NPR News Now - 4pm ET, October 19 | The latest headlines from NPR

Episode Date: October 19, 2026

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This is NPR News Now. The latest headlines every hour. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Kansas is the next stop on President Trump's sprint across Republican strongholds with just about two weeks left until the midterm elections. As he was taking questions from reporters before he left the White House short time ago, Trump was asked if it was a bad sign for the GOP that he's going to campaign in a state that voted for him. He says his presence is a boost for Republican candidates.

My rallies are having a huge impact and a positive impact on the Republican Party. I'm going to Kansas because I want it by a lot. Trump is headed to a part of the country where farmers have been struggling to afford record high diesel prices during the peak of harvest season. Early voting began today in Texas. Democrat James Tolariko is drawing on Texans' love of football as he tries to flip a Republican Senate seat. the Texas newsrooms, Blaze Ganey reports. Tala Rico's clear eyes, full hearts tour, borrows from Friday night lights the TV drama about Texas high school football. It opens Sunday in Plano, a Dallas suburb, in Republican-leaning, Collin County.

President Trump carried that county by more than 11 percentage points in 2024. University of Texas researcher Josh Blank says Tala RICO needs votes beyond Democratic strongholds. The reality is as Democrats can win. the urban and suburban parts of the state, and still lose the election if Republicans dominate the rural parts of Texas like they often do. Tolariko faces Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Democrats haven't won statewide in Texas in more than 30 years. For NPR News, I'm Blaise Ganey in Austin.

The midterms are on pace to be the most expensive election cycle on record. More than $15 billion have been raised to influence who will win control of Congress. That includes more than a quarter billion dollars in new spending by the world's wealthiest person, Elon Musk. Temporary protected status that was slated to expire today is being extended for people from Ukraine and Sudan, although NPR's Jasmine Garst tells us it's unclear how long those protections will remain in effect. Temporary protected status or TPS grants temporary lawful residence, work authorization, and protection from deportation, to certain foreigners, tens of thousands of Ukrainians, and hundreds of Sudanese immigrants living in the U.S. have it. In a statement, Homeland Security said a decision on both countries will be,

quote, made at the appropriate time. Until then, the agency added that Ukrainians and Sudanese who are enrolled in the program will retain protection. Over the last year and a half, the Trump administration has terminated TPS for more than one million people from over a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela. Jasmine Garst, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News. Artificial intelligence concerns are playing out beyond the United States. Ireland is a tech hub in Europe with Dublin, home to the European headquarters of META, Google, and Microsoft.

Just last week, the Irish government hosted a conference touting ways that AI can make Europe more competitive. Meanwhile, as NPR's Willa Rubin tells us, a group, of former tech workers and union organizers staged a counter-summit to voice their AI concerns. The thesis of this counter-summit can be summed up in a t-shirt worn by former tech worker Bruna Bacista Nicocelli. It's a picture of two people, all pixelated, smashing a computer. And it says workers against sloppaganda. Slop, AI slop, and aganda, propaganda. People here say AI is transforming the workplace so fast It could make jobs worse, replace jobs, make people dumber.

They talked solutions, like workers having a voice in management's decisions about how and why they're using AI. They're also suggesting a four-day work week. The union is bringing these ideas to the next Irish parliamentary subcommittee meeting on AI. Willa Rubin, NPR News, Dublin. Well, after more than four decades with CNN, Christian Amunpur is leaving. The network says its chief international anchor plans to depart CNN next June. The 68-year-old Amunpur is also expected to end her PBS show, Amunpur and company at the end of the year, according to a statement shared by CNN. However, Amunpur plans to keep her podcast, the X-Files with her ex-husband, former diplomat Jamie Rubin.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.