NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-17-2025 7AM 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 Korova Coleman. Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky will meet President Trump today at the White House. He's seeking weapons and diplomatic support. NPR's Joanna Kikis reports this comes as Trump plans to soon meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky's relationship with Trump has improved dramatically in the last few months since Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance berated the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office this February. Zelensky says he will nominate Trump for next year's Nobel Peace Prize if Trump can secure a ceasefire that's fair to Ukraine. Ukrainian lawmaker Alexander Moreshko said the obstacle to peace is Putin. Putin, he's not interested in any kind of ceasefire because ceasefire or peace for him means political death. He might lose power if he stops the war of aggression.

Trump spoke to the Russian leader by phone on Thursday, and they're set to meet in Hungary soon. Joanna Kikisis and PR News, Kiev. Venezuela is asking the UN Security Council to investigate what it's calling a series of recent assassinations in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. has destroyed several boats and killed several people in recent weeks. President Trump says they were engaged in drug trafficking but provided no evidence. Venezuela's ambassador to the U.N., Samuel Mankata, says his country does not want conflict with the U.S. Our message is there is time to stop this madness. We want to work with everyone. We don't want war, and we know that American people don't want war even less against Venezuela with all the history among our countries.

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is leading a bipartisan effort to force a vote to stop President Trump from unilaterally declaring war on Venezuela. The power to formally declare war is exclusively reserved for Congress in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. This is the third week of the federal government's shutdown. Farmers are among the groups feeling the pain of the closures. From member station K-C-U-R, Frank Morris reports farmers have lost government subsidies and a promised bailout for them 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's lost about 20,000 employees this year, and every day the shutdown drags on, more work backs up. For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Trump administration has reached a deal to lower prices for in vitro fertilization. In remarks yesterday, President Trump says EMD Serona will offer significant cost reductions for its fertility medication sold directly to patients, not using their insurance.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is suing the Trump administration over an immigration policy affecting U.S. visas. The influential business group opposes plans to charge U.S. employers $100,000 for each H-1B visa for skilled workers. NPR staffers and listeners are mourning the death of Susan Stamberg, the network's longtime host and correspondent. She died yesterday at the age of 87. As NPR's monthly Del Barco reports, Stamberg was NPR's star. Susan Stamberg was famous for sharing Mama Stamberg's Thanksgiving relish, year. Cranberry, sugar, sour cream, onion, and wait for it, horseradish, and it's bright pink. Stamberg co-hosted NPR's flagship radio shows for decades, and she also reported on the arts.

She interviewed famous movie directors, costume designers, prop masters, and others in the film industry. In 2020, she even got her own sidewalk star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's very kind that my name is on that star, but the honor really goes to NPR. First of all, it's shorter. only three letters, and also public radio. I know it's an old-fashioned, old-fangled medium, but it's the medium of my heart. Stamberg was also inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Mandalit Del Barco, NPR News.

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