NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-14-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

NPR News: 10-14-2025 2AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Jail Snyder. Around 1,700 Palestinians returned to Gaza Monday, just some of the several thousand that Israeli troops seized and held without charge during the two-year war with Hamas. Their return was part of that ceasefire deal that also saw the release of all 20 remaining living hostages back to Israel. And Pira Sanas Baba reports from Kahn Unis in Gaza on the emotional reunions.

Families here are waving Palestinian flags. some wearing the traditional kofia, mothers, wives, and also children holding flowers. The scene in front of me is it's a mix of joy and at the same time, it's a mix of survival for those who survived this war. The freed prisoners appear totally and extremely pale here as they haven't seen the sunlight for years, same as they are very weak to walk, actually. We can see the prisoners and also the families. they are just impressing each other with a big smiles and in the same time tears all over their cheeks.

And it's Bobo and pure news. President Trump is due back in Washington soon. After hailing that ceasefire deal, he brokered between Israel and Hamas. He spoke before the Israeli parliament on Monday and then flew to Egypt for a summit with foreign leaders. Egyptian President Abdel Fattail-Sisi said the Trump's Middle East peace proposal represents a last chance for peace. in the region, and he also repeated his call for a two-state solution. New York Attorney General Letitia James made her first public appearance Monday night since she was indicted on federal charges of bank fraud and making a false statement. She spoke at a rally for New York City mayoral

candidates are on Mamdani. We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and yes, weaponized justice for political gain. charges were brought against James after President Trump called for her prosecution. James won a large judgment against Trump last year, but an appeals court overturned the fine, but upheld a lower court's finding that Trump had committed fraud. Thousands of federal workers received layoff notices Friday as a government shutdown continues into day 14. At least some of those intended firings have already been walked back, as NPR Stephen Fowler reports.

About 4,000 people from at least seven agencies received these reduction. and force notices Friday. That includes places like the IRS, the education department, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A quarter of those layoffs were with the Department of Health and Human Services, with hundreds of firing slated for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But on Saturday, some CDC employees started learning their layout notices were reversed. That includes some of the so-called disease detectives who work on investigating outbreaks. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. This is NPR. French media reports that Madagascar's president has been flown out of the country aboard a French military aircraft.

Michael Koloki reports that the news comes, following a string of protests, it began last month. According to French public broadcaster RFI, President Andre Rajalina was evacuated following an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron. For more than two weeks now, Madagascar has witnessed widespread unrest. Protesters have been calling for an end to frequent water and power cuts. They have also denounced the government and called for the president to step down. In a statement Sunday, Mr. Rajalina's office said that what it described as an attempted illegal and forcible seizure of power was underway in the country, he did not offer further evidence. The remarks came amid reports that soldiers from an elite military unit in the country had joined protests on the streets of the nation's capital Antanarivo. For NPR News, I'm Michael Koloki in Nairobi.

SpaceX-Capped Monday night's test launch of its huge starship. rocket with a splash down in the Indian Ocean. The test flight was starship second, consecutive apparent success after a string of failures. This latest test was aimed at demonstrating the vehicle's reusable design and its capacity to eventually take humans to the moon and Mars. Cape Bird's soccer team is set to play in the World Cup for the first time. Kate Bird qualified Monday securing one of nine automatic spots for Africa after beating Espatini and finishing at the top of its group in African qualifying. The World Cup will be played in North America next summer, hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

This is NPR News.