NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-28-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corta Coleman. The National Hurricane Center says the top of the scale hurricane Melissa has gotten even stronger. Top sustained winds are now at 180 miles per hour. Forecasters say the storm is approaching Jamaica's southern coast. Jamaican leaders are pleading with people to get to shelters. The mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, says Jamaican officials are using all their knowledge to protect people. Last year we had burial. This year it's Melissa. And we knew what happened last year.

ensuring that we follow the same protocols, lessons learned from then, applying those now, so that we can be better prepared and reduce the risk associated with the weather system that is coming. He spoke to the BBC. Yesterday, Jamaica's Prime Minister warned there's no infrastructure in the Caribbean region that can withstand the strength of this hurricane's onslaught. The federal government shutdown is nearly a month old. State and federal officials all warn federal food assistance, also known as SNAP, will stop this Saturday. Claire, Babineau-Fontino heads the Food Bank Network, Feeding America. There are two categories of people who tend to access to charitable food system.

One are people who, with the SNAP benefits, they still don't have enough to make ends meet, so they turn to us. But the fastest growing segment is actually people who don't qualify for any federal nutrition program. So imagine the pain that will be visited upon people who have relied upon SNAP in the She spoke to NPR's morning edition. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military has struck more boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Writing online, he says the U.S. hit four vessels killing 14 people with one survivor. Mexican officials are responsible for rescuing that person. Hegset says the boats were carrying drugs.

He does not provide any evidence of his claim. Stocks opened higher this morning, extending Monday's rally. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones &. Industrial average jumped about 300 points in early trading. Investors are optimistic that an expected meeting this week between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will lead to a ratcheting down of trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Trump held a friendly meeting today with the new Prime Minister of Japan. Amazon says it's cutting some 14,000 corporate jobs as it leans more heavily on artificial intelligence. Amazon is a financial supporter of NPR.

Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting in Washington. When that meeting wraps up tomorrow, the central banks expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by another quarter percentage point. That expectation was reinforced by a report last week, showing slightly less inflation in September than forecasters had expected. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And this update, the National Hurricane Center now says the top of the scale Hurricane Melissa is continuing to gain strength. Top sustained winds are now 185 miles per hour. You're listening to NPR. Energy Company Exxon is suing the state of California.

The company alleges to California laws infringe on its free speech rights. The laws require big companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks. Exxon claims this is intended to shame the company. A spokesman for California Governor Gavin Newsom says the company appears to be opposed to transparency. Many doctors say political attacks on science and medicine are affecting patient care, especially in rural communities. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more. Dr. Banu Symington is one of only five full-time oncologists in Wyoming and is close to retirement. She sees misinformation and conspiracy theories putting patients in peril.

Some, for example, are taking an anti-parasite drug because it was endorsed on a conservative podcast as a treatment for cancer. I have patients who are covertly taking Ivermectin, and then they end up in the intensive care unit because of a complication from the Ivermectin. Experts say the shortage of doctors in rural areas is making this problem worse. But the Trump administration's changes to immigration and health policies are also making recruitment of clinicians tougher in America's rural communities. Yuki Noguchi and PR News. Game three of the World Series went 18 innings last night. the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays at home six to five when Dodger Freddie Freeman homered with a walk-off.

That game lasted for more than six and a half hours, and they're going to play game four tonight in L.A. This is NPR. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR NewsNow Plus at plus. npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.