NPR News Now - 5pm ET, October 19 | The latest headlines from NPR

Episode Date: October 19, 2026

The latest headlines from NPR at the top of this hour. The stories you hear are written, reported and fact-checked by NPR journalists.  Learn more about the standards of our journalism at npr.org/ethics. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

This is NPR News Now. The latest headlines every hour. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Bartner. President Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today the latest in a series of Trump's actions and policies benefiting Russia in recent weeks. Frankly, Zelensky is not helping matters much. I think he doesn't want to stop it. But I want to see people not die.

They're losing probably on average 20. to 35,000 soldiers every single month. All I want to do, I don't care. I want to get the war stopped. Last week, Trump waived sanctions on Moscow, approved new limits on Ukraine's use of SpaceX's Starlink system for battlefield operations, and made a deal to import Russian diesel fuel. President Trump issued an executive order to promote research on women's health today, NPR's Maria Godoy has more. The order establishes a White House task force led by health secretary Robert of Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles. It also creates a new NIH division that will be tasked with increasing and coordinating research on conditions that affect women's health through all phases of life.

President Trump said it was surprising the division did not already exist. Think of it a women's health division and it hasn't been done, but it's been done under Trump. The NIH Office of Women's Health Research has existed since 1990. The order states that office will coordinate with a new NIH Division. Maria Godoy and PR News. Last year, NIH was among the agencies downsized in the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to personnel and research funding. The 2026 midterms are on track to be the most expensive on record. More than $15 billion have been raised to influence who will win control of Congress. NPR Stephen Fowler has more. Both parties are spending money like there's no tomorrow and like they think Democrats could win big in a lot of places. Three-fourths of the planned

ad buys from now until election day are in races that in theory favor Republicans or a toss-ups. We don't know the answer to the billion-dollar question of will it work, but time's running out to make a difference. NPR's Stephen Fowler reporting overnight curfews have been put in place in parts of France after riots over the weekend. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, gave local authorities the power to impose such curfews to counter what he calls delinquents and thugs. The curfew includes Paris's Place de la Republic, a central gathering point that has seen some of the worst skirmishes between protesters and police, as well as destruction and looting. The mayor of Nice announced a curfew specifically for young people.

There are also restrictions in some northern cities, including Lille, which saw its town hall broken into over the weekend. President Emmanuel Macron and his government are being blamed for the mayhem. Far right later, Marine Le Pen said the interior minister was not prepared and should resign. The prime minister says ultra-left radical groups are trying to create chaos. Ahead of the next presidential election. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. U.S. Stock Index is closed. Mixed today.

This is NPR. Following the 2010 BP oil spill, the number of fish in the deeper parts of the Gulf of Mexico dramatically declined. That's according to a new major multi-year study. Fish populations dropped by about 60% while krill that whales and others eat went down 72%. Researchers said there's no other cause they could find for the drop

except the BP oil spill. bill. Dispersants used after this bill caused many problems and new studies show that in future accidents, it would be better to avoid those chemicals. The Supreme Court announced today that it will again take up the issue of race and school admissions, this time focused on several middle schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. NPR's Sequoia Corrillo reports. Three years after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, it will consider the issue of race in admissions for four selective middle schools. The case focuses on the school shift to a lottery system that the county says ensures fair admissions opportunities for all students.

A group of parents who sued disagree. They say it discriminates based on race, specifically against Asian-American students. The case has been dismissed twice by lower courts, but will be argued sometime before the court's term ends next summer. Sequoia Carrillo, NPR News. Conservation groups and government agencies are using starter homes made of wood and brush to encourage beavers to build dams. These dams slow water, create habitats, and help ecosystems become more resilient to climate change. experts say this is crucial as the American West becomes drier. Utah State University runs a beaver relocation program to move unwanted beavers to remote streams. This is NPR News.