NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-23-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: October 23, 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 Rylan Barton. President Trump says he's calling off a federal surge in San Francisco that he planned to start this weekend. Trump said on social media that he made the decision after talking with several tech leaders in the city, as NPR's Kat-Lonstorf reports. Trump says he got calls from Mark Zuckerberg and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, among others, asking him to hold off.

The president also posted that he had a phone call with San Francisco mayor, Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, about crime in the city. Lurie has confirmed that call and says that he told Trump that crime is down. and San Francisco is, quote, on the rise. But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at Coast Guard facilities in the area this week with protesters gathering outside. Trump has also said he wants to send National Guard troops into San Francisco, something he's done in several other Democratic-led cities. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Washington. The NBA's Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat Player Terry Rose.

are among dozens of people arrested by federal agents today. As NPR's Becky Sullivan reports, it's in connection with an FBI investigation into two illegal gambling schemes. Federal officials, including FBI director Kash Patel, say that NBA insiders, such as Rozier, passed along confidential info to organized crime operations to place illegal bets on games. This is the insider trading saga for the NBA. That's what this is. Rojier was previously investigated by the NBA back in 2023 after the league was alerted. into suspicious bets on a game of his that year. The league had cleared him of wrongdoing.

In a statement to NPR Rozier's lawyer said Rozier was not a gambler and that he, quote, looks forward to winning this fight. The second indictment alleges that crime groups used former NBA stars like Billups to lure unsuspecting victims into high-roller underground poker games, then cheated victims out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Becky Sullivan in PR News. The NBA has placed those on leave from their teams and says it will cooperate with authorities. Both Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have sharply criticized the Israeli Parliament's vote on annexing the occupied West Bank. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports Rubio meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. Rubio said the vote in Israel's

Knesset could imperil President Trump's peace plan between Israel and Gaza. Vice President Vance voiced his concern more bluntly on the tarmac of Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurian airport as he was about to depart Israel. I mean, look, if it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it, the West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The Israeli Knesset voted on two draft laws that aimed to establish Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. In a statement, Netanyahu's office blasted the vote as a deliberate provocation to sow discord during Vance's visit to Israel. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Tel Aviv. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

European Union leaders have endorsed a plan to ensure the continent can defend itself against an outside attack by the end of the decade. Concern is mounting that Russia is already probing Europe's defenses. The top priority will be to erect drone defenses to detect, track, and disable drones after a series of airspace violations over the last month. Doctors have long known antidepressants come with side effects for cardiovascular and metabolic health, But a major analysis from researchers in the U.K. has, for the first time, pull together data from more than 150 drug trials to compare the physical side effects of dozens of antidepressants. NPR's Will Stone reports. The study in The Lancet this week details how each medication can affect weight, blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, and other areas of health. In some cases, the impact on weight could vary by as much as eight pounds or 20 heartbeats per minute. Dr. Toby Pillinger is a psychiatrist at King's College London and was the low.

lead author of the study. The good news is that those medications that are most commonly prescribed actually aren't too bad for a number of physical health parameters. So that's reassuring. Pillinger says the point is not to single out certain antidepressants as better than others, just to help doctors and patients pick the best medications. Will Stone and PR News. A man is suing the District of Columbia saying police officers violated his free speech rights when they detained him for following an Ohio National Guard Patrol while playing Darth Vader's theme song from Star Wars on his phone. The American Civil Liberties Union filed Sam O'Hara's federal lawsuit today. I'm Rylan Barton. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.