NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 5PM 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 Rylan Barton. The Trump administration is asking the Supreme. court to strike down a lower court's order that blocked the White House from deploying the National Guard to Illinois. Solicitor General John Sauer says the district court's order in Illinois

interferes with the administration's ability to enforce federal law. President Trump is signaling he's not ready to agree to sell Ukraine, the long-range tomahawk missiles they say they desperately need to defend against Russia's invasion. They're an amazing weapon. They're a very powerful weapon, but they're a very dangerous weapon. And it could mean big, you know, escalation, it could mean a lot of bad things can happen. Tomahawks are a big deal. Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today. The meeting came a day after Trump had a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Trump had initially shown openness to selling tomahawks to Ukraine, even as Putin warned against it. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of mishandling classified information. Bolton entered his plea during his initial court appearance today in Maryland, NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. Bolton is facing 18 criminal counts for allegedly transmitting and retaining national defense information. Prosecutors say Bolton kept detailed notes that included classified information during his time as Trump's national security advisor in 2018 and 2019. Bolton allegedly sent those diary-like entries on a regular basis over his personal email and a messaging app to two family members who did not have security. security clearances. The indictment says federal agents recovered copies of some of those documents, including classified material, during his search of Bolton's home in August. Bolton says in a statement

that he looks forward to defending what he calls his, quote, lawful conduct and exposing what he says is Trump's abuse of power. Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. OpenAI says it is blocking people from making videos of Martin Luther King Jr. following a backlash over disrespectful depictions. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, it's the latest move to curb the company's new AI video app, SORA. Since Open AI launch at SORA 2 app three weeks ago, thousands of realistic looking deepfakes of Martin Luther King Jr. have flooded social media. Some of the videos were ridiculous and absurd, others were offensive and racist. But now the late civil rights leader cannot be produced on the AI app. The decision was made at the request of King's daughter who publicly condemned

the videos and asked the public to stop generating them. Open AI SORA app has come under criticism of rights holders and disinformation experts who say the app supercharges deepfakes across the internet. The company has been putting up guardrail slowly since the launch. Videos of most celebrities now cannot be made, but it was possible in the early days of the app. Bobby Allen and PR News. Wall Street crews to the finish of a winning week that began much bumpier. The S&P 500 rose a half a percent. This is NPR News.

The U.S. has blocked a global fee on shipping. shipping emissions intended to move the industry away from fossil fuels. The world's largest maritime nations had agreed upon the rules earlier this year. Today's meeting was expected to be a formality until President Trump urged countries to vote against the regulations. Shipping emissions have grown to about 3% of the global total. As the Civil War in Sudan continues, millions of displaced civilians do not have access to clean water, sanitation, and health care. Aid groups are scaling up their response to a cholera outbreak, as a-calorra outbreak, NPR's Fatmatanis reports.

Overcrowded displacement camps and heavy rains have contributed to a cholera outbreak that is spreading with what the aid group care calls terrifying speed. The World Health Organization says they have registered more than 110,000 cases so far and more than 3,000 deaths from cholera. In the last month, aid groups say they have increased their response to the crisis, including a vaccination campaign, testing water sources for contamination, and destroy. contributing soap and chlorine tablets. But they warn that the response remains underfunded,

and that could undermine the ongoing efforts to contain the outbreak. Potmatanis, NPR News. The Orionid meteor shower peaks this year with the arrival of a new moon, offering a rare chance to see shooting stars without moonlight interference. The shower will peak Tuesday morning when experts predict up to 20 meteors per hour could be visible under ideal conditions. The source of the Orionids is debris from hayes. comment. I'm Rylan Barton. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.