NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-20-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. Former FBI director James Comey is asking a judge to throw out the Justice Department's case against him. As NPR's Kerry Johnson reports, Comey says he's only being prosecuted because President Trump targeted him. President Trump fired Comey as the FBI director in 2017, and Comey went on to become a fierce critic. The Justice Department won an indictment against Comey for allegedly misleading an obstructive. in Congress under pressure from Trump, who's called him a dirty cop and a slime ball. Now, Comey's moving did dismiss the case because he says it's a vindictive or selective prosecution. He says at least four top officials during President Trump's first term allegedly lied to Congress

and none of them was charged with any crimes. The president's animus against Comey so intense that the Justice Department recently fired Comey's daughter without any clear reason. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. The U.S. Capitol Police officers are among the federal employees working without pay during the government shutdown. As NPRSM, Greenglass reports, they've already missed a paycheck. Most shutdown impacts are far from the halls of Congress, but the situation facing members of the Capitol Police is difficult for lawmakers to overlook, says former Chief Terry Gaynor. There asks to be everything to everybody. You need to be ready at the drop of a hat, but you also need to be a person who welcome the visitors and be a tour guide.

The Capitol Police Union has called for an end to the shutdown. The Trump administration has said it'll repurpose other funds to pay federal law enforcement. But until then, the missing paychecks come as the force deals with growing threats against public officials and lingering tensions after Trump pardoned the January 6 rioters who attacked officers at the Capitol. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington. The Supreme Court will consider whether marijuana users can be gun owners. As KERA's Tijuana OC. Bamoa reports, The court review centers on the case of a Texas man's felony gun charge. The Justice Department charged Ali Danyal Hamani with illegally owning a gun as a user of illegal drugs after the FBI found a gun, cocaine, and marijuana in his home. But a district court dismissed the indictment after finding it was unconstitutional to put a blanket ban on drug users owning guns. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The DOJ appealed arguing Hamani and other regular drug users pose a serious firearm safety. risk. Hamani's attorneys argue the federal statute puts millions of people at risk of breaking the law

because at least 20 percent of Americans have tried pot. For NPR news, I'm Toluani, Osi Bamalo, in Dallas. The federal appeals court is giving the Trump administration the green light to send 200 Oregon National Guard troops into Portland. The court state another court order that prevented President Trump from federalizing those troops. The administration wants that order thrown out. You're listening. The jury has been seated in the murder trial of a former Illinois sheriff's deputy who's charged in the shooting death of Sonia Massey at her home in Springfield. 31-year-old Sean Grayson is charged with killing Massey while answering her 911 call for help. A video of the July 2024 incident is posted online.

Brazil's oil giant has received permission to start drilling off the country's northern coast. The move is being celebrated by the government, But as Julia Canarro reports, a recent survey shows that environmentalists, and more than a half of Brazilians, oppose it. Petro Brice is to start drilling immediately to explore the area for oil and gas on a commercial scale. The deep waters off the northern coast are Brazil's most promising oil frontier, near the huge oil fields found in Guyana, but also near the delicate ecosystems of the Amazon River Basin.

The government's drive to drill in the region has sparked protests from environmental and indigenous groups. The go-ahead comes three weeks before Brazil hosts the UN climate talks COP 30 in the Amazon rainforest, contrasting with its call to action to combat climate change. In a statement, Petro Bray said it had fully met the requirements set by Environmental Agency Ibama, which took five years to grant the license. For NPR News, I'm Julia Carnero in Rio. Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison sentence. 70-year-old Sarkozy was convicted of criminal conspiracy charges stemming from his acceptance of Libyan funds to finance his 2007 campaign. He's been ordered to stay behind bars while appealing his conviction.

This is NPR News.