NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-24-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: October 25, 2025

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Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. I interviewed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro about his lifelong obsession with Frankenstein and his new adaptation in which the creature is tormented by eternal life. I'm a huge fan of death. I'm a groupie for death. You can find my interview on the Fresh Air podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The U.S. military blew up another boat in the Caribbean last night that it claims was being

driven by Venezuelan drug smugglers. It's the 10th such bombing, bringing the known death toll to more than 40. The military has been sending aircraft and warships to the region for weeks, and now it's sending an aircraft carrier from former top U.S. diplomat to Venezuela, James Story, tells NPR President Trump is ratcheting up pressure against Venezuela for several reasons. You also have Iran operating freely inside Venezuela. You have Cuba supporting the Venezuelan regime. And you have strategic competitors, Russia and China, also being engaged in Venezuela. So there's a lot going on here. This is an issue of democracy. It's an issue of human rights. It's an issue of migration. It's an issue of stability. Trump says he has the legal authority to launch the attacks

in international waters, calling it a national security issue to save American lives. But some legal experts and lawmakers from both parties are expressing concerns. As the federal government shutdown drags into Week 4, more Americans are beginning to feel the impacts. As Sophia Schmidt of Member Station W.HYY reports, Pennsylvania is delaying a program that helps families heat their homes in the winter. More than 300,000 households in Pennsylvania rely on the low-income home energy assistance program to help buy heating oil or pay their energy bills. The program usually opens in November, but without federal funding,

the state is pushing it back to December. Liz Marks directs the Pennsylvania utility, Law Project. She says families will be forced to make hard choices. I think a lot of people are going to sacrifice food, medicine, medical care, other life essentials. I think people will fall behind on their rent. Pennsylvania officials say once federal funds start flowing again, they'll start up the program as quickly as possible. For NPR News, I'm Sophia Schmidt in Philadelphia. California Governor Gavin Newsom is accusing the Trump administration of, quote, rigging the state's November special election. As Guy Marzarotti of member station KQED reports, Newsom takes issue with

the Department of Justice sending poll monitors to five California counties. The DOJ is deploying monitors to counties, including Los Angeles, for what the department describes as routine oversight of federal law. But Newsom told KQED the move is meant to sow doubt in election results, including the fate of Proposition 50, the pro-democratic redistricting plan. Newsom is asking California voters to approve. They will then suggest after we win, because we will, and we must, that somehow the election was fraudulent. In a statement, Los Angeles's top elections official says the presence of election observers is, quote, not unusual. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzarati in San Jose. From Washington, this is NPR News. Target is eliminating about 1,800 corporate jobs in an effort

to rebuild the flagging discount retailer's customer base. The cuts represent about 8% of targets corporate workforce globally, mostly at the company's Minneapolis headquarters. Target's incoming CEO announced the downsizing in a note to employees. With reports bubbling that Paramount is looking to buy Warner Brothers Discovery, the Writers Guild of America has released a statement stating that such a merger would be, quote, a disaster. While reports of the merger are unconfirmed,

Warner Brothers Discovery did announce it was putting itself up for sale earlier this week. NPR's Andrew Limbong has more. To set the stage a bit, Warner Brothers Discovery is currently in the middle of separating itself into two companies. That move has generated unsolicited interests from multiple parties who are open to buying all or parts of the company. When reports came out that Paramount might be one of those interested parties, the Writers Guild of America, both East and West Branches, issued a statement sent to NPR, stating that media mergers, harm workers, diminished competition, and would be a disaster for consumers. The unions also said they'd work with regulators to block the potential merger. NPR has reached out to representatives from both Paramount and WBD. Andrew Limbong and Pierre News.

There are mink on the loose. The Trade Group Fur Commission USA says intruders released more than a thousand minks from an Iowa farm. As of this morning, it says about 60% of the mink were recovered. Wall Street rose to record today after report showed inflation increased less than feared. I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News. This week on Consider This, ICE detained him for three days, and he's a U.S. citizen. Didn't say what I was charged with. They never told me I was being arrested. I asked for a lawyer. They just completely ignore it. What Democratic lawmakers say they will do in response.

Plus, fact-checking, the president's claims about left-wing violence, whether it's truly rising. This week on Consider This, listen on the NPR app or where, wherever you get your podcasts.