NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-16-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

NPR News: 10-16-2025 9PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The Justice Department has charged former national security advisor John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Bolton worked in Trump's first administration, but later became one of his fiercest critics. Bolton is the latest example of the Justice Department targeting Trump's perceived political enemies. Venezuela is asking the UN Security Council to weigh in on the deadly U.S. strikes on alleged drugboats in the Caribbean. As NPR's Michelle Kellman reports, President Trump is defending the strikes. Venezuela's ambassador to the U.N., Samuel Moncada, says so far 27 people have been killed in strikes on what he calls civilian vessels in international waters. He says they included not only Venezuelans but also citizens.

citizens of Colombia and Trinidad. There is a killer prowling the Caribbean, block thirsty, looking for wars, and there is no justification at all. They are fabricating a war. But while he's calling the Security Council to investigate, the U.S. has veto power, and the Trump administration is vowing to continue the strikes,

which it says are part of a counter-drug campaign. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, Washington. Labor unions are suing the Trump administration for surveilling immigrants' social media accounts, NPR's Shannon Bond reports. The Trump administration has said it's using AI to help monitor the social media accounts of people legally in the U.S. and use what it finds to revoke visas of those it deems to hold, quote, hostile attitudes. The lawsuit argues that's a violation of the constitutional right to free speech. It says, quote, the government is using the threat of immigration enforcement to suppress dissent.

The suit was filed in federal court in New York by three years. unions that say many of their members have already begun censoring themselves out of fear. At least 55 million people have U.S. visas and could be subject to heightened surveillance. Shannon Bond, NPR News. President Trump says if Hamas continues attacks in Gaza, quote, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them. But he also insists U.S. troops won't be involved, as NPR's Deepa Shivram reports. Peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas are still delicate as Hamas continues to return

bodies of hostages. Part of the ceasefire deal brokered by Trump is that Hamas would have to disarm. But that hasn't yet happened. And in recent days, Hamas has been in conflict with gangs in Gaza. At the same time, Israel has said it is fired on militants trying to cross out of the ceasefire zone. In the Oval Office, Trump said, if Hamas doesn't behave, quote, we'll take care of it. It's not going to be a, we don't have to. There are people very close, very nearby that we'll go in. they'll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices. It's not clear who Trump meant. Administration officials have said U.S. troops based in the region are not intended

to go into Gaza. Deepa Shiverram, NPR News, the White House. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Doctors in Israel and Gaza say more than a dozen Palestinian physicians taken during the war remain imprisoned in Israel. That's despite a ceasefire agreement that released Israeli hostages and Palestinians. Palestinian prisoners. NPR's Aibetrawe has this report. The director of the Kamel-Adwen hospital in North Gaza, Dr. Hossam Abel Safaya, was set to be released in that exchange, according to his family

and an official briefed by Israelis. Instead, the doctor's family and lawyer, say, an Israeli court extended his detention without charge for another six months. No public reason for his continued arrest has been given. Dr. Abel-Safia has been detained since last year after refusing to leave the hospital during weeks of Israeli bombardment that killed patients, staff, and his son. The Israeli military raided and then destroyed the hospital, alleging it had been used by Hamas, which staff deny. Physicians for human rights, Israel says a total of 18 doctors and at least 35 other medical staff from Gaza remain imprisoned without charge. A. Abel-Trawi, NPR News, Dubai. Faulty engineering led to the implosion of the Titan

submersible that killed five people on the way to the wreck of that Titanic in 2023. The National Transportation Safety Board. said the vessel, quote, contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet the necessary strength and durability requirements. The lead guitarist and founding member of Kiss, Ace Freely, has died at age 74. The spaceman captivated audiences with his elaborate makeup and smoke-filled guitar. Freely's agent says he died peacefully, surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey. This is NPR.

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.