NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-20-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: October 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. and Australia have signed a multi-billion dollar deal on investments in critical minerals countering China's global dominance of the rare earth supply chain. Today, President Trump hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. He has ascribed a need for the U.S. to be less dependent on China for processing and refining rare earth minerals and metals, a relationship that has high-tech and security implications for the U.S. Today, Trump struck an optimistic tone, though, about resolving the trade war with China.

I've been invited to go to China, and I'll be doing that sometime fairly early next year. We have it sort of set. But I think we're going to have a very good relationship with China. Trump has said he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a couple of weeks at an Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in South Korea. The federal government shut down is almost four weeks old. the Senate will hold another vote today on a spending bill that could end it, but the bill is not expected to pass. Meanwhile, the ongoing legal battle between unions representing federal employees and the administration is escalating.

NPR's Andrews, she reports the unions are trying to stop the administration from laying off more federal workers during the shutdown. Last Wednesday, the unions won a temporary restraining order, pausing layoffs in federal programs and offices where they represent workers or have members. But the Trump administration determined that the pause does not apply. to workers who no longer have collective bargaining rights under an executive order issued by President Trump in March, even though that order is under legal dispute. The judge overseeing the case has now told the government it must halt layoffs of federal employees who were part of bargaining units the administration no longer recognizes, as well as those who remain union members. The judge also clarified that her order applies to layoffs conducted since October 1st, whether the government

says they're related to the shutdown or not. Andrea Shue and PR News. Health officials in Gaza say, Israeli airstrikes yesterday killed nearly 50 people in the enclave. NPR's Aibatrawi reports the attacks threatened to unravel a U.S. brokered ceasefire. Israel's military says two soldiers were killed in an attack in southern Gaza, sparking a wave of airstrikes that killed Palestinians, many of them women and children over the weekend. Israel says it also dropped more than 120 bombs on high. Hamas tunnel. A Hamas official who spoke anonymously to NPR in order to brief the media says it was

rogue militants who carried out the deadly attack on Israeli troops. President Trump also told reporters that, quote, rebels were behind the attack. Meanwhile, White House envoy Steve Whitkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are visiting Israel to discuss next steps of the ceasefire. A senior Hamas delegation is also visiting Egypt for similar discussions. Ayyipatrawi, NPR News, Dubai. Major market indices are up 1% to nearly 1.5% this hour. It's NPR news. An increasing number of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence in American life. NPR's Jason DeRose reports on a new study from Pew Research.

Between February of last year and February of this year, Pew found a sharp increase in those who say religion is becoming more influential. Up from just 18% to now 31%. Overall, nearly 6 and 10 surveyed express a positive view of religion's effects. That's also up significantly in recent years. Meanwhile, nearly 6 and 10 U.S. adults say they feel at least some conflict with American culture because of their religious beliefs. Pew also found that just over a quarter of people say only one religion is true, while nearly half, say many religions may be true. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Security officials at the famed Paris Museum of the Louvre are scrambling to figure out how thieves manage yesterday's brazen daytime heist.

The culprits took off with Napoleonic jewels. Local authorities say the suspects wrote a basket lift up the Louvre's facade, forced a window open, smashed display cases, and fled with the historic jewels. It all went down about half an hour after the museum opened, just 270 yards from the Mona Lisa. U.S. stocks opened higher this morning as gasoline prices fell. The average price of gasoline is closing in on the $3 mark for the first time in four years. Triple A says the average price nationwide is now under $3.4 a gallon. You're listening to NPR News.