NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-14-2025 7AM 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, on Kurova Coleman, President Trump says the war in Gaza is now personally.

terminally over with the release of all remaining living hostages to Israel. But as NPR's Aabatrawi reports, the next phases of that plan need to be worked out. Trump's plan calls for Arab peacekeeping forces to be sent to Gaza to fill a vacuum of power there after Hamas. But Egypt says it wants to see a UN Security Council mandate first. And after two years of intense Israeli bombardment, Gaza will need to be rebuilt from the ground up, even if wealthy Arab Gulf states agree to cover much of that investment, it's unclear who exactly will oversee how it's spent. Another sticking point is Hamas disarmament. Before Israeli troops withdraw from inside Gaza, where they're occupying about half of the territory, Hamas will need to decommission its rockets, grenades, and other

weapons. That process is still under negotiation. Ayel Batrawi and Pierre News, Dubai. Leaders in the Reformed Jewish movement, the largest denomination of Jews in the U.S. are hailing the return of hostages held by Hamas for two years. NPR's Jason. DeRose reports. The statement begins with a prayer, reformed Jewish leaders say they've said each of the 738 days the hostages were in captivity. Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, ruler of the universe, who frees the captives. The Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the American Conference of Cantors go on to write, while there must be accountability among leaders to prevent something similar ever happening again, for today they are putting aside the question of

why this day did not come sooner. The statement also offers prayers for the, quote, innocent Palestinian civilians who have suffered and for the consistent flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Jason DeRose, NPR News. President Trump's latest tariffs have taken effect this morning. Terrorists ranging from 10 to 50 percent will now apply to imports of lumber, imported furniture, and kitchen cabinets. These tariffs join others imposed by Trump on imports of cars, steel, and other goods. A trade dispute between Trump and the Chinese government has accelerated. Trump says he'll soon impose a 100% tariff on imported Chinese goods. China is limiting exports of its vital rare earth minerals.

A heavy storm is pulling away into the Atlantic Ocean. The nor'easter poured heavy rain from the Carolinas up to New England over the holiday weekend. There's been strong wind, surf, and beach erosion. Mark Mammarelli owns a beach house in central Delaware. With the heavy wind and the heavy surf and the high tide, we just had an extraordinary loss of sand here on the beach front. In the western U.S., the remnants of a typhoon have been striking the coast of Alaska. Officials say the devastation is heavy. Some people held onto debris as they watched their homes float away.

At least one person has died. Two more are missing. This is NPR. There's been torrential rain in Mexico in the past, few days that has left 64 people dead. Officials say dozens of other people are still missing. The heavy rain hit five Mexican states near the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. Mexican authorities fear the death toll will rise. President Claudia Shanebaum says 100,000 homes have been affected by flooding and landslides. Halloween candy is pricier than ever this year. Costs are up by

more than 20% since 2021. But that's not slowing down American consumers, as NPR NETA Ulibe tells us. Candy prices are up 8% this year alone, according to the National Confectioners Association. That's largely because of a cocoa shortage from West Africa. That area produces the majority of the world's cocoa. It's been deeply affected by climate change, like extreme droughts and rain. That in turn affects big chocolate companies like Hershey, which doubled prices earlier this year. Some consumer advocates are urging Americans to buy non-ch chocolate treats that could mean a lot of jolly ranchers for trick-or-treaters. Americans are expected to spend nearly $4 billion this year on Halloween candy. That's according to the National Retail Federation.

Netta Ulibe, NPR News. Cape Verde has now become one of the smallest nations to have a team qualify for the men's World Cup soccer tournament next year. Some 500,000 people live on the archipel. Hulligo, west of Africa. The men's World Cup tournament will be jointly hosted next year by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. This is NPR.