NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 4PM 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. Ukraine's looking for more U.S. weapons to fight Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky's return to the White House. Before today's talks, President Trump did not indicate if he'd offer up Tomahawk long-range missiles,

but he says that following his long conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday... I think that President Putin wants to end the war, or it wouldn't be talking this way. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports Trump's decision to meet with Putin again delays any announcement on long-range missiles. to meet again. I think President Putin is a savvy guy. He knows when things are not heading in his direction, and he picked up the phone and he called Trump to praise him for ending the war in Gaza, which, of course, hasn't ended yet, said he should get the Nobel, talked about things like this, and Trump agreed that he'll meet him again. He's going to give him another chance, and they're going to meet. NPR's Michelle Kellerman. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton is pleading not guilty to all 18

charges of an indictment related to the mishandling of classified information. Bolton accuses Trump for whom he worked in his first term of weaponizing the Justice Department to retaliate against his most prominent political critics. The Admiral who leads U.S. military forces in Latin America stepping down. The U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly tells NPR Admiral Alvin Holsey expressed reservations over U.S. military attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and expanding operations against Venezuela. NPR Zeta Peralta reports on Venezuela.

Venezuela's response following another U.S. air strike. 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. 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. NPR Zeta-Peralta reporting, The brother of the King of England is giving up his royal title.

and honors, Prince Andrew has made embarrassing royal headlines in recent years for his friendship with the late-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Lauren Fraire reports from London. The Epstein scandal prompted Prince Andrew to step down from royal duties more than five years ago. But British media have now published excerpts of a posthumous memoir by Epstein's best-known accuser, who said she had sex with the prince when she was 17. Andrew denies that, but in a statement from Buckingham Palace, he says, the continued accusations distract from the work of his majesty, King Charles. So after discussion with the king and with their wider family, Andrew says he will no longer use the title Duke of York.

He remains a prince, is expected to keep living near Windsor Castle, and his daughters will still be princesses. But his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will lose her Duchess of York title. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. It's NPR News. It's day 17 of a federal government shutdown. Yesterday, senators were unable to break their impasse on their 10th vote on a GOP-backed short-term spending measure. The major automaker Ford is recalling more than 290,000 U.S. vehicles due to a defect with the rear-view camera system. The company says the images might not show up well under certain lighting conditions and could increase the risk of a collision. Ford is not reporting connections between the defect and injuries or accidents.

A recall affects certain F-250, 3-50, and 450-S-D vehicles between the 2020-2020 model years. Black Garden ants have a natural nemesis. It's a lethal fungus. But researchers have found the insects have a few strategies to avoid infecting each other. And as Ari Daniel reports, those strategies may hold a lesson or two for humans. Several years back, University of Bristol Biopold, Natalie Strohmet described how these ants respond socially to the fungus. Infected workers quickly self-isolated, and some of the healthy ants increased their distance.

This was a form of proactive social distancing, if you wish. In new research, she and her colleagues, including Indiana University biologist Luke Lecky, found that when faced with an outbreak, the ants also modify how they build their nests. They were kind of more compartmentalized and they were less interconnected. The researchers believe that architectural principles from the ants might one day help inform the design of human enclosures. For NPR news, I'm Ari Daniel. The Dow is up 238 points. It's NPR.