NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-26-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kauffman Foundation, providing access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, gender, or geography. Coffman.org Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiavone. President Trump has ordered military attacks on dozens of alleged drug smugglers since September. Ten boats have been struck. At least 43 people were.

reportedly have died. And now a GOP voice in the U.S. Senate is sharply critical. And PR's Luke Garrett reports. The White House says the alleged drug smugglers are invading the U.S. by transporting deadly narcotics. But GOP Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky tells Fox News he has seen no evidence to support military strikes. I would call them extrajudicial killings. And this is akin to what China does, to Iran does with drug dealers. They summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it's wrong. The two people that survived the U.S. strikes were released. For Paul, this raises more questions.

If they were drug dealers, why wouldn't we prosecute them, present evidence of the drugs, show the arms they were about to invade us with, or show us something? Trump has argued alleged drug traffickers are terrorists and the military has the right to kill them, without Congress. Luke Garrett and Pierre News, Washington. In Argentina, President Javier Millet has emerged on top in high-stakes midterm elections closely watched by Washington. The crucial vote of confidence secured by Malay in this vote

paves the way for him to continue his extreme free market policies strongly supported by the Trump administration. The National Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Melissa is packing maximum sustained winds of more than 140 miles an hour, located about 100 miles away from Kingston, Jamaica. The hurricane is expected to make landfall in Jamaica, Monday night or Tuesday morning, catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are possible. Jamaican official Desmond McKenzie is calling for extreme caution.

There is nothing more we can do as a government, but to beg and beseech persons to heed the warning. Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic are also in the storm's path. The UN is sounding the alarm over a sharp rise in sexual violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. NPR's Fatmatanist reports the ongoing 30-year conflict is making the situation worse. The UN says there has been a 30% increase in sexual violence cases in the DRC compared to 2024.

Last year, Doctors Without Borders said they had treated more than 40,000 survivors, a record for the organization, the group said at the time. The UN's reproductive health agency says many critical services for survivors, such as rape kits and HIV prevention medication, have been disrupted due to the violence and the foreign aid cuts of the Trump administration. The agency is calling for an urgent increase in funding to deliver life-saving care and mental health support to thousands of survivors. Fottmatanis, NPR News. This is NPR. On day 26 of a federal government shutdown, more flight delays and cancellations are expected at U.S. airports this week, the federal aviation

administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted earlier today due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The Transportation Secretary says more delays and cancellations are likely. The Agriculture Department is announcing that federal food aid will not go out on the first day of November unless there is a resolution of the federal spending impasse in Washington. The Boring Company, owned by Elon Musk, has begun work on an underground tunnel in Nashville without local approval from member station WPLN. Mariana Bacayow reports. The Boring Company doesn't need local approval. The tunnel project traces a careful arc of state

roads, meaning it doesn't need any sign-off from Democratic leaders in Nashville. Musk's company has worked almost exclusively with Tennessee Republicans to lease state land at no cost. State records show there were no environmental reviews done before the project was initiated, and geologists warn that Nashville's particular type of limestone means there's an increased potential for sinkholes to occur during tunnel work. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bakayau in Nashville. French authorities have two suspects in custody in connection with the theft of crown jewels from the Louvre. One suspect was caught at Paris-Charles-Degal airport while attempting to leave the country. I'm Luis Ciavone, NPR News, Washington.