NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-24-2025 9AM 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 Khorva Coleman, consumer prices remained higher in September. they were up 3% over what they were a year ago. The inflation report released just this morning from the federal government had been delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

That is now 24 days old. President Trump says he can continue U.S. military strikes in boats, rather against votes in international waters. He continues to insist the U.S. is targeting drug smuggling, but he has not provided evidence. There are at least nine known U.S. attacks in the Caribbean Sea and eastern positions. Pacific Ocean. About 40 people have been killed. Trump says he's going to go farther with the U.S. military and doesn't feel he necessarily needs Congress to declare a war. You know, the land is going to be next. And we may go to the Senate. We may go to the, you know, Congress and tell them about it. But I can't imagine they'd have any problem with it.

Trump has already said he's authorized CIA operations on Venezuelan territory. Virginia is the latest state where lawmakers are pushing to redraw the state's congressional. map. It follows Texas, California, Missouri, and other state legislatures. From member station VPM, John Khalil reports Virginia Democrats are seeking to push back against President Trump's effort to expand Republican control in the U.S. Congress. The clerks in the Virginia House and Senate told members they would be back in Richmond on Monday, but didn't specify the reason. Republicans in the Virginia legislature confirmed that Democrats are planning to begin the process of redistricting. Delugate Terry Kilgore is the House Minority Leader.

We have been told that's what we're coming back for, and it's reliable sources, so we know that we are coming back for redistricting. Virginia amended its Constitution in 2020 to have a bipartisan commission draw its electoral maps. Constitutional amendments usually involve a multi-year process, but it appears Democrats are attempting to make the change more quickly. The session is in the final week before this year's election, and would also take the Republicans nominee for governor off the campaign trail. Lieutenant Governor Winston Earl Sears presides over the state Senate. For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond. European Union leaders have agreed to a new sanctions package against Russia, but they're divided about whether and how to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

Terry Schultz reports from Brussels. For EU leaders who've now passed 19 rounds of sanctions on Moscow, the first measures in President Trump's term are very welcome pressure to make the Kremlin end its war on Ukraine. But the 27 governments were unable to bridge differences over whether 140 billion euros in frozen Russian and assets held in a Belgian financial institution can be used to guarantee a loan to Ukraine. Belgian Prime Minister Bart DeVever insists they all share the risk that Russia could legally

demand the funds back. We will suffer from enormous claims. So if you want to do this, we will have to do this altogether. EU officials will now draft a plan for how the loan would work and leaders will come back to it in December. For NPR news, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. It's NPR. New York Attorney General Letitia James is scheduled to appear in a federal court

room in Virginia today. She's expected to plead not guilty to charges she committed bank fraud. President Trump had demanded the prosecution of the Democrat. James says Trump has weaponized the Justice Department. A new study finds most artificial intelligence chatbots are unable to respond appropriately to teenagers going through difficult circumstances. The study appears in JAMA, open forum. NPR's Ritu Chatterjee reports, teens are increasingly turning to chatbots 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 a teenager. And general assistance chatbots like chatGPT were more likely to respond appropriately than companion apps. Ritu Chatterjee, NPR News.

The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in the Caribbean Sea. Top sustained winds are at 45 miles per hour, but Melissa is, is expected to develop into a powerful hurricane in a few days. Watches and warnings are up for Haiti and Jamaica. 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 wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.