NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-24-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: October 24, 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, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Workers across the United States are missing their first full paychecks today. President Trump and allies say it's the Democrats' fault for blocking a GOP-backed short-term measure to reopen the government. Democrats are holding out for extension of health care subsidies and other protections.

House Minority Leader Hakeem D referees raised concerns about President Trump's priorities. Donald Trump is demolishing parts of the White House in real time. Why? so he can construct some gaudy ballroom where he can be celebrated as if he was a king. All of this has been happening during the 24 days of the Trump Republican shutdown. The shutdown, again, is in its 24th day. The Labor Department says consumer prices in the U.S. rose less than expected in September, making it more likely the Federal Reserve

will decide to cut interest rates again next week. Here's NPR's Maria Aspen. annual inflation rose 3% in September from a year earlier, slightly below expectations. Consumer prices are still rising faster than the Federal Reserve has targeted, but economists largely expect the Fed to cut interest rates again next week. The federal government published the September inflation report nine days late, but called workers back specifically to work on this crucial update. It uses this data to finish calculating its annual cost of living adjustment for the 75 million

people receiving social security benefits. Now the Social Security Administration says retirees will receive an increase of 2.8% next year. That works out to an extra $56 per month, starting in January. Maria Aspen and PR News, New York. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has wrapped up his trip to Israel. He's visited the U.S. Israel Civil Military Coordination Center in southern Israel, and PR's Rob Schmitz has details. After touring the center, established as part of President Trump's peace plan, Rubio called the coordination of the ceasefire in Gaza an historic mission, saying Washington and its international partners are working to sustain the truce,

deliver aid, and pave the way for a stabilization force to enter the territory. There will never be peace as long as there's an area or a territory that's being used as a launch pad to threaten Israel's security. Everyone understands that, and everyone that signed on to the steel understands that. When asked about the role of the United Nations, Rubio called the UN's Relief in Work Agency for the Palestinian Territories, a, quote, subsidiary of Hamas, echoing the Israeli government's criticism of the agency, an opinion the UN's highest court this week rejected. Rubio said it wouldn't be allowed to work in Gaza, but that other U.N. agencies would. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

U.S. stocks are trading higher this hour with a Dow up more than 1% or 550 points. This is NPR News. President Trump's ending trade talks with Canada over a television ad featuring the late president and fellow Republican Ronald Reagan. The province of Ontario is accused of advancing its argument against U.S. tariffs by allegedly misrepresenting a weekly radio address Reagan delivered in 1987 on free and fair trade. This morning on truth social, President Trump railed against Canada. And the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute says it did not authorize Ontario to use and edit Reagan's remarks and says it is now reviewing legal options. A new study finds that most artificial intelligence chatbots are unable to respond appropriately to teenagers going through difficult circumstances.

The study is in JAMA, open forum, and P.R. Richard Chatterjee reports teens are increasingly turning to chatboss for friendship, romantic relationships, and emotional support. Scientists at Boston Children's Hospital evaluated 25 AI chatbots commonly used by teens. a majority of the chatbots were designed for companionship, while a minority were general assistance chatbots like chat GPT. The researchers gave the chatbot specific scenarios of teens in different kinds of crises, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, and substance abuse. They evaluated the chatbots based on how they responded. While 60% of the responses recognized that a situation was serious enough for clinical support,

only 36% provided specific resources that might help teenager. And general assistance chatbots like ChatGPT were more likely to respond appropriately than companion apps. Ritu Chatterjee, NPR News. It's NPR. Fall in love with new music every Friday. At All Songs Considered, that's NPR's Music Recommendation podcast, Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week. Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into New Music Friday from All Songs Considered. Available where wherever you get your podcasts.