NPR News: 10-18-2025 9PM EDT
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This message comes from Subaru, celebrating the Subaru Share the Love event now through January 2nd. By year's end, Subaru and its retailers will have donated more than $350 million to charity.
Subaru, more than a car company. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. Montgomery County, Maryland, home to the National Institutes of Health, is one of the hardest-hit places in the country for federal cuts. Today, protesters gathered outside the NIH in Bethesda to push back against the Trump administration's layoffs and funding freezes. From Member Station WAMU, Jenny Abamu has more.
Among the crowd of protesters outside the National Institutes of Health was a man holding a sign that read, NIH funding saved my life. Francis McMahon says he had a stroke last year.
My wife rushed me to the ER, and I got treatment that was based on pioneering work done here at NIH, and it saved my life. I would have died. I would have been a dead man.
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela also Brooks. Both Democrats representing Maryland addressed the protesters, offering words of support for federal workers and reminding them that they're continuing to advocate for health care subsidies as the government shutdown continues. For NPR News, I'm Jenny Abamu in Bethesda.
Former Republican New York Congressman George Santos has been freed from prison. President Trump commuted his sentence yesterday. Santos spent less than three months in jail on a seven-year sentence. NPR's Brian Mann has more.
When Santos was sentenced for his crimes in April, officials in Trump's Justice Department called it a victory, saying in a statement the former lawmaker was finally being held accountable for the mountain of lies, theft, and fraud he perpetrated.
What federal cuts are impacting Montgomery County, Maryland?
DOJ officials also pointed to Santos' many victims, including Republican campaign donors, cheated by his schemes. They described Santos' seven-year prison sentence as a signal public corruption wouldn't be tolerated. But in a post on social media, Trump described Santos as a political ally, a man with, quote, the courage, conviction, and intelligence to always vote Republican. He said Santos had been horribly mistreated and set him free. This comes as Trump has directed the DOJ to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals he views as political enemies. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York.
An Israeli attack has killed a family of 11, including children, according to the Gaza Health Authorities. NPR's Jane Araf reports that's as a ceasefire is mostly holding.
What were the protesters' demands at the NIH?
Gaza authorities gave the names of the victims. The youngest was five years old. They said the family was in a bus in Gaza City, going back to check the ruins of their home. Israeli forces say the bus was beyond the yellow line where Gazans have been warned not to enter. They say they faced an imminent threat and fired a tank shell at the vehicle. Many Gazans are unaware exactly where the yellow line is on the ground. Israel says it will soon mark it with physical barriers. The Israeli military pulled back after the ceasefire was agreed, but still controls more than half of Gaza territory. Jane Araf, NPR News, Amman.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Earlier this month, the White House asked a few selective universities to sign an agreement in exchange for federal funds. Now, those schools are pushing back.
Empire's Sequoia Carrillo has more. The agreement, or what the administration is calling the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, would provide priority federal funding to the schools that pledge support for many of President Trump's policy goals. Among the demands are a five-year tuition freeze and capping international student enrollment at 15%. Many schools feel the agreement would set a precedent for how funding is doled out. For instance, in MIT's letter declining the proposal, President Sally Kornbluth states that, quote, scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. MIT, Brown, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California have declined the invitation.
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