NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-22-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

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When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, all you want to do is help. But where do you start? On the Life Kit podcast, we have tips for you. Your agenda should be, I'm going to be with you and be totally present to whatever comes up. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts for different ways to offer support. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has conducted its eighth strike against an alleged drug vessel. The strike occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Previous ones were in the

Caribbean. Hegeseth says the strike killed two people. In a brief video, he posted, a small boat can be seen exploding in the water. President Trump is rolling out sanctions against two Russian oil companies. NPR's Mara Liason reports, it's the first time Trump has done more than just threatened Russia in his second term. At a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO, Trump said the new sanctions on Russia were tremendous and that he hoped they would help settle the war with Ukraine. But in a move that will disappoint the Ukrainian government, Trump also ruled out sending that country long-range Tomahawk missiles. It'll take a minimum of six months, usually a year, to learn how to use them. They're highly complex. So the only way of Tomahawk is going to be shot

is if we shot it, and we're not going to do that. Ukraine has been lobbying the White House to provide Tomahawks, but Trump seems to have closed that door for good. Mara Liason, NPR News, the White House. The United Nations top court ruled that Israel must work with the UN to bring aid into Gaza. As NPR's Rob Schmitz reports, the ruling is a rebuke of the blockade Israel imposed on Gaza earlier this year. The International Court of Justice's President U.G. Iwasawa took more than an hour to read the court's opinion that Israel, because it exercises a degree of control over Gaza, is deemed by the Geneva Convention in occupying power. As such, the court reason, Israel is bound by the Convention's Law of Occupation, which states that an occupying power. must provide humanitarian aid to the civilians under its occupation. In this case, Gazans. The court went further, saying Israel as an occupying power may never invoke reasons of security

to justify the suspension of humanitarian aid and that the population of Gaza has been inadequately supplied by Israel. The court also said the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA has not violated any laws as Israel has claimed. Rob Schmitz and Pierre News, Tel Aviv. A new study shows Florida's restriction on cell phones and schools has led to higher test scores, attendance, and improved student behavior. Danielle Pryor from Central Florida Public Media has more. A report published in the National Bureau of Economic Research found suspension spiked during early adoption of Florida's 2023 restrictions on cell phones in schools. But after the first year, disciplinary actions were down.

And by the second year, fewer kids were absent from class and test scores had improved. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says no phones is a win-win for students and teachers. Who wants to dedicate their life to sitting in front of a group of kids that all have their face buried in the phone? Some 30 states and the District of Columbia now restrict cell phones in some way during school. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Pryor in Orlando. U.S. stocks closed down today. This is NPR News from Washington. The Justice Department says it will pause civil rights investigations. into the University of Virginia. President Trump targeted the school's diversity policies

in admissions and financial aid. Under the agreement, the university will follow the administration's rules on what it calls unlawful racial discrimination and provide data every quarter for the next three years. Tesla reported a 37% drop in income this quarter compared to last year. Tesla delivered almost 500,000 cars, likely boosted by customers, taking advantage of the federal electric vehicle tax credit, which ended in. in September, but this is the third quarter in a row that the automaker has reported a drop in profits. Tesla attributed the slide in part to higher tariffs raising the cost of production. Ants are good at making yogurt. NPR's Regina Barber reports on a Danish study that

investigates a traditional method for making the nutritious snack. In the mountains of Bulgaria, there are people making yogurt the old-fashioned way by dropping live redwood ants into fresh milk. We added four whole ants, dropped them into the top, covered it with a cheese cloth, hiked up the mountain, and buried it inside of the ant colony. That's microbial ecologist Veronica Sonant. She's part of a research team that recreated the process to learn what kinds of bacteria living on and inside the ants were causing this fermentation. The team said the ant yogurt had a unique taste and texture, different from commercial brands. The researchers say that these traditional practices can inform future innovations and

and help recreate new fermented foods. Regina Barber, NPR News. And this is NPR News from Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply.