NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-24-2025 8AM 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 in Washington, on Corvick Coleman, President Trump says he is cutting off trade talks between the U.S.

U.S. and Canada. Trump is blaming an anti-tariff commercial issued by the Canadian provincial government of Ontario. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation says the ad misrepresents a radio address given by the late former president. Dan Carpichuk reports from Toronto. Trump says the ad from the Ontario government shows Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs is fake. On his true social platform, Trump said he is calling off trade talks with Canada because of the ad which he attributed to Canada. He also posted that tariffs are important to the national security and economy of the U.S. and based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated. Ontario spent $75 million to broadcast the anti-tariff ad, focusing on Republican voters.

It featured former President Ronald Reagan speaking in 1987, saying in the long term, tariffs do not work. The ad has been airing on all major U.S. networks. So far, there's been no reaction from Ottawa to Trump's declaration. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenthock in Toronto. The Trump administration says it'll hold an oil and gas lease sale in Alaska. NPR's Nate Rod reports it would open the chance for drilling in one of the nation's largest tracks of wilderness. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is roughly the size of South Carolina, an area of northeast Alaska with no roads but abundant wildlife like Caribou, Muscox, and polar bears.

It's also been the subject of a long-running political dispute. The first Trump administration opened the area to oil and gas lease sales before the Biden administration closed it off again. The Interior Department now says sales are back on with two planned later this winter. The last time an oil and gas lease sale was held in the refuge, though, it ended with no bidders. Nate Rot, NPR News. The NBA says it's cooperating with two federal investigations into illegal gambling and sports rigging. One probe involves defendants who allegedly shared information about end. NBA players with people who wanted to bet on pro basketball games.

The other probe involves alleged illegal betting on poker games. There are numerous defendants, including members of organized crime families. NPR's Becky Sullivan reports one defendant in this group is the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, Chauncey Billups. He faces account of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundered. Both of those are related actually to an indictment about underground poker games. In that indictment, prosecutors alleged that. organized crime groups basically run these games and use Billups. They say that they used

Billups as a celebrity to sort of lure in victims. And then the organizers used all this high-tech equipment like rigged shuffling machines and x-ray poker tables and special glasses to cheat and win. But the other indictment that's about sports gambling, Billups is not named there, but there is an unnamed co-conspirator described in a way that matches Billups exactly. NPR's Becky Sullivan reporting. This is NPR. This is day 24 of the federal government shutdown, Republican and Democratic lawmakers cannot agree on a spending bill that would bring the shutdown to an end. This is also the first day the federal government employees will miss their paycheck. President Trump has directed the Defense Department to shuffle money to pay

U.S. troops. Separately, Trump says a private individual is donating $130 million to help the U.S. military during the shutdown. He would not reveal the donor's identity. Trump says the person has sent a check. Shutdown has also delayed the release of the latest government report on consumer prices, but the inflation report is supposed to be issued this morning. Large retailer Target is cutting 1,800 corporate jobs. And Pierre's Alina Seljuk reports the company is trying to revive sales and increase customer traffic. Target says it's laying off 1,000 corporate employees, particularly managers,

and it will not hire for another 800 open positions. That's one of the biggest job cuts in Target's history. about 8% of the global team. And it's coming from Target's incoming CEO, Michael Fidelke. He's a longtime company executive who's getting the top job, despite investors' hopes for an outsider to shake up the retailer. Target sales have been flat or down for going on three years, as shoppers look elsewhere for cheaper prices or more unique offerings.

Fidelki in a memo says job cuts are meant to simplify complexity, quote, too many layers and overlapping work that slow decisions and ideas. NPR News. And I'm Kourva Coleman, NPR News, from Washington. 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.

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