NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-18-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: October 18, 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 Dale Wilman. President Trump says Russia and Ukraine should stop fighting and negotiate an end to their war. Trump met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the White House Friday. Afterwards, Zelensky spoke with the media.

One of the topic what we discussed with President Trump was about security guarantees. We want United States be a part of security. We count on the leadership of the United States. We spoke about it. Earlier this year, Trump had hinted that the U.S. may offer Ukraine long-range tomahawk missiles that could reach deep into Russia as an incentive for Moscow to stop fighting, but Trump Friday seemed to back away from that offer. Israel has received the remains of another hostage from Gaza.

The coffin was received Friday from the International Committee of the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip. It's being sent to the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Israel. The handover of the remains of hostages has been a sticking point in the ongoing ceasefire agreement, aid deliveries into Gaza, along with the opening of border crossings in DeGhazov have also been at issue since the ceasefire began. The Trump administration says most of the roughly 4,000 layoffs that have been announced during the shutdown aren't blocked by a recent court order. That's according to documents filed Friday in a case brought by unions representing thousands of federal employees.

MPRs Jacqueline Diaz has more. A federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order earlier this week, pausing the layoffs of thousands of federal workers. And in a court filing, the Trump administration said it's following the judge's order. But the administration also made clear that it believes most of the employees who received layoff notices can still be removed. They say that's because the court ordered pause only applies to programs or offices where the union plaintiffs have members. Jacqueline Diaz, NPR News. Democrats are considering new legal action against House Speaker Mike Johnson for delay swearing in the newest member elected to Congress.

Empires Claudia Griselis reports that Arizona Democratic representative elect Adelita Grehalva will now enter her third week without getting seated. Congresswoman elect Griehalva plans to sign on to a bipartisan petition to force a release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. One last signature is needed to trigger a related House vote, but Griehalva tells NPR she needs to be seated first. I remember on election night, someone came up to me and said, I don't think they're going to swear you in because of those Epstein files.

And I thought, oh, my gosh, that's very much a conspiracy theory. Like, that's not going to happen. And here we are. Not so, says Speaker Johnson, who says he'll swear in Grihalva when the government shut down ends. But now the Arizona Attorney General and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries are considering suing Johnson to end the delays. Claude Grisales, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. Portugal's Parliament Friday approved a bill that bans face fails worn in public for religious or gender reasons.

It does allow exceptions, though, for airplanes, diplomatic premises, and places of worship. The bill is seen as targeting coverings, including burq, as worn by some Muslim women. It was sponsored by the country's far-right political party. Health officials in Southern California have identified three cases of a strain of MPox tied to more severe illness. As NPR's Willstone reports, these are the the first cases confirmed in the U.S. in people with no recent travel history. Earlier this week, the city of Long Beach reported the first case. Then, two more turned up in Los Angeles County, which has a separate health department. All three people were hospitalized

and are now recovering. It's not clear how they caught this type of MPox, known as Clayd 1, which is different from the strain that surged in the U.S. in 2022. This version of the virus has fueled outbreaks in parts of Africa, in particular the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, and other nearby countries. Public health officials say they are investigating the cases, and at this point, there's no clear link between them. MBOX tends to cause rashes or unusual sores, fever, and other flu-like symptoms. Will Stone, NPR News. Sho Hayotani hit three home runs and pitched a shutout into the seventh inning as the L.A. Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5 to 1 on Friday. The Dodgers won the National League Championship Series with four straight wins. And the Seattle Mariners beat Toronto 6 to 2 to

take a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series. Game 6 is Sunday night in Chicago. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.