NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-25-2025 3AM EDT

Episode Date: October 25, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump is on his way to Malaysia. It's his first stop in a nearly week-long trip to the Indo-Pacific. He'll meet with heads of state in Kuala Lumpur as well as Japan and Korea. But the main focus is Trump's expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. NPR's Deepa Shivrim reports. Tensions have recently escalated between the U.S. and China on trade. It comes after Beijing further limited exports on rare earth minerals and metals,

are critical for the U.S. Trump responded that he could further raise tariffs on Chinese goods by November 1st. It's the latest in months of back and forth on trade that have left the global economy on edge. Still, Trump said this week he expects to make a, quote, fantastic trade deal with Xi. The president will also attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, visit Tokyo, and attend the APEC summit in Guangzhou, Korea. Deepa Shiverum and PR News traveling with the president. Before he left, Trump spoke with reporters about the ballroom now under construction at the White House. Trump had the East Wing demolished to make room for the facility, and that's brought criticism that he's damaged a historic building.

But Trump says the ballroom will help to modernize the White House. We've raised over $350 million. It's a beautiful room, a big room. I don't have any plan to call it after myself that was expected. Probably going to call it the presidential ballroom or something like that. We haven't really thought about a name yet. As the federal government shutdown drags on into week four, more Americans are beginning to feel its effects. As Sophia Schmidt, a member station, WHYY reports, Pennsylvania is delaying a program that helps families heat their homes in the winter.

More than 300,000 households in Pennsylvania rely on the low-income home energy assistance program to help buy heating oil or pay their energy bills. The program usually opens in November, but without federal funding, the state is pushing it back to December. Liz Marks directs the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project. She says families will be forced to make hard choices. I think a lot of people are going to sacrifice food, medicine, medical care, other life essentials. I think people will fall behind on their rent. Pennsylvania officials say once federal funds start flowing again, they'll start up the program as quickly as possible. For NPR News, I'm Sophia Schmidt in Philadelphia.

A new AP Nork poll shows President Trump's favorability rating among Hispanics is down drastically since the beginning of the year. The survey finds that 25% of adult Hispanics have a somewhat or very favorable view of Trump that's down from 44% in January. Hispanic voters were motivated last fall by economic concerns, but in this latest poll, they indicate a higher feeling of economic stress than Americans overall. It was a strong day on Wall Street with all major indices close. Closing up, you're listening to NPR News. The Toronto Blue Jays pounded the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night in a game one of the World Series winning 11 to 4. Rookie starter, Trey Yassavage pitched four innings for Toronto and allowed two runs. Addison Barger had the first pinch hit Grand Slam in World Series history, helping to overcome a 2O deficit early in the game.

Shohayotani, meanwhile, had his first series home run for the heavily favored Dodgers. President Trump says he's open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his trip to Asia. Trump made his comments on board Air Force One. Trump said the two had a great relationship. He's traveling to Malaysia, but we're in South Korea at the end of his trip next week. Farmers and ranchers from several states have joined in the campaign to raise awareness about labor shortages that they say are hurting family farms. As Brad Bird, a member station KTTZ reports, the campaign highlights an issue that has producers and economists concerned about higher food prices across the country.

Zach Rutledge is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University who spoke for the Grow It Here campaign. He says about half of U.S. farmers face some kind of labor shortage. This issue of the domestic labor supply has implications for U.S. consumers and also affects the trade balance in the U.S. Farmers say lowering costs for employing temporary foreign workers could help, but some say they still rely on immigrants who can work year-round. The U.S. Labor Department has warned that a worker shortage is, quote,

threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices. I'm Dale Wilman, and you're listening to NPR News.