NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-15-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

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America's global role is shifting fast. On sources and methods, we explain how and why. I'm Mary Louise Kelly. I've talked to spies. I've reported from war zones I've interviewed ambassadors, generals, presidents. Want to understand what is happening around the world and how it affects us? Join me and my fellow reporters as we break it down for you. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens.

The United Nations says that it is all hands on deck in Gaza to deliver aid to Palestinians, but that some crossings were closed on Tuesday. Israel says it will allow in fewer trucks until Hamas keeps up its end of the bargain. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. Speaking from Gaza, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Olga Cherevko, says her team is wasting no time. Our scale-up plan for the first 60 days tested at, and proven to work is in full motion.

She says thousands of tons of humanitarian aid and supplies have entered Gaza in recent days, including cooking gas for the first time in over seven months. But she says all sides need to stick to the ceasefire deal. The Israelis have informed the UN that they will cut back on the number of trucks getting in until Hamas releases the bodies of all the hostages. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, the State Department. The U.S. Senate has now made eight failed attention. to end the government shutdown by continuing current spending through November 21st.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says that Republicans are not making any demands for a continuing resolution. Negotiation, Mr. President, is what you do when each side has a list of demands and you need to meet in the middle. Republicans, as I and a lot of other people have pointed out, haven't put forward any demands. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says his party is only demanding the continuation of health care subsidies that expire in two and a half months. If this administration has $20 billion to spare for a MAGA-friendly foreign government, how can they say we don't have the money to lower health care costs here at home? Schumer's referring to a Trump administration plan to give Argentina a $20 billion bailout. President Trump says that aid is contingent upon the outcome of Argentina's election on October 26th.

A judge in Texas is blocking key parts of a state bill dubbed the Campus Protection Act The measure seeks to limit expression on public university campuses after dark. As Houston public media, as Bianca Seward reports, the injunction applies to the University of Texas system. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Allen Ezra said, quote, the First Amendment does not have a bedtime of 10 p.m. The law imposes several restrictions during the last two weeks of a semester, including banning amplified sound, speaker events, and overnight encampments. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also known as Fire, sued the University of Texas system on behalf of several student organizations. J.T. Morris is a senior supervising attorney with fire.

The court applied the principles that should have. The analysis was very sound, so we're pleased with it. Fire is now seeking a permanent injunction. I'm Bianca Seward in Houston. You're listening to NPR. Several news organizations have rejected Defense Secretary Pete Higgsett's demand that reporters sign a pledge to cover only issues approved by his team. Among those organizations is NPR and HECSeth's former employer Fox News, all citing a threat to court journalistic protections. One America News Network says its reporters would sign on to the new restrictions. Hexsett says Pentagon reporters who have not signed the pledge by the end of Tuesday would be evicted of. on Wednesday. The government has seized more than $14 billion in Bitcoin and charged a Cambodian businessman

with wire fraud and money laundering. Details from Michael Sullivan. Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Juh was charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who also accused Chen with exploiting forced labor to scam would-be investors out of billions. U.S. officials say the multinational Prince Holding Group was a front for what the Justice Department says was one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations. It called the indictment, quote, one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud. Last year, American citizens lost an estimated $10 billion to such Southeast Asia-based scams, according to the Treasury Department. If convicted, Chen faces up to 40 years in prison.

For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Shanghai. U.S. futures are virtually unchanged in pre-market trade. on Wall Street. On Asia-Pacific markets, shares are up 2% in Tokyo, up 1% in Hong Kong. This is NPR News. 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.

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