NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-13-2025 2PM 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 in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. Hamas released the last of the Israeli hostages today who had been held in Gaza since the start of the war more than two years ago.

It's part of the U.S. brokered ceasefire that also calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and the resumption of aid into Gaza. President Trump is about to leave Egypt where he met with other world leaders on Gaza's future. He said after years of suffering, the war is over. Together we've achieved what everybody said was impossible at long last, we have peace in the Middle East,

and it's a very simple expression, peace in the Middle East, and we've heard it for many years, but nobody thought it could ever get there, and now we're there. There are many issues unresolved, including Israel's demand that Hamas disarm and who will govern Gaza after the war.

A Tennessee community is grieving after 16 people were killed at a military explosives facility last week. Tony Gonzalez of Member Station WPLN has more. The blast occurred at a major employer in rural Humphreys County, where many residents have connections to the victims. That widespread impact is weighing on local sheriff Chris Davis. We've already taken plans to prepare to take care of our loved ones and our families even more. The disaster also evokes painful memories. The county experienced flooding in 2021 that killed 20 people.

In a note to families online, one school superintendent, said local children have faced more tragedy than most will know in a lifetime, and that they will become a generation that finds ways to help. Officials say they're searching for the cause of the blast to provide closure to families, but that it could take months. For NPR News, I'm Tony Gonzalez in Nashville. Maine Governor Janet Mills is expected to kick off her candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat tomorrow. NPR's Claudia Brassolos reports the Democrats' followers got a preview last week with an accidental

release of campaign materials. Mills will enter a crowded Democratic field of candidates hoping to unseat longtime U.S. Republican Senator Susan Collins. She would be the ninth Democratic candidate to enter the race. The run has been the subject of intense speculation for several months. On Friday, her team accidentally released a campaign launch video and other materials that were later removed from social media. Those same announcements are expected to be officially released on two. Tuesday. In the preview, Mills said she's on a mission to defeat Collins and help Democrats take back the U.S. Senate. Collins will soon enter her 30th year in her seat. This week,

Maine's moderate Republican cast a record 9,750th straight vote in a row. Claude Risales, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. A small plane crashed in southeastern Massachusetts this morning, killing both people on board. It went down on Interstate 195, about 50 miles south of Boston. Officials say one person on the ground was hurt. The government shutdown is set to delay enforcing a new rule to protect coal and other miners from toxic silica dust. Miners plan to come to Washington this week to protest. Wyoming Public Radio's Chris Clements reports.

which was announced last year, aims to cut miners exposure limits to silica dust in half and would allow for citations and fines to mine operators when minors are over-exposed. A federal judge paused the rule twice so far with a third delay coming after the government shut down. Vonda Robinson, with the National Black Lung Association, says the feds need to quickly implement the rule so minors don't get black lung disease due to silica dust exposure. Be with us on this. Help us get this pushed through. So the miners aren't dying at 55 or 38 years of age. On Tuesday morning, she says about 75 minors and advocates will demonstrate about the need for the rule on the steps outside the Labor Department.

For NPR News, I'm Chris Clements in Laramie. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds 9- and 10-year-old children who spend more time on social media perform worse in reading and memory tests years later than those who spend little or no time online. Researchers found that about 6% of the children studied use social media for more than three hours a day. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News, in Washington.