NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 3PM 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. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is seeking more weapons assistance from the United States. He is meeting with President Trump at the White House this hour. Ahead of the talks, Trump talked about long-range weapons capabilities.

We need Tomahawks, so we need a lot of other weapons that we're sending to Ukraine. One of the reasons we want to get this war over is exactly that. It's not easy for us to give. You're talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons. So that's one of the things we'll be talking about. Hopefully they won't need it. Trump says he believes Russian president, Vladimir Putin, wants to end the war. The two leaders spoke yesterday.

Trump says for more than two hours, both are expected to meet soon in Hungary. President Trump is attempting to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as he had done between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. And reporters asked about it during today's talks. It's been a week since the ceasefire in Gaza. As part of the agreement, Israel pledged to allow in dramatically more aid to the devastated Palestinian territory. NPRS Jane Arraf reports that is not happening as planned. The UN and international aid groups say Israel is revoking authorization for some major aid organizations to send food and medicine to Gaza. The new rules affect some of the biggest U.S.-based aid groups.

New Israeli rules for re-registering aid organizations include veting. groups were statements critical of Israel's actions. Israel has also kept closed a main crossing from Egypt to Gaza, where many aid groups have had hundreds of trucks waiting for months. All of that means not nearly enough aid is coming in to combat famine or prepare for winter. Jane Arraf, NPR News, Amman. Organizers of the No King's Movement say they expect millions of protesters to gather across the United States this weekend to demonstrate against Trump administration policies. NPR's Alana Weiss has details.

Organizers are planning for a wave of protests spanning from coast to coast. This comes as the government enters into its third week of shutdown. And viral video has shown masked ice agents detaining people with little to no explanation. Saturday's planned demonstrations follow major No King's protests this summer. Then organizers claim they saw about 5 million people. people take to the streets. This weekend's protests could produce an even higher turnout. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded to the prospect of mass demonstration stating simply, Who cares? Alana Wise, NPR News. No King's rally was expected to kick off this afternoon at the Lincoln

Memorial in Washington, D.C. From Washington, it's NPR News. says he is relinquishing his Duke of York title as his close connection with the late-convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to resurface in headlines. King Charles III's younger brother says the accusations about him distract from the work of the royal family. Starting in January, Californians with diabetes will be able to buy low-cost insulin directly from the state's own drug label from member station KQED, April Dembski reports. The state will sell five packs of insulin pens for $55. That's a dramatic discount from current market prices, which can top $400. Governor Gavin Newsom says California is saving

money by bypassing Big Pharma and its middlemen. And they have been gouging you for years and years and years. Actor Nikita Kalam Harris has type 1 diabetes. She says cheaper insulin means people won't have to ration their supplies. Think of the mother who is deciding whether she is going to pay for groceries or her insulin. Next up, CalRX wants to tackle vaccines, asthma inhalers, and GLP-1s for weight loss. For NPR News, I'm April Dimboski in San Francisco. Those looking for an excuse to load up on carbs, today is National Pasta Day. The occasion is putting a spotlight on tasty pasta dishes and restaurants, televised cooking segments, and even Vogue.

magazines featuring, as it describes it, Doey Recreations inspired by the Spring 2026 Runways. It's NPR News.