NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-13-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: October 14, 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 Rylan Barton. Israel and Hamas took the first step of a Gaza ceasefire agreement today by freeing hostages and prisoners, but thornyer issues remain, like whether Hamas will disarm and whether Palestine will be recognized as an independent state, a move vigorously opposed by Israel. More than 20 world leaders discussed what's

next at a summit in Egypt today, NPR's Aya Batrawe explains. This was an important summit. It brought together leaders from Europe, the Mideast, and beyond, and it signaled that what comes next for Gaza will require international attention, including resources and boots on the ground. These countries had been pressing for a ceasefire for a while, but ultimately it was Trump's intervention now that brought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree and got Egypt and Qatar, the two mediators, to convince Hamas that releasing the hostages had Trump's guarantee of a permanent end to the war. But what comes next is murky, and there is still a lot that needs to be worked out. Gaza need tons of humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and Israeli force

to still control more than half of Gaza's territory. NPR's Aibatrowski reporting. The federal government remains shut down with Congress unable to come to a deal to resume funding. NPR's Andrea Shue reports some furloughed federal employees are finding ways to support each other. Charlotte Slayman works for the Federal Trade Commission and is a member of the National Treasury Employees Union. She says federal workers need to take care of each other right now, given what they've been through. Seeing important work they've been doing denigrated or halted, being unable to do the job they were hired to do for the public. She spoke in her personal capacity. I want us to turn that pain into strength and action, and I want Congress to fight for us.

The White House continues to blame Democrats for the impasse. In a statement, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the administration was encouraging Democrats to, quote, stop the pain and reopen the government. Andrea Shoe and PR News. Vice President J.D. Vance says there could be deeper cuts to the federal workforce, the longer the government shutdown goes on. He said the new cuts would be painful. Hundreds of thousands of workers are now furloughed. The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded today for research on how technological change influences economic growth, NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Joel Moker of Northwestern University, Peter Howard of Brown University, and Philippe Aguon of the College of France and the London School of Economics will share the prize

money of about $1.2 million. Yon Hassler, of the Nobel Committee, recognized the three for their research on how changing technology has helped to usher in higher living standards. Over the span of one or two centuries, almost everything has changed. Change, not stagnation, has become the new normal. The research also guides policymakers in how to manage the creative destruction that comes with that change and build safety nets for people who might be displaced. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. It's NPR. Three, two, one. A SpaceX rocket thundered into the Texas sky tonight.

It was the 11th test flight for the 403-foot starship, which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk intends to use to send people to Mars. NASA hopes to use the rocket to put astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade. Protesters peddled through Portland, wearing no clothes during a rally against the Trump administration. It's an emergency edition of the annual Portland. Portland World Naked Bike Ride. The ride usually happens in the summer, but organizer said another nude ride was necessary to speak out against attempts to mobilize the National Guard to quell protests in Portland. The city's awaiting the ruling of an appeals court on whether Trump can mobilize the National Guard there. A new social media toolkit offers early childhood care providers tips on how to manage screen time for children. NPR's Maria Godoy reports.

The toolkit comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on social media and youth mental health. It offers practical tips to help parents, preschool educators, and other early child care providers set boundaries around screen time use, identify content worth kids' time, and cope with behavioral problems that might arise. Here's Center, co-director, Dr. Jenny Redeski. We want kids to build a relationship with media where their mind is going to be engaged. We don't want them on autopilot all the time when they're engaging with screens, just following a feed. She says she hopes to get families thinking, what would we rather be doing with our time than scrolling? Maria Godoy, NPR News.

This is NPR News from Washington.