NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-25-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: October 25, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. President Trump is on the way to Malaysia to begin a three-nation visit to Asia. He will meet Southeast Asian leaders at a summit and is expected to witness the signing of a peace treaty between Thailand and Cambodia. Adam Hancock reports from the Malaysian capital. President Trump is making his first visit to Asia since taking office for the second time, attending the ASEAN summit, where he's expected to hold talks with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, before witnessing the signing of a Thailand-Cambodia peace deal. The US leader has taken credit for ending the conflict, which saw dozens of people killed

and hundreds of thousands displaced during border skirmishes in July. Tarisks are also set to be on the agenda after Trump targeted export-reliant economies in this region. Trump will hedge to Japan on Monday before a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later in the week. For NPR news, I'm Adam Hancock in Qualcomm. The Pentagon is again building up its military presence in the Caribbean region. As it continues to attack vessels, it alleges, are carrying drugs.

The U.S. military is sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, and PR's Tom Bowman reports. Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said the Ford will, quote, bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt, elicit actors and activities. It compromises safety and prosperity of the United States. U.S. forces have already carried out 10 strikes on alleged drug vessels in the region, resulting in more than 40 dead. Democrats and some Republicans have questioned President Trump's authority to order extrajudicial killings. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting, six people in Pennsylvania are facing criminal charges for allegedly turning in fraudulent voter registration forms ahead of last year's presidential election. As NPR's Hansi Luong reports,

election officials say their verification systems caught the illegitimate forms and they were not approved. Pennsylvania's state attorney general's office says the six-paid street canvassers now facing charges were not trying to sway any election or voter rolls for a specific political party or candidate. Instead, state prosecutors say they were trying to keep their jobs by meeting a quota with voter registration forms containing fake information. I saw multiple counties in the swing state flagged potential problems with thousands of voter registration forms dropped off on or close to the state's sign-up deadline. that led to baseless claims by President Trump than the Republican presidential candidate that officials in a Pennsylvania County had uncovered fraudulent votes. County election officials say return registration forms were not approved unless information could be verified as being linked with the real person.

On Zila Wong, NPR News. Police in southeastern North Carolina are investigating a mass shooting at a party overnight. The sheriff's office says two people were killed and 11 others were wounded, some critically. This is NPR News in Washington. The National Hurricane Center is tracking Hurricane Melissa, which is gaining strength in the Northern Caribbean. It now has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. Forecasters expected to intensify rapidly and become a major hurricane by tomorrow. Jamaica could see as much as 25 inches of rain with similar forecasts for southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Melissa is the 13th

name storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. A Picasso painting long hidden from public view has taken Paris by surprise after selling for nearly $37 million at auction. NPR's Rebecca Rossman reports from Paris. Painted in 1943, bust of a woman with a flowered hat shows Picasso's former muse and lover, Dora Mar, in vivid color as their relationship was falling apart. The portrait unseen for more than eight decades, far exceeded expectations at the Drouot auction house, becoming the most expensive artwork sold in France this year. Auctioneer Christoph Lucien called it a little piece of the story of love between Picasso and Mar. Picasso eventually left Mar for the younger Francois Gillo.

While the sale topped estimates, it's far from Picasso's priciest. That record still belongs to Women of Algiers, which sold for nearly 180 million in 2015. Rebecca Ralsman, NPR News, Paris. June Lockhart has died. She was a popular actress in the 50s and 60s in Lassie and Lost in Space. Her publicist said she died Thursday of natural causes at her home in California. June Lockhart was 100 years old. This is NPR.