NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 3AM 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 in Washington, I'm Shay Steve. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is among the agencies cutting jobs during the government shutdown.

As NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, many of the 300 HUD employees targeted for layoffs have positions in fair housing. Last month, the head of HUD's office of fair housing and equal opportunity put out a long memo explaining why and how they are changing priorities. Basically, and this is interesting, the memo accuses previous administrations of going beyond the law. to protect not just individuals but groups of people. It cites things like gender identity, environmental justice, and race-based guidance, and it says those will no longer be a priority. The memo also says HUD is reviewing its approach to redlining that could include cases where, say, someone in a largely black neighborhood has trouble getting alone.

And P.R. is Jennifer Ludden reporting. Farmers are suffering as a result of the shutdown. As Frank Morris of member station, K-C-U-R reports, Farmers have lost government subsidies and a promised bailout is stalled. Federal farm subsidies go through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's closed and now is a bad time for farmers to lose that lifeline. The prices farmers are getting for the corn, wheat, and soybeans they grow don't come close to covering the cost of producing them. Tariffs have a lot to do with that, and President Trump has promised farmers a bailout to partially compensate for their trade war losses.

But Pat Westoff, an economist at the University of Missouri, says that's not happening anytime soon. Now, things are going to go forward until the government's open again, it appears to me. Farmers can't expect immediate help when the government does reopen. The USDA has lost about 20,000 employees this year, and every day the shutdown drags on, more work backs up. For NPR News on Frank Morris in Kansas City. President Trump has threatened U.S. attacks on Hamas if the armed Palestinian group continues its attacks on Gaza. But NPR's Deepa Chivaram reports that Trump also insists that U.S. troops would not be involved. 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 won'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 Chivaram, NPR News, the White House. U.S. futures are lower in after-hours trading. This is NPR. President Trump says drugmaker EMD Serrano has agreed to lower the cost of its fertility treatments by 84%. The move comes months after Trump directed his administration to come up with recommendations for lowering IVF costs.

Drugs are only a portion of a typical IVF cycle of two to three weeks, which can cost up to $30,000. An 80-year-old grandmother is the oldest woman to finish the Iron Man World Championship Triathlon. NPR's Bill Chappell has the story. story. The year Natalie Grabeau turned 60, she started learning to swim. But that was 20 years ago. On Saturday, Grabo finished the grueling Iron Man course in Hawaii. Iron Man officials share the moment on Instagram. You are an Iron Man! At 80 years old, she swam more than two miles in the ocean, biked 112 miles, and then ran a marathon-length course. She set a new record as the oldest female athlete to finish the race. That brought wide praise for Grubo, who trains at her local YMCA and a high

school track near her home in New Jersey. In an email to NPR before her flight home, Grubo says she's grateful she can still compete. As for learning to swim, she said it proves it's never too late to take on a new challenge. Bill Chappell, NPR News. I'm back. Back in New York. Ace Freely, the league guitars and founding member of the rock band Kiss has died at his home in New Jersey. Freely was known for sensational solos and wrote some of the band's top 40 classics, including Cole Gin. He was 74. This is NPR News.

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