NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: October 17, 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, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is welcoming back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House. NPR's Deepa Chivron reports this hour's meeting is being held a day after President Trump said he had a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said they talked soon about ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump said that he and Putin will meet in Hungary after top advisors from the U.S. and Russia get together.

He thinks that will happen within the next two weeks. Trump has said he'll tell Zelens. about his call with Putin. He also remarked that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have a, quote, terrible relationship. I mean, we have a problem. They don't get along too well, those two. And it's sometimes tough to have meetings,

so we may do something where we're separate, but equal. Trump last met Putin in Alaska this summer, but the meeting didn't result in any progress on ending the war. It also didn't result in a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, which Trump wanted. Deepa Shiveram, NPR News. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton is pleading not guilty to 18 counts of allegedly mishandling classified information. He entered his plea at a federal court hearing in Maryland today.

Bolton says he's become the latest target of President Trump's retaliation campaign against his critics. Elliot Williams, who served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General during the Obama administration addresses the legitimacy of the case against Bolton. Two things can be true at the same time. time. Prosecutors could have put together an indictment that raises some damning allegations about John Bolton and his conduct, and at the same time, the President of the United States has impermissibly injected himself into a number of matters, including John Bolton's. I would say, if I were John Bolton's defense attorneys, that the president's repeated statements about John Bolton do cast at least some doubt on the indictment.

Ellie Williams is a CNN analyst now and spoke with NPR's Morning Edition. Venezuela's president says his country is poised to counter any American attempt to topple his government. NPR's Ada Peralta reports it comes after another U.S. air strike in the Caribbean. Citing U.S. officials, Reuters, and other news organizations report that for a six time, the U.S. military hit a vessel in the Caribbean. But this time, there are survivors. It's unclear what happened to the survivors or if U.S. troops rendered aid. The recent strikes come after President Trump said he had approved covert,

CIA operations in Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called the move immoral, but the Venezuelan people, he said, are ready to face the Americans. We have millions of years, he said, and millions of eyes. We have the means Maduro said to defeat this open conspiracy against the peace and stability of Venezuela. Eidapralta, NPR News, Mexico City. From Washington, this is NPR News. Well, a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly has confirmed with NPR that Admiral Alvin Holsey, a head of U.S. Southern Command, stepped down from his post because of reservations over U.S. military attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the widening effort against Venezuela. The official said Admiral Halsey met with Defense Secretary Pete Hacks Seth at the Pentagon a week or so go to express his concerns. Hundreds of No King's demonstrations are planned across the U.S. this weekend.

grassroots groups say they're organizing protests and marches in defense of U.S. democracy and to declare that President Trump's rule is not absolute. The nationwide anti-Trump demonstrations take place against the backdrop of controversial immigration enforcement tactics under litigation and National Guard deployments to certain Democratic-led U.S. cities. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is sending National Guard troops to the state capital ahead of this weekend's no Kings Day protest in his state. From the Texas newsroom, here's Lucio Vaskis. Governor Abbott says, without evidence, that the Austin protest is a, quote, Antifa-linked demonstration.

The Republican governor says National Guard troops will be stationed at the state Capitol building to protect Texans and nearby property. This comes just weeks after Texas National Guard troops were sent to Chicago in response to a growing number of protests outside of immigration facilities. Several thousand no Kings Day protests are set to take place over the weekend throughout the For NPR News, I'm Lucio Vosquez in Houston. At the last check on Wall Street, the Dow is up more than 120 points. This is NPR News.

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