NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-14-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The United States has struck another boat off the coast of Venezuela. NPR's Ader Peralta reports this is the sixth time the U.S. is used lethal force against a boat in the Caribbean in recent weeks. President Trump says the vessel was, quote, trafficking narcotics. Trump released a video on social media showing what appears to be a stationary vessel at sea, which is then blown up by a projectile. He says six, quote, narco-terrorists were killed. The White House did not provide any evidence that the boat was carrying drugs.

Venezuela's government has claimed that a similar attack killed civilians on a fishing boat. Last week, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said the boat that had been hit then was Colombian, carrying Colombian citizens. This isn't a war against drugs, Petro charged. He says it's an attempt to topple the Venezuelan regime and get its oil. Arapalta, in Pierre News, Mexico City. The tenuous ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is being tested. Israel plans to cut aid into Gaza in half, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire with the slow release of dead hostages. And in Gaza, health officials say Israeli forces fatally shot three Palestinians.

President Trump is posthumously awarding slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. But instead, Charlie is attaining a far more important milestone. We're entering his name forever into the eternal roster of true America. American heroes. He's a true American hero, an amazing person. Today would have been Kirk's 32nd birthday. It's the first presidential medal of freedom of Trump's second term. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones today, leaving in place a $1.4 billion judgment for describing the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax staged by crisis actors. Jones argued that a judge was wrong to find him liable for defamation and infliction of

emotional distress. Some Texas National Guard troops deployed to Chicago have been sent home for allegedly failing to meet fitness standards. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports this followed an ABC news photo of overweight troops that went viral. The Texas Military Department confirmed on the military news site task and purpose that a small group of the 200 National Guard soldiers deployed to Illinois last week had been sent home for not being in compliance with its validation process. The who followed a speech by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon last month to hundreds of military commanders. If the Secretary of War can do regular, hard PT, so can every member of our joint force.

Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Last week, the National Guard issued a statement saying all troops had to meet height, weight, and fitness standards. For NPR news, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. General Motors says it'll take a $1.6 billion hit in the next quarter after federal tax incentives for electric vehicles were eliminated by the Trump administration. The company had led the way among U.S. automakers with plans to convert production to an electric fleet of vehicles. France's prime minister has offered to pause a controversial plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, a move aimed. at saving his fragile government.

As Rebecca Rossman reports, Sebastian Le Corneux, is trying to win over skeptical lawmakers to stay in power. Recently reinstated French Prime Minister Sebastian Le Corneux, speaking to Parliament, proposed suspending the pension reform until after the 2027 presidential election. The reform is a flagship policy of the country's President Emmanuel Macron and was pushed through Parliament without a vote in 2023, sparking mass protests across France. Opposition parties on both the far left and right want the law scrapped entirely, and the Socialist Party has joint calls for its repeal. Le Corneux faces two no-confidence motions this week and could be ousted if the Socialist side with his other opponents.

With Macron's minority government hanging by a thread, the pause may be Le Corneux's last chance to avoid another collapse. Rebecca Rossman, NPR News, Paris. Grammy-winning R&B singer DeAngelo has died. He was 51. The singer's real name was Michael Eugene Archer. He wrestled with scrutiny of his outside genius. DeAngelo released only three full-length albums, but all are revered as modern soul masterpieces. This is NPR.