NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-14-2025 3PM 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 Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. Senate convenes this hour for another vote that could reopen the government, which has been shut down now for 14 days. Republicans are pressing Democrats in the Senate to support a House-approved short-term measure. This morning, Congresswoman Virginia Fox, chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, appeared alongside Speaker Mike Johnson to describe the impact on federal workers.

Today, 400,000 federal workers will receive partial paychecks. The Speaker called attention to this last week. This will be the last paycheck that these federal workers receive until Democrats grow a spine and reopen the federal government. Well, the majority of Democrats who oppose the GOP measure have been demanding the restoration of soon to expire health care protections. They include tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the pandemic.

Democrats also want to reverse Medicaid cuts. Israel returned the remains of 45 dead Palestinians to Gaza, part of an exchange of bodies under a ceasefire agreement. NPR's Greg Myrie reports the exchanges of the dead are taking place but are not going exactly as planned. The remains of the 45 Palestinians were delivered to the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, according to officials there. This comes a day after Hamas handed over to Israel, the remains of four dead hostages held in Gaza. Under the ceasefire, Hamas is supposed to return all 28 dead hostages. Hamas says it needs more time to locate all of the Israeli bodies due to the heavy fighting. Some may be buried under rubble.

Still, Israel was expecting more than four sets of remains initially. Some Israelis are now saying the country should not hand over any more Palestinian bodies until all the Israeli remains are returned. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump is hosting the president of Argentina, Javier Mule. He took reporters' questions a short time ago about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire he brokered. He had a warning for Hamas. We have told them we want to disarm and they will disarm.

And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently. Asked if he would put a specific time limit on disarmament, Trump said, quote, a reasonable period of time pretty quickly. End quote. DeAngelo, the Grammy-winning visionary R&B singer who helped pioneer the neo-soul subgenre has died after a quiet battle with cancer. According to a statement from his family shared with multiple outlets, he was 51 years old. A songwriter and producer born Michael Eugene Archer in Richmond, Virginia spent much of his career wrestling with the scrutiny of his outsized genius. He released only three full-length albums

that had a lasting impact. It's NPR news. President Trump will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kirk was shot and killed last month at an event on a college campus. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more.

Trump announced shortly after Kirk's death that he would award the medal to Kirk. The president has said that Kirk's widow, Erica Kirk, will be there for the ceremony. Since Charlie Kirk's death, she has taken over as CEO of Turning Point USA, the campus activist organization he founded. Kirk was beloved among the MAGA movement and often deliberately provocative. His organization created a watch list of professors perceived to be too liberal, leading to harassment of those professors. He also promoted baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and called the Civil Rights Act a mistake.

Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News. The ceremony is scheduled for today. Former President Barack Obama is urging California voters to help Democrats retake control of the U.S. House and the 2026 midterm elections. He appears in a 30-second advertisement in support of Proposition 50. The November ballot proposal could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats in the state. It's California's response to President Trump's call on Republicans and red states to redraw congressional maps to help the state. GOP secure seats in the House. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial average was up 412 points or nearly 1% at 46,479. It's NPR News. The news is saturated with coverage of President Trump, but it is easy to get overloaded.

So on Trump's terms, we bring you short digestible stories, five minutes or less, about the 47th president. Listen for same-day developments on tariffs, the economy, and all of the ways that Trump is governing like no president ever has before. Trump's terms. Listen on the NPR app wherever you get your podcasts.