NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-13-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

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In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump is on his way to the Middle East, where he'll mark what is hoped to be the end of the war in Gaza. President Trump is arriving in Israel tomorrow just for a few short hours. He's going to be delivering a speech at Israel's parliament.

He's going to be meeting the families of hostages. And then he flies to Egypt, to Sharma Sheikh, for a short ceremony dubbed the Middle East peace ceremony. There will be major regional and international leaders there. Hamas and Israel are not attending. That's NPR's Daniel Estre. in reporting from Tel Aviv. Israel, meanwhile, says it expects that Hamas will release all the remaining living hostages sometime Monday morning, and in Gaza, families are waiting for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The releases are all

part of the latest ceasefire that went into effect on Friday morning. Wall Street will be watching the country's biggest banks this week for clues about the health of the economy, and NPR's Maria Aspen reports that investors are also looking for reassurance. after President Trump threatened to escalate the trade war with China. J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are among the big banks unveiling their quarterly report cards on Tuesday to kick off the latest round of financial updates from big companies. Investors expect good news overall. Corporate profits have been beating expectations this year. That's despite spikes of market chaos, an ongoing uncertainty over how President Trump's tariffs are reshaping the global economy.

and raising prices for consumers. The big banks in particular have a window into how consumers and businesses are spending money, or cutting back. That's especially important during the ongoing government shutdown when federal data about the jobs market and inflation is delayed. Maria Aspen and PR News, New York. Authorities still don't have any answers to what caused an explosion that killed 16 people at a Tennessee munitions plant on Friday. As Caroline Eggers, with member station, WPLN reports, the company handles multiple types of explosives for the military. The company is called Accurate Energetic Systems.

According to its website, AES produces several types of explosives, including TNT or trinitrotolulene. But officials involved in the investigation have not disclosed what type of explosives were in the building. During a press conference, Agent Tyra Cunningham of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said more verification was needed. Any information that we give to the community, we want to be 100% spot on, so I will not speculate. TNT is one of the most common explosives used by the military. The company also produces a component of C4.

For NPR News, I'm Caroline Eggers in Nashville. I'm Dale Wilman, and you're listening to NPR News. The president of Madagascar says an attempted coup is underway in that Indian Ocean Island country. His comments come one day after soldiers began to join anti-government demonstrations there. People have been protesting against service failures and alleged government corruption and nepotism. According to federal census data, more U.S. homes are now using electricity for heating and a smaller share are using natural gas. As NPR's Jeff Brady reports, that's significant because climate scientists say that trend will have to accelerate to meet climate goals.

has been the most popular fuel for heating homes, it's also the cheapest. But since the Spiro data show electricity, often in the form of efficient heat pumps, is becoming more popular. 15 years ago, just over a third of homes heated with electric power, that's climbed to 42%. The share of homes heating with natural gas has slipped two points to 47%. Gas is mostly methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Scientists say to avoid the most damaging consequences of a hotter climate, nearly half the known gas reserves will have to stay in the ground. Around the country, a few state and local governments have passed bans on installing gas in new homes. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

In college football, Indiana has climbed a third in the latest AP rankings after a 10-point win over Oregon on Saturday. That's its highest poll ranking in program history. The Ohio State University, meanwhile, remains in first, and Miami is in second. Texas A&M is in fourth place with Mississippi, landing in 5th, rounding out the top 10 are Alabama in 6th, followed by Texas Tech, Oregon, Georgia, and LSU. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.