NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-09-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The Israeli cabinet has approved the first phase of a U.S. brokered plan to end the war in Gaza. President Trump says he expects Israeli hostages to be freed Monday or Tuesday, and he may go to the region, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. At his cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was flanked by two key members of Trump's team, envoy Steve Whitkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. President Trump says he's likely to travel on Sunday to Egypt, and he's been invited to speak to the Israeli Parliament. He says the hostages will likely be released early next week.

I think Monday is going to be a very big day, Monday, Tuesday, but it's going to be, depending on where you are, it's going to be a very big day. I think it's going to be a day of great celebration. The ceasefire and hostage deal is just the first phase of his plan for Gaza. Other points still need to be negotiated. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. A grand jury has indicted New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud. It's the latest case brought by federal prosecutors after Trump called on the Department of Justice to target his perceived political enemies. In a video statement released after the indictment, James denies charges as baseless.

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State Attorney General. James sued Trump and his company for inflating the value of some of its properties, winning more than $450 million in a civil fraud case. At campaign rallies last year, Trump called for both James and the judge in that case to, quote, be arrested and punished accordingly. One popular national park has fully reopened this week, despite the federal government shutdown, which is now in its ninth day. As Pierce Gentry with member station WUOT reports, local governments near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park came up with the money to keep it fully staffed. Seven local governments and one nonprofit in the region have partnered to commit nearly $2 million to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to help keep staff paid and popular destinations such as Cade's Cove open for visitors. Severe County is home to a significant portion of the park and fronted much of the money.

Here's Vice Mayor Brian McArthur. If that place is not open, the perception amongst a lot of folks is, well, then Severe County must be closed. And so we have to make sure that that opens to drive that economy. The National Park Service estimates the park was responsible for nearly $3 billion of investment in surrounding communities during 2024. McArthur says they can keep this up for about a month and hope to get their money back once the federal government reopens. For NPR news, I'm Pierce, tree. The S&P 500 fell three-tenths of a percent today coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped five-tenths of a percent. This is NPR news.

Federal regulators have opened another investigation into Tesla's self-driving technology after dozens of incidents where the vehicles ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road. The probe covers nearly three million vehicles, essentially all Tesla's equipped with the technology. PepsiCo is shaking up its snacking business, adding protein and removing artificial ingredients. The food giant makes many popular chip brands like Cheetos, Doritos, and Lays, and the company is pushing to keep people spending on snacks and drinks even as they're tightening their budgets. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports. A large share of PepsiCo's business is actually in snacking and food,

and those sales in North America are down in the latest quarter. In fact, Pepsi is facing new pressure from an activist investor to grow, faster and more profitably. Now, the company is trying to catch up to shoppers demanding cleaner labels with fewer ingredients and generally healthier options. Pepsi says it will add protein to Doritos chips and test out Cheetos and lays without artificial colors or flavors. The company will also use more of the healthier oils like avocado and olive.

And the CEO says fiber will be the new protein forecasting big demand for its snacks with extra fiber. Alina Seluk, NPR News. Dolly Parton says she, quote, ain't dead yet. The songwriting icon released the statement after public speculation about her health. Late last month, Parton postponed her first Las Vegas residency scheduled for December, citing health challenges. Dolly Parton has clarified that her doctors say she's dealing with nothing major.

I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.