will follow the guidance of career ethics officials if necessary. The agency's top ethics advisor was fired over the summer, and it's not clear who has stepped into the role now. A man who was convicted of storming the US Capitol and then pardoned by President Trump is now facing a new felony charge. This time, he's accused of threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Authorities say he sent a text message noting how Jeffries would be making a speech in New York City this week that he, quote, must be eliminated and that, quote, I will kill him for the future. So far, he hasn't commented about the charges and neither has President Trump. But Jeffries responded by saying it's unfortunate that law enforcement has to spend time keeping communities safe from people who shouldn't have been pardoned in the first place. Another measles outbreak is spreading in the southwestern U.S. this time, it's happening along the border of Utah and Arizona. More than 100 people have gotten sick so far, making it the second largest cluster of cases this year. We told you about the first a few months ago when it was spreading through Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. More than 880 people were sickened in that one. And just like with that one, the current outbreak is mostly impacting people who have not gotten the measles, mumps and rubella shots. It centers around Mojave county, Arizona, where 78% of kindergartners are fully vaccinated against measles, and that's down from 90% just five years ago. In Arizona, parents are allowed to opt their children out of school vaccine mandates for personal, religious or medical reasons. But research has found the MMR vaccine is safe and 97% effective against an otherwise incredibly contagious and sometimes deadly disease. The CDC has continued to recommend the vaccine. The CDC is now helping coordinate the public health response in Utah and Arizona. It's also sending experts to health departments in Minnesota and South Carolina, where there are smaller measles outbreaks. All told, the CDC has confirmed 44 measles outbreaks in 41 states this year. Former President Biden has reached a milestone in his cancer treatment. This week he completed a round of radiation therapy for the aggressive form of prostate cancer he's been diagnosed with. His daughter posted a video of the former president ringing the bell, which is a tradition for many cancer patients. After completing a round of treatment, it's not clear what the next steps in his treatment may be, but he's still in the public eye. Biden is expected to speak in Boston in a few days when he receives a lifetime achievement award at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. He'll also headline an event for the Nebraska Democratic Party next month. We have more news for you still coming up, but first a quick break because the Newsworthy is brought to you by Hiya Health. The holiday season is right around the corner and with the changing schedule, occasional travel and less than perfect eating, I'm at least glad to know my kid will continue to get the nutrition he needs to stay healthy with Haya Children's Vitamins. He takes Haya's vitamins and probiotics every day and he loves them. And I love knowing he's getting support for his immune system, energy and brain each morning. And Haya has zero sugar and zero junk, just 15 essential vitamins and minerals plus a blend of organic fruits and veggies. And if you're tired of battling with your kids to eat their greens, Haya now has Kids Daily Greens plus Superfoods, a chocolate flavored greens powder designed specifically for kids packed with over 55 whole food ingredients to support brain power, development and digestion. Just scoop, shake and sip with milk or any non dairy beverage for a delicious and nutritious boost your kids will actually enjoy. And we've worked out a special deal with Haya for their best selling children's vitamin. You can receive 50% off your first order. That's half off. To claim this deal you must go to hyahealth.com Newsworthy this deal is not available on their regular website. Go to H I y a h E-A-L-T-Com newsworthy and get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Now back to the news. Tropical Storm Melissa has formed in the Caribbean and it's expected to become a hurricane in the next few days. At this point, it's not expected to have major impacts on the mainland U.S. but the National Hurricane center says there's some uncertainty on its path. At first, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are expected to get heavy rains, flooding and possible landslides. Aruba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica could also see a good amount of rain. Then some models show the storm turning to the west, in which case it could impact the Gulf. But many models still show it heading north, avoiding the mainland US completely. Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, but is the first to churn in the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic hurricane season runs through the end of November. Books about race and gender are coming back to school libraries on military bases. Students sued when nearly 600 books were removed earlier this year. They're all children of active duty service members ranging from Pre K to 11th grade, and they got backup from the ACLU. Well then yesterday a federal judge sided with them too, saying books and curriculum that were removed for their perceived wokeness must be restored. All the books had been taken away after President Trump signed executive orders telling federal agencies to ban any materials promoting quote unquote gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology. Books removed from school libraries and military bases covered topics like sexual identity, racism and LGBTQ pride. Two elementary schools also canceled Black History Month events. Teachers at a middle school were told to remove posters of education activists Malala Yousafzai and painter Frida Kahlo. And another school canceled Holocaust Remembrance Day. So far, the Pentagon has not responded to the order, so it's not clear if it will be challenged again. More than 67,000 students attend classes on American military bases in the US and 11 other countries. The maker of ChatGPT is now going head to head with competitors like Google. This week, OpenAI unveiled an AI powered web browser called ChatGPT Atlas. It's supposed to be more personalized and helpful than what's already on the market, and whenever you click a link, it will by default show a split screen with the website and ChatGPT that will summarize things for you. For paying customers, it will also come with an agent mode. That mode will be able to access the person's computer and click around the Internet on the user's behalf with the help of the user's browser history and what they're looking to learn. Plus, it should explain its processes as it searches Already, the standard ChatGPT has more than 800 million users, but many of them get it for free, so OpenAI is losing more money than it makes. Well. Atlas could help the company pull in more Internet traffic and revenue from digital advertising, even from customers who get it for free. It could also further threaten online publishers by taking away the incentive for people to search the Internet and click on traditional web links. It's also considered to be a direct threat for Google's Chrome, though at this point Chrome is in good standing with about 3 billion worldwide users, and it's been adding AI features of its own. Atlas is now available on Apple's Mac operating system. It will come later to Microsoft's Windows as well as Apple's iOS and Google's Android systems. A huge hit on streaming is now bound for stores. Netflix is teaming up with both Mattel and Hasbro to turn its animated movie K Pop Demon Hunters into toys, collectibles, games and more. Since it debuted in June, the movie has topped more than 325 million views, making it Netflix's most watched original movie. Its soundtrack has also received platinum certification, the breakout single golden hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and it's inspired viral dance challenges on social media. Now Mattel is making dolls, action figures, playsets and more, and Hasbro is making a plush electronics, roleplay items and board games. The first products are set to be released next year. Pre orders for at least some of them have already started. And that's it for the main news today. But now it's time for Work Wednesday when we break down one interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday. But first, a quick break for our sponsor. I know that sometimes the news can feel heavy. There's so much happening and it's easy for all that information to turn into overwhel or anxiety. Our goal here at the Newsworthy is to help you stay updated without feeling that way as much. But I also know that sometimes you might need a little extra support. And that's where Calm comes in. Calm is the number one app for sleep and meditation and it's designed to help calm your nervous system, quiet your thoughts and refocus your energy. I love all the options available on Calm. I've used guided meditations the most to work through stress, boost focus and feel more gratitude. There are also short expert LED talks that can be a great boost of motivation in the middle of my day. Calm also has sleep stories, calming music and more. So whether you want a break from the news, need to handle grief, improve self esteem or strengthen relationships. The Calm app puts all these tools right there in your pocket. Calm your mind, change your life. Calm has an exclusive offer just for our listeners of our show. You can get 40% off a Calm premium subscription at calm.com newsworthy this is an amazing value. Go to C-A-L-M.com newsworthy for 40% off unlimited access to Calm's entire library. Com.com newsworthy and tell. Com you heard about them from me. OK, now back to work. Wednesday, the second largest employer in the U.S. is reportedly planning to replace more than half a million jobs with robots. The New York Times cited internal strategy documents that show Amazon is working toward automating 74% of the company's entire operations, and it's hoping that automation will keep it from having to hire 600,000 people that it would otherwise have to bring on by the year 2033. That despite estimating it will sell about twice as many products over that period. Well, an Amazon spokesperson responded to the report saying the leaked documents paint an incomplete and misleading picture of the company's plans. She says it's actually actively hiring at operations facilities around the country and has plans to fill 250,000 positions for the holiday season. All that said, if it does achieve its automation goal, as the documents spell it out, economists expect other companies to follow suit, marking a big shift for workplaces all around the country. Thank you so much for listening today and for sharing the show. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.