ICE Shooting In Texas, UNGA: Ukraine Warning, Government Shutdown Standoff

Summary

Up First from NPR

Episode: ICE Shooting In Texas, UNGA: Ukraine Warning, Government Shutdown Standoff
Date: September 25, 2025
Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Amy Martinez, with reporting from Selena Simmons Duffin, Tolawani Osi Bamowo, and Joanna Kakissis

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Episode Overview

This episode covers three major news stories dominating headlines as of September 25, 2025:

• A deadly shooting at a Dallas ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facility, exploring the investigation and broader context of escalating violence at immigration sites in Texas.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s stark warning to the United Nations about Russia’s war and its global stakes, delivered amid shifting signals from President Trump on U.S. support for Ukraine.
• The intensifying U.S. government shutdown standoff, with major implications for federal employees and millions who rely on health insurance subsidies.

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1. Shooting at Dallas ICE Facility

Segment begins ~[02:26]

Key Points:

• At least one immigration detainee was killed and two wounded in a shooting at the Dallas ICE field office—marking the third such attack on Texas immigration facilities this year.
• The shooter, identified as Joshua John, is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• The FBI considers the incident an “act of targeted violence,” possibly politically motivated, as one bullet casing was inscribed with “anti-ICE.”
• No prior violent crime history for the suspect; one of the injured is a Mexican national.
• The attack is part of a concerning trend: recent months also saw shootings at other Texas border enforcement sites and bomb threats targeting ICE.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps:

• Joanna Kakissis (FBI): “There will be no resource not utilized.” [03:28]
• FBI Director Kosh Patel: Called it “a despicable, politically motivated attack on law enforcement.” [03:38]
• Neighbor Sherry Davis: “I would have never imagined that such a thing, you know, someone that felt so... so disenfranchised would live so close to me.” [04:24]
• Tolawani Osi Bamowo (KERA): “Immigrants have been at the center of the political divide, often portrayed in a negative light. And yesterday, some immigrants became victims of this political rhetoric.” [05:43]

Details on Related Incidents:

• July 4: Gunfire at an ICE facility protest in Alvarado.
• Three days later: Shooting at a Customs and Border Protection facility in McAllen.
• Late August: Bomb threat at the same Dallas ICE office.

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2. Ukraine at the United Nations: Escalating War and Shifting U.S. Support

Segment begins ~[05:58]

Key Points:

• President Zelensky warned the UN General Assembly that Russia’s invasion is fueling “the most destructive arms race in human history,” now involving AI weapons.
• Zelensky claims the war will spread if the world doesn’t force Russia into a durable peace.
• President Trump’s stance on Ukraine appears to have shifted—he now says Ukraine can win and promises continued U.S. weapons, after earlier public doubts.
• In Kyiv, Trump’s statement met with both relief and skepticism—Ukrainians appreciate U.S. support but remain wary of vague promises and a possible U.S. retreat from the peace process.
• Ukrainian officials say recapturing occupied land is nearly impossible without direct U.S. engagement; mere pressure on Russia is not enough.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps:

• Selena Simmons Duffin (citing Zelensky): “We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history because this time it includes artificial intelligence.” [00:24]
• Oleksandr Kryv (Ukrainian analyst): “He’s just stating the fact that somebody should do something about it, but definitely not me.” [07:19]
• Oleksandr Mereshko (Ukrainian MP): “He promised also severe consequences for Russia if Russia rejects this. ... It is his war. So he just needs to be consistent and to deliver on his promises, wants to remain a credible politician.” [08:12]
• Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze (Ukrainian MP): “It will be very, very difficult [to reclaim occupied territory], because I don’t think that Russia is capable of changing its behaviour if it doesn’t feel the pressure, if it doesn’t feel the economic pain, industrial pain, military pain of its own action.” [08:41]
• Joanna Kakissis (on Kremlin): “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also took issue with Trump calling Russia a paper tiger ... Peskov said, actually, Russia’s a bear and there’s nothing paper about a bear.” [09:07]

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3. Looming U.S. Government Shutdown and the Future of Health Insurance Subsidies

Segment begins ~[09:40]

Key Points:

• The risk of a federal government shutdown appears higher than in recent years, with a White House memo instructing agencies to prep not just for furloughs, but potential mass layoffs.
• At issue: fate of the enhanced ACA (“Obamacare”) premium tax credits, which enabled millions to afford health insurance; these are set to expire soon.
• If Congress does not act, millions may lose health coverage or see premiums spike during November’s open enrollment.
• There is bipartisan interest in extending the subsidies, but disagreements over the scope and structure of reforms have stalled negotiations.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps:

• Steve Inskeep: “This plan goes beyond the usual temporary furloughs during a shutdown. It would permanently cut jobs in programs that are established by law. But the president doesn't like.” [09:46]
• Selena Simmons Duffin: “If Congress doesn’t act to extend those tax credits in the next week or two, people are going to get sticker shock when open enrollment starts and they see that monthly amount they pay for health insurance is going to go way up next year.” [11:00]
• Sabrina Corlette (Georgetown University): “Enrollment more than doubled. It’s now 24 million people. And the uninsured rate for the entire country sank to the lowest it’s ever been.” [11:42]
• Emily Pisa Creta (healthcare podcast producer): “Five hundred a month is not little, and to imagine it going up to almost 900 a month seems really scary.” [12:48]
• Selena Simmons Duffin: “Many Republican voters will likely be hard hit by the higher premiums. ... Other Republican lawmakers think the subsidies are too expensive and argue they might be willing to extend them, but they want to change the program in various ways and not sort that out now with the shutdown looming.” [13:11]

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Memorable Moments

• A stark local-to-national connection: From a neighbor's disbelief (“I would have never imagined...”) [04:24] to a discussion on rhetoric fueling violence at ICE sites, the episode directly links political discourse with on-the-ground consequences.
• Global implications of domestic politics: As seen in Ukraine coverage, U.S. political posturing has direct life-or-death impacts abroad, a reality echoed by Ukrainian voices (“It is his war. ... he just needs to be consistent.” [08:12])
• Personal stakes in policy talk: Emily Pisa Creta’s perspective brings human weight to the debate over ACA subsidies.

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Important Timestamps

• [02:26] – Details on the Dallas ICE facility shooting
• [05:58] – Zelensky’s UN speech and the evolving U.S. position on Ukraine
• [09:40] – Discussion on the looming government shutdown and health insurance debate

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Overall Tone and Takeaway

The episode’s tone is urgent, factual, and empathetic—highlighting the interplay between political decisions, international consequences, and deeply personal stakes. The hosts and correspondents balance rapid-fire reporting with on-the-ground insight, showing how the big headlines are felt at street level, in conflict zones, and across kitchen tables in America.

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This summary covers all substantive content and skips all advertisements, promos, and outro material.

Transcript

[Steve Inskeep]

A shooting at an immigration facility is one of at least three in Texas so far this year.

[Amy Martinez]

The suspected gunman is dead. What is the FBI saying about the motive for an attack that killed a detainee?

[Steve Inskeep]

I'm Steve Inskeep with a Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. Ukraine's president says Russia's war is a global threat.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history because this time it includes artificial intelligence.

[Steve Inskeep]

Will Volodymyr Zelensky get the support he wants from President Trump?

[Amy Martinez]

And the White House is raising the stakes on a government shutdown. A new memo orders agencies to prepare mass layoffs if funding runs out, and health care costs are a big part of that fight. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

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[Amy Martinez]

At least one immigration detainee is dead and two are in critical condition after shooting at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office yesterday.

[Steve Inskeep]

This is at least the third instance of gun violence at immigration facilities in Texas this year. Different incidents, different backstories, but ICE is in the news as the Trump administration tries for a mass deportation.

[Amy Martinez]

With us now is Tolawani Osi Bamowo of member station K E R A in Dallas. So we mentioned some details about the shooting, but how far have authorities gotten in their investigation so far?

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

Yeah, well, yesterday was a pretty chaotic and tragic day in one of the busiest immigration facilities in North Texas. And we still have a lot of questions today. Aside from the victims, the suspect is also dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound. Dallas police said the person shot at the ICE office from a nearby building. The FBI says they're investigating the shoot. Shooting is a, quote, act of targeted violence. Joe Rothrock with the Dallas FBI office says local and federal authorities will be participating in the investigation.

[Joanna Kakissis]

There will be no resource not utilized.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

To bring all those individuals who are responsible to bring them to justice and.

[Amy Martinez]

To hold them accountable.

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

FBI Director Kosh Patel called this a despicable, politically motivated attack on law enforcement. Authorities haven't indicated any specific motive, but they did release a picture of five unspeak bullet casings found at the scene. And one had the words anti ice.

[Amy Martinez]

Okay, now we've also seen a name and a picture floating around about the shooter. Anything confirmed on that? Tell us what we do know about that shooter.

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

Well, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons identified the shooter to CBS News as Joshua John. NPR found that John most recently lived in Fairview, which is a suburb about 30 miles north of Dallas. And police had swarmed his home there yesterday afternoon. And one of his neighbors, Sherry Davis, said it was a very small, tight knit community. But know much about John?

[Joanna Kakissis]

I would have never imagined that such a thing, you know, someone that felt so. So disenfranchised would. Would live so close to me.

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

Collin county court records don't show that John has a history of any violent crimes. However, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to marijuana charges in 2016. Authorities haven't released the identities of the victims. One of them who's in the hospital is a Mexican national. That's according to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Amy Martinez]

Okay. Now, as we mentioned earlier, I mean, this is just the most recent attack on an immigration facility in Texas. What can you tell us about the other incidents that have led up to this moment?

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

Well, on July 4th, a gunman shot at a local police officer during a protest outside an ICE facility in Alvarado. That's about 30 miles south of Fort Worth. Seventeen people have been arrested. And then three days after that shooting, a man opened fire at a Customs and Border protection facility in McAllen, a border city along the Rio Grande. He was killed by law enforcement. And then in late August, the Dallas ICE office that was the site of yesterday's shooting got a bomb threat where a man at the entrance of the building claimed to have an explosive in his bag. Immigration and immigrants have been at the center of the political divide, often portrayed in a negative light. And yesterday, some immigrants became victims of this political rhetoric.

[Amy Martinez]

Toluwany Osi Bamowo is a reporter with K E R A in Dallas. Thank you very much.

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

Thanks.

[Amy Martinez]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia's war on Ukraine is fueling an arms race that is threatening humanity and that the war will spread if Russia is not forced into a durable peace deal.

[Steve Inskeep]

Zelensky said that at the UN General assembly on Wednesday, he spoke during a week when President Trump again shifted his stance on the war, asserting this time that Ukraine could win and that the United States would keep supplying weapons. But how do all those words sound when they're heard in the country that's under attack?

[Amy Martinez]

Joining us now to discuss all of this is NPR's correspondent Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kiev. Joanna, so Ukrainians, how are they reacting to President Trump's seemingly sudden about face on Ukraine?

[Joanna Kakissis]

Well, Ukrainians have been telling me that they are grateful Trump seems to be acknowledging Russia is the aggressor in this war and that he is talking about Ukraine's territorial integrity. Because earlier this year, the Ukrainians heard Trump saying that their country does not have the cards to and seem to be pushing Ukraine into giving up its territory in exchange for a peace deal with Russia. Now, that said, Trump has also not offered Ukraine things like concrete security guarantees or additional US Sanctions on Russia. I spoke with Oleksandr Kryv. He's the director of the North America Program at the Ukrainian PRISM Foreign Policy Council here in Kiev. And he said that it sounds like Trump is also saying something that he said before.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

He's not speaking about America doing more or himself doing something additional. So he's just stating the fact that somebody should do something about it, but definitely not me.

[Joanna Kakissis]

So cry have said that the Trump administration could be distancing itself from the peace process and shifting the burden onto the European Union.

[Amy Martinez]

But is that even possible, I mean, at this stage for the US to distance itself from a peace process?

[Joanna Kakissis]

Well, Zelensky has said repeatedly that the US Is key to securing a durable peace deal. He upped the ante at the UN by saying that the war is fueling a global arms race with, quote, weapons evolving faster than our ability to Defend ourselves. I also spoke with Oleksandr Mereshko. He's a lawmaker from Zelensky's party and head of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. And he said Trump has already made big promises, like saying he will put maximum pressure on Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

He promised also severe consequences for Russia if Russia rejects this. So it's too late for Trump. It is his war. So he just needs to be consistent and to deliver on his promises, wants to remain a credible politician.

[Joanna Kakissis]

And they also spoke with yet another member of Parliament, Ivana Klimpochtinsata, and she said that it would be close to impossible for Ukraine to reclaim occupied land entirely through military means and without US Engagement.

[Tolawani Osi Bamowo]

It will be very, very difficult because I don't think that Russia is capable of changing its behavior if it doesn't feel the pressure, if it doesn't feel the economic pain, industrial pain, military pain of its own action.

[Joanna Kakissis]

So what she's saying is Russia won't negotiate unless the US Forces it to.

[Amy Martinez]

Yeah, and there's that. So how's Russia responded to President Trump's apparent shift?

[Joanna Kakissis]

Well, the Kremlin has dismissed Trump's suggestion that Ukraine could win this war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also took issue with Trump calling Russia a paper tiger. That it looks strong but is actually weak. Peskov said, actually, Russia's a bear and there's nothing paper about a bear. So it's a cryptic message, but a sign that Russia won't end its war on Ukraine anytime soon.

[Amy Martinez]

NPR's Joanna Kakisis is in Kyiv. Joanna, thanks.

[Joanna Kakissis]

You're welcome.

[Amy Martinez]

Government shutdown is looking more and more likely, and this time it could be far more severe than in the past.

[Steve Inskeep]

A memo from the White House instructs federal agencies to prepare mass firing plans if funding lapses at the end of the month. This plan goes beyond the usual temporary furloughs during a shutdown. It would permanently cut jobs in programs that are established by law. But the president doesn't like. As so often happens, Republicans and Democrats do not agree on a funding measure for the fiscal year that is about to start. Republicans want a short term extension, while Democrats have insisted that extension should include some protections for people who have health insurance premiums to pay.

[Amy Martinez]

NPR's Selena Simmons Duffin covers all things health insurance. All right, so let's start with deadlines here down. Could start next week, but there are other key dates at play.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Yeah. So in just over a month on November 1st, open enrollment begins on the affordable Care act marketplaces, you might know them as Obamacare, healthcare.gov that's all the same thing. And this is where people shop for insurance if they don't get it through their job. So, you know, a lot of freelancers, small business employees, at the end of the year, something called the enhanced premium tax credits expire. Those have kept premiums affordable for people who get their insurance this way. And if Congress doesn't act to extend those tax credits in the next week or two, people are going to get sticker shock when open enrollment starts and they see that monthly amount they pay for health insurance is going to go way up next year.

[Amy Martinez]

Where did these tax credits come from?

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

So when the ACA was passed way back in 2010, Congress created kind of a sliding scale to help give people a break on their premiums. But the way it was originally set up didn't work very well. Premiums were still really high for a lot of people. So enrollment was sluggish. In 2021, Congress stepped in. They sweetened the pot with a lot more federal funding, which made premiums more affordable for people at all income levels. Sabrina Corlette of the Georgetown center on Health Insurance Reform told me that worked enrollment more than doubled. It's now 24 million people. And the uninsured rate for the entire country sank to the lowest it's ever been. Incredibly successful effort to get more people into coverage and reduce the uninsured rate.

[Amy Martinez]

All right, so what happens, though, if the enhanced credits expire?

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

In short, people's costs will go up and enrollment will drop. Ultimately, millions of people could become uninsured. Yesterday I spoke with Emily Pisa Creta. She is a senior producer with the healthcare podcast An Arm and a Leg, which partners with KFF Health News and NPR member station kuow. They just did an episode about her quest to find ACA insurance, something she really needs since she has type 1 diabetes. She tells me that she relies on insurance for insulin, which she needs to survive, and all sorts of diabetes supplies. And those really add up. She found a plan that works for her. It's 500amonth, but it could get much more expensive next year if those enhanced credits expire.

[Advertisement Voice]

Five hundred a month is not little, and to imagine it going up to almost 900amonth seems really scary.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

I talked to somebody who lives in West Virginia who's putting money aside that would go to retirement because of these changes. And another person in Florida told me he's considering finding a new job with benefits if his premium becomes unaffordable.

[Amy Martinez]

So what are the politics on all this. Where does that stand? Right now?

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

There are Republican lawmakers who would like to extend these tax credits, Corlette at Georgetown told me based on who's enrolled, many Republican voters will likely be hard hit by the higher premiums. Other Republican lawmakers think the subsidies are too expensive and argue they might be willing to extend them, but they want to change the program in various ways and not sort that out now with the shutdown looming. Either way, it's really hard to see this getting resolved before a shutdown next week since there are currently no active talks between the two parties.

[Amy Martinez]

That's NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons Duffin. Thanks a lot.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

You're welcome.

[Amy Martinez]

And that's up first for Thursday, September 25th. Amy Martinez, Steven and I'm Steve Inskeep.

[Steve Inskeep]

Here's an amazing thing about NPR News. This is not a network. It's some Eastern city. It's in every state across the country. There are NPR stations across America. The station is in your community. It is run by people in your community. It serves your community. It is supported by people in your community. And you can help keep this network strong. Here's a way to do it. Go to our website, donate.NPR.org up first and it is so cool. You can press a button here and your donation will go directly to your local station.

[Amy Martinez]

Today's episode of up first was edited by Alfredo Carvajal, Miguel Macias, Diane Weber, Mohamed Elvardisi and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Lindsay Toddi. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

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