NPR News Now - 2am ET, October 13 | The latest headlines from NPR

Episode Date: October 13, 2026

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This is NPR News Now. The latest headlines every hour. Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. Ukraine says Russia is still attacking energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Moscow has hit multiple energy targets, despite President Trump's claim that Moscow had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Trump made the ceasefire announcement after unveiling a diesel-fuel deal with Russia. NPR's Charles Mains.

I don't think you can ignore the timing. This diesel agreement in effect saw Trump lifting sanctions on Russia placed over the war in Ukraine with an eye towards pleasing American voters ahead of the midterms. Putin agreed to provide 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets immediately with more to follow. Moreover, Trump has openly thanked Putin for providing the fuel while blaming Ukraine's attacks on Russian energy for driving up the cost of gas and diesel for American consumers. Trump has defended the deal for Russian diesel as lawmakers from both parties urge him to reverse course, saying the agreement appears to violate U.S. law. Ads promoting President Trump and his policies continue being paid for by the U.S. government. Well, after Trump said his MAGA Inc. Super PAC would take over.

And Pierce Tamara Keith reports the administration is now under a court order to take them down. When President Trump announced the U.S. government would no longer be paying for the, quote, patriotic ads, about $12 million had already been spent. But despite giving the impression that there'd been a policy change, the ads didn't stop airing. In the intervening week, another $10 million in taxpayer dollars went to fund the pro-Trump ads. That's according to an NPR analysis of ad impact data.

On Sunday, a federal judge issued a temporary order barring future airings. A White House official not authorized to speak publicly says the last ads paid for by the government aired on Sunday evening. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Now to India, where opposition parties marched to the Supreme Court and the Capitol on Monday, calling for the resignation of the country's election commissioner. Opposition leaders accused the election chief of purging India's voter list to favor Prime Minister Naredra Modi. NPR's Umpcar Kuntikar reports. Demonstrations against India's election chief have led to a sweeping crackdown across the country, with the police detaining hundreds and locking down parts of the capital over the weekend.

But on Monday, thousands converged in New Delhi from across the country to demand their voting rights. The march ended as opposition leader Rahul Gandhi filed a petition in the Supreme Court to stop an audit an ongoing exercise that deleted more than 130 million names of India's voter lists. The ruling BJP party rejects allegations against Modi and election commissioner Ghaaneesh Kumar. Neither of them commented on the protests. Oamkar-Kandekar, NPR News, New Delhi. This is NPR News. Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is calling the search of her Washington, D.C. home, part of President Trump's intimidation campaign.

And on social media, she said she will not be silenced. Federal agents searched Omar's home Monday morning. NPR is reporting the investigation deals with immigration fraud allegations that Omar denies. Recovery continues along Florida's Gulf Coast after a Category 2 hurricane struck near Destin Friday night. At least four people died in Florida and Alabama, and between 50,000 and 100,000 Florida customers remain without power. T.S. Strickland and member station WUWF is in Pensacola. In Pace, Florida, Ivan Rosado is cutting up a tree. that crashed through a former neighbor's house.

It did a lot of damage, but thank God that our house was good. And we checked on the neighbors. They checked on everybody's coming around like we're supposed to in this country. Nearby, 84-year-old Franklin Leritz is clearing fallen branches that damaged his mobile home. His neighbors are pitching in two. We all go to church together. We all work together. We do the Lord's work together.

And so in between that and what we have to do, We help one another. For NPR news, I'm T.S. Strickland in Pensacola. Hurricane Simon is pounding Mexico's Pacific coast. Authorities say there is widespread damage and that the storm led to the deaths of a 71-year-old man and a young girl. In Baja, California, at least 10 people are still missing, and a young girl died following Tropical Storm Rachel.

I'm Jail Snyder, NPR News.