Senate’s ACA vote; Fed cuts charges; Venezuela : NPR

Good morning. You are studying the Up First e-newsletter. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox, and pay attention to the Up First podcast for all of the information you must begin your day.

Immediately’s prime tales

The Senate is about to vote in the present day on two well being coverage plans — one from Democrats and one from Republicans — geared toward decreasing prices for people buying medical health insurance on Healthcare.gov. In the meantime, some Home Republicans need to pressure a vote to increase subsidies for the Inexpensive Care Act, that are set to run out in lower than three weeks. They warn that Republican leaders danger dropping voters and the bulk in the event that they let the subsidies expire with no alternative.

• 🎧 Republicans maintain a small Senate majority, and since the payments want 60 votes to move, NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin tells Up First that neither choice will probably transfer ahead. That is unwelcome information for people who find themselves presently navigating open enrollment and are hoping for some reduction. Simmons-Duffin spoke with Ellen Allen of Charleston, W.Va., yesterday, who mentioned she enrolled in a bronze plan with out imaginative and prescient and dental protection. This plan prices Allen a month-to-month premium of $1,967.50, which is 4 instances this yr’s value for a plan that covers much less. Polling means that the enhanced subsidies are fairly fashionable throughout social gathering traces, in response to Simmons-Duffin. She predicts it is unlikely the votes would be the finish of the story, and that Congress might proceed to work towards an answer.

The Federal Reserve reduce rates of interest by 1 / 4 share level yesterday in a 9-3 vote. The Fed made its choice in an effort to assist the weakening job market. Cussed inflation and delayed financial information sophisticated the decision-making course of. The speed reduce got here as a reduction to buyers. The Dow Jones Industrial Common jumped almost 500 factors.

• 🎧 Fed policymakers say in up to date forecasts that they anticipate to chop rates of interest simply as soon as extra in 2026. Inflation has come down considerably, however it nonetheless stays above the Fed’s 2% goal, in response to NPR’s Scott Horsley. The president’s tariffs have pushed up the worth of imported items. Though Fed officers do not consider tariffs could have a long-lasting impact on inflation, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says they aren’t taking any possibilities. Powell says the greatest means to assist with affordability shouldn’t be solely to get inflation down but additionally to make sure a sturdy job market.

President Trump mentioned yesterday that U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi launched a video exhibiting what seem like U.S. forces and the Coast Guard rappelling from a helicopter onto the tanker. Congress is demanding solutions about U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats, notably with reference to a Sept. 2 incident the place the navy killed two males who survived preliminary strikes. Adm. Alvin Holsey, who oversaw the strikes, is stepping down this week.

• 🎧 Officers haven’t offered many particulars publicly about Holsey’s departure, however it’s uncommon for a prime commander to depart one yr right into a typical three-year task, Steve Walsh of NPR community station WHRO says. Holsey appeared in a closed-door assembly earlier than lawmakers this week to deal with considerations in regards to the ongoing boat strikes. Experiences trace that he was diplomatic in his messaging, Walsh says. In the meantime, lawmakers’ considerations stay as they proceed to demand video of the Sept. 2 strike and the administration’s authorized rationale for finishing up round 22 strikes on alleged drug boats, which have killed 87 individuals.

Immediately’s pay attention

As 2025 winds down, it is time to crank up the jams and have fun the yr’s prime music. NPR’s Music staff received the social gathering began by tackling the largest query: What had been one of the best albums of the yr? Whereas one album snagged the coveted spot of NPR Music’s No. 1 album of 2025, the staff did not cease there. They had been tasked with crafting a private record of their prime 10 albums of the yr, and singling out one album they’d suggest to anybody. Get able to dive into the staff’s elite, no-skips, best-of-the-best 12-pack of albums they might suggest.

Plus, take a look at NPR Music’s favourite songs of 2025, and hearken to a playlist on the streaming platform of your selection. Get extra protection on one of the best music of 2025 right here.

Deep dive

Ken Clouse and his spouse Pam take a look at a nonetheless picture taken from a recreation digicam on their porch. The couple says within the final two years, they’ve repeatedly seen black bears of their neighborhood south of Alpine, Texas.

Carlos Morales/NPR

conceal caption

toggle caption

Carlos Morales/NPR

Black bears have traditionally been West Texas’ largest predator. However overhunting and habitat loss have led to their decline over the a long time. Now, black bear sightings have elevated within the state, and researchers consider their populations are rising elsewhere as properly. Whereas West Texas is celebrating the bears’ return, their presence has posed challenges and considerations as they enterprise into neighborhoods, enter yards and threaten livestock and pets. Here is how some states are coping:

• 🐻 In states like Montana and Colorado, residents set up bear-resistant dumpsters and trash bins. In some circumstances, they might use alarm methods or sprinklers to attempt to startle bears.
• 🐻 Wildlife biologists stress that residents ought to take away meals and something that might appeal to hungry bears to their space.
• 🐻 Biologists are additionally working to arrange individuals to dwell with black bears and educate them within the hope of decreasing bear-human conflicts.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

Involution, an obscure time period utilized in agricultural economics, leapt from the pages of academia into the Chinese language meme world, then turned a part of Chinese language authorities policymaking.

Getty Photos

conceal caption

toggle caption

Getty Photos

1. “Involution,” an obscure time period utilized in agricultural economics, is NPR’s “Phrase of the Week.” Here is the way it leaped from academia into Chinese language meme tradition — and the way it in the end influenced authorities policymaking.
2. This week’s Far-Flung Postcard sequence takes you to a meals stand within the one-horse city of Marikavalasa in India, the place working ladies go to get pleasure from a deal with and unwind within the night earlier than returning to the grind.
3. Sophie Kinsella, the writer of the massively fashionable Shopaholic ebook sequence, has died on the age of 55. Final yr, she introduced she was identified with an aggressive type of mind most cancers in 2022.

This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.