NPR News Now - 7pm ET, October 12 | The latest headlines from NPR

Episode Date: October 12, 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 Janine Hervst. Ukrainian President Zelensky says he's willing to hold elections if President Trump can get Russia to suspend its attacks on Ukraine for 60 days. Terry Schultz reports Zelensky also weighed in on Trump's deal to import Russian diesel fuel. Addressing the annual Warsaw Security Forum conference, President Zelensky said, while holding elections during a war would require changing Ukrainian law,

it would be possible if Russian attacks ceased so that people could safely take part in the process. He's heard here through an interpreter. And it's also impossible now because of our military, more than a million people who must vote, but how will they vote while being on the front line? Zelensky also suggested that instead of buying diesel from Russia, the U.S. should buy from Ukraine. He said he'd been given no advance notification of the agreement with the Kremlin that Trump announced Friday. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Warsaw.

Israel's Supreme Court is ordering officials to plan for the return of Palestinians to their homes in the occupied West Bank. MPIRS Daniel Estrin says tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from their communities for more than a year. The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the Israeli military

to specify a timeline for when Palestinian civilians can return to their homes in several West Bank refugee camps. Israel evacuated and largely destroyed those areas during a military operation more than a year and a half ago. Israel said it was countering militant strongholds. It's the largest mass displacement in the West Bank in many decades. Infrastructure still hasn't been rebuilt and families haven't been allowed to return. An Israeli cabinet minister is calling to ignore the court ruling.

Faisal Salame, the Palestinian leader of one displaced refugee camp, called the court ruling useless, as long as the Israeli military continues to occupy the area. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Many leaders of Native American tribal nations are raising concerns about the Trump administration's proposal for unprecedented changes to the next U.S. census. It would reshape voting maps and determine how federal funding is distributed across the country. NPR Sanzi-Lawang has more.

One proposed change is not to use the 2030 census to produce statistics about race and ethnicity. The topic has been part of the U.S. headcount since the first one in 1790. Trump officials say they see a, quote, reduced need for that information, which is used for redistricting and enforcing civil rights laws. Megan Bishop of the National Congress of American Indians is an enrolled citizen of the native village of a Fognak in Alaska. There's a significant concern about how federal funding would be distributed through grants and other programs to tribes if that race ethnicity census question is erased. The public can comment on their proposal. through November 2nd. Hansi Luong, NPR News. U.S. Futures contracts are trading flat at this hour. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The United States is in the midst of the biggest and deadliest measles epidemic in decades. With cases reported across the country, infectious disease experts say some vaccinated adults should consider getting another measles shot. Impairs Maria Godoy has more. Before vaccines, measles used to kill four to 500 people in the U.S. each year. Two doses of the measles, mumps, and rebella vaccine is 97% effective. Most people vaccinated before 1989 probably received just one dose instead of the two doses recommended for children today. Dr. Larry Kosciolic of Northwestern University says traditionally, one dose has been considered sufficient protection for adults not at high risk,

but he says these days... If you are living in areas with high measles activity, it does does make a whole lot of sense for adults to go ahead and get that second dose. If you're not sure of your vaccination history, he says there's no harm in getting an extra dose of the MMR vaccine. Maria Godoy and PR News. Cleanup continues in the southeast after Isayas came ashore in Florida on Friday. The storm is blamed for at least four deaths. More than 100,000 customers are still without power in Alabama and Florida, but that's down from around 700,000 out over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel are still bringing the chance of heavy rain over the southwest today. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood advisories and watches for parts of several states. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.