Senate approves legislation to end shutdown. And, where climate change efforts stand

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Today's top story

The U.S. Senate voted 60 to 40 last night to approve a continuing resolution to reopen the government. Speaker Mike Johnson called the House of Representatives back to Washington, D.C., as they will have to pass the measure before President Trump can sign it into law.

The U.S. House of Representatives is seen on the 40th day of a government shutdown on Nov. 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

• 🎧 In addition to voting on the temporary funding measure, lawmakers voted on three bipartisan annual appropriations bills that cover specific agencies like the FDA, NPR's Sam Gringlas tells Up First. Moving forward with these measures means there is a chance of a partial government shutdown at the end of January, but programs like SNAP, would continue. A provision to extend expiring health care subsidies was not included in the measure, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he will hold a vote by mid-December. In the legislation for the subsidies, Democrats who are in favor of them will need something that can win enough Republican votes.
• 🎧 Seven Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans in voting to reopen the government, a move drawing backlash from voters on the left who say the party keeps caving on key priorities. NPR's Domenico Montanaro notes Democrats may have an advantage heading into next year's midterms if affordability and the cost of living remain top concerns.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries have begun climate negotiations at the COP30 in Brazil. As with previous summits, the negotiations begin on a weak note as countries are still not meeting their goals to cut heat-trapping emissions from burning fossil fuels.

• 🎧 The world is on track for five degrees Fahrenheit of warming currently, NPR's Lauren Sommer reports, which could lead to heatwaves and storms becoming more intense, as well as ecosystems like coral reefs having a low chance of survival. But there's good news: over 90% of new power projects built last year were renewable showing electricity is becoming cleaner globally.
• ➡️ Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the COP30 with this app-exclusive playlist of stories.

Some white Afrikaners and Afrikaans groups are now pushing back against the U.S. administration's claims, labeling them as "lies" and "falsehoods" made in their name. The backlash follows Trump's announcement that no U.S. officials will attend the G20 Summit, which South Africa is hosting as the current rotating chair of the group of major world economies, later this month in Johannesburg, citing "human rights" concerns.

Living better

The majority of foods sold in U.S. grocery stores are considered ultra-processed. But some nutritionists say not all of them are unhealthy. ruzanna/iStockphoto/Getty Images hide caption

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ruzanna/iStockphoto/Getty Images

Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.

In recent years, efforts to improve Americans' health have focused on reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which comprise the majority of Americans' diets. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said these foods are "poisoning" Americans. But public health and nutrition experts still don't agree on a definition of ultra-processed foods:

• 🍟 The term describes how much processing foods undergo, from unprocessed or minimally processed to those with manufactured ingredients and additives.
• 🍟 Some experts argue that certain ultra-processed foods, such as plant-based milks, can be beneficial for health.
• 🍟 For many, they are also more affordable and accessible. However, consumers seeking healthier options can aim to make more informed decisions within the ultra-processed category and reduce their sugar intake.
  

Behind the story

NPR's Quil Lawrence interviewing Dave Carlson. Caroline Yang for NPR hide caption

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Caroline Yang for NPR

This essay was written by Quil Lawrence, NPR's veterans correspondent

It's Veterans Day today and NPR is the only mainstream national network with a dedicated veterans reporter. This week, Quil Lawrence released a two-part podcast on The Sunday Story from Up First, which follows the story of Dave Carlson, an Iraq war veteran who he has been talking to for over a decade.

Back in 2015, I was doing a story that led me to talk to some veterans who were incarcerated. That's when someone told me a surprising fact: when you get incarcerated, you become a ward of the state. Meaning, it doesn't make sense for the Department of Veterans Affairs to be taking care of you, because a different part of the government is taking care of you. And you lose a lot of your veteran's benefits.

I wanted to know: what's it like to have combat PTSD and then be thrown into this environment where you can't let your guard down, where you can't really heal, and where you don't have access to services that could help? So I was looking for an incarcerated veteran to interview. And that's when I found a website featuring Carlson's writing from prison. His mom had set it up for him and she helped me get in touch.

There's this question that's been nagging me ever since I was a war reporter embedded with active duty troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those were the first major set of wars we've had without a military draft, which means a lot of American families weren't forced to endure the experience of fighting or sending loved ones to fight these wars. That can make veterans kind of feel this loneliness and this cultural divide.

I wanted to know: What do we owe the people who were sent to war and came back with painful but often invisible wounds? I don't know that I've fully found the answer, but this podcast helped me process that question through Carlson's story. Ultimately, I think what we owe veterans mostly is an open mind. And remembering that most vets are just like you and me.

Listen to Part 1 of the podcast here and Part 2 here.

3 things to know before you go

Flesh is Hungarian-British author David Szalay's sixth novel. hide caption

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1. David Szalay's latest fiction novel, Flesh, has won this year's Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in literature.
2. The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to take up a case challenging its 2015 landmark decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide.
3. The Jacksonville Jaguars will host their home games in Orlando in 2027 while their stadium undergoes a $1.4 billion renovation, an Orlando City Council member confirmed. (via WUSF)

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.