NPR News: 10-10-2025 11AM EDT

Summary

NPR News Now: 10-10-2025 11AM EDT

Host: Korva Coleman | Date: October 10, 2025
Length: 5 minutes
Main Theme: The latest national and international news updates, focusing on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, U.S. government shutdown’s effects on military families, the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, President Trump’s routine medical exam, Nobel Peace Prize news, federal court decisions on National Guard deployment, and advances in Alzheimer’s research.

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Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Takes Effect

Segment Start: [00:13]

• Ceasefire Status: Israel confirms a ceasefire with Hamas is now in effect, with Israeli troops withdrawing to agreed areas inside Gaza.
• Hostages: The agreement requires Hamas to release all remaining hostages.
• U.S. Role: The deal was brokered by President Trump. Hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin describes the U.S. president as the pivotal figure in getting the accord finalized.
• Notable Quote:

  “You have to imagine that you're sitting in a room across the table from Donald Trump, not from Netanyahu. The person you need to convince is Trump. Trump will impose the deal on Israel when the time is right, when he believes that you are serious about ending this war, returning the hostages, now longer controlling Gaza. At the end of the day, that's in fact what happened.”
  — Gershon Baskin [00:42]

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Federal Government Shutdown: Impact on Military Families

Segment Start: [01:01]

• Shutdown Status: The federal government shutdown has reached day 10. Federal employees, including military personnel, will not receive their upcoming paycheck.
• Worsening Food Insecurity: According to Amy Held, over a quarter of active duty military families require food assistance, a need made worse by the shutdown.
• Community Aid: The Armed Services YMCA has seen dramatic increases in demand at food distribution sites, notably a 34% surge in Killeen, Texas.
• Personal Testimony: Heather Campbell, a military spouse who lost her job at a food bank, discusses the precarious situation many military families face.
• Notable Quote:

  “All of those things together create a really, really scary picture for the nutrition of our military families and their readiness to show up and do the jobs they're asked to do.”
  — Heather Campbell [01:53]

• YMCA Response: Efforts are being made to expand food distribution during the shutdown.

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Indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James

Segment Start: [02:08]

• Charges: Letitia James has been indicted by a federal grand jury for bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
• Political Implications: James denounces the indictment as the “desperate weaponization of the justice system.” The prosecution was reportedly urged by President Trump, who targeted James and other critics.
• Legal Backdrop: James previously won a civil fraud suit against Trump, though the financial penalty was later overturned on appeal.
• Reporting:

  “The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, secured by the same interim U.S. attorney there who last month brought charges against another prominent Trump critic, former FBI Director James Comey.”
  — Ryan Lucas [02:25]

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President Trump’s Routine Physical Examination

Segment Start: [03:02]

• Upcoming Doctor Visit: President Trump to visit Walter Reed for his second routine physical of the year; he claims he is feeling fine.

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Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Maria Corina Machado

Segment Start: [03:12]

• Recognition: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to democracy and human rights in Venezuela.

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Disputed National Guard Deployments

Segment Start: [03:32]

• Legal Actions: A U.S. federal appeals court is reviewing whether President Trump can deploy the National Guard in Portland, Oregon.
• Conflicting Rulings: A judge has blocked deployment to the Chicago area, but deployments continue in Memphis, Tennessee (welcomed by the governor), and in Washington, D.C.

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New Alzheimer’s Research: Programmed Cell Death

Segment Start: [03:54]

• Scientific Advances: Researchers are seeking to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s by influencing programmed cell death in brain cells.
• Treatment Focus: Biotech companies are developing antisense drugs that may prevent premature cell self-destruction by blocking specific protein signals.
• Expert Insight:

  “If they're right, it's going to cure a lot of diseases, diseases that we associate with aging and inflammation.”
  — Doug Green, St. Jude Children’s [04:33]

• Outlook: There is optimism that these drugs could benefit multiple age-related diseases.

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Concluding Update

Host: Korva Coleman signs off the newscast from Washington. [04:52]

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End of News Summary

Transcript

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[Korva Coleman]

[e-mail] Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Israel says a ceasefire with Hamas has now taken effect. Israel says it has pulled back its troops to areas within Gaza specified by the agreement. Now Hamas is to free all remaining hostages. The deal was proposed by President Trump. Hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin was involved in back channel discussions. He says he told Hamas negotiators they needed to get Trump's approval.

[Gershon Baskin]

You have to imagine that you're sitting in a room across the table from Donald Trump, not from Netanyahu. The person you need to convince is Trump. Trump will impose the deal on Israel when the time is right, when he believes that you are serious about ending this war, returning the hostages, now longer controlling Gaza. At the end of the day, that's in fact what happened.

[Korva Coleman]

He spoke to NPR's Morning Ed. Today is day 10 of the Federal government shutdown. Federal workers will go without pay, and that includes members of the US Military, the National Guard and Defense Department employees. They'll miss their first paycheck next Wednesday. NPR's Amy Held reports that now more military members need help to feed their families even when they're getting paid.

[Amy Held]

More than a quarter of active duty military families require food assistance, according to The Armed Services YMCA. They operate food distribution sites across nine states. One in Killeen, Texas, last week saw a 34% increase in demand. The shutdown has made an already tenuous situation worse. Heather Campbell is a military spouse who lost her own job at a military based food bank. She tells ABC News military families are often single income with little financial cushion.

[Heather Campbell]

All of those things together create a really, really scary picture for the nutrition of our military families and their readiness to show up and do the jobs they're asked to do.

[Amy Held]

The Armed Services YMCA is adding more food distribution sites through the shutdown. Amy Held, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

A federal grand jury has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on bank fraud charges. James condemned the allegations as the, quote, desperate weaponization of the justice system. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. President Trump pressured the Justice Department to prosecute James and other critics.

[Ryan Lucas]

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of false statements to a financial institution. The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, secured by the same interim U.S. attorney there who last month brought charges against another prominent Trump critic, former FBI Director James Comey. As the attorney general for New York state, James sued Trump and his company for inflating the value of some of its assets. James won that civil fraud case in a more than $450 million judgment, although an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

[Korva Coleman]

President Trump is expected to leave shortly for Walter Reed Military Medical Center. He'll get his second physical this year. The White House says it is routine. Trump says that he feels fine. This is npr. This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan opposition activist Maria Corina Machado. The Nobel Committee says Machado has been tireless in promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela against dictatorship. A US Federal appeals court is weighing whether President Trump can deploy National Guard troops on the streets of Portland, Oregon. This comes as a different federal court judge blocked Trump from deploying National Guard troops in the Chicago area. The governors of Illinois and Oregon don't want them, but the troops are in Memphis, Tennessee. Tennessee's Republican governor has welcomed them. And National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C. are still there. Scientists are hoping to treat diseases including Alzheimer's by influencing the way cells decide when to die. NPR's Jon Hamilton has more on efforts to control the process known as programmed cell death.

[Jon Hamilton]

In Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, nerve cells decide to self destruct long before they should. So biotech companies are looking for ways to keep these cells alive by blocking signals that start the fatal process. Doug Green of St. Jude Children's several firms think they can do this with treatments known as antisense drugs.

[Doug Green]

If they're right, it's going to cure a lot of diseases, diseases that we associate with aging and inflammation.

[Jon Hamilton]

Antisense drugs can keep a cell from making certain proteins. In this case, the drugs are designed to reduce proteins that carry the signals responsible for programmed cell death. John Hamilton, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

And I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.

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