NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-28-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

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These days, with all the information coming at you, it can be hard to know what's accurate, what's not, and what's worth your time. Here to help you navigate it all is 1A. Five days a week, the 1A podcast provides a forum for Curate's Minds to explore different angles on the biggest headlines and give you a more balanced take on what's happening. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay-Stevens. President Trump has been meeting Japan's newly elected and first female Prime Minister Sena Takaichi. She spoke of building a golden era for Japan's alliance with the United States. Trump told Takaichi she would be one of the great prime ministers,

as the BBC's Shama Kamil reports from Tokyo. It's a critical day for Japan, and for its new Prime Minister Sinai Takaiichi, it's a defining early test of leadership. President Trump said Japan was a great ally, adding that he'll be there whenever needed. But he's also pushing hard on trade and security, leaving Tokyo very little room to maneuver. Mr. Trump wants more U.S. access to Japan's markets. Sunai Takaiichi needs to protect domestic industries. Tokyo is heavily reliant on exports and can't afford a tariff fight.

For now, the tone is friendly, but there is real pressure on Tokyo to deliver on agreements. The BBC Shama Khalil in Tokyo. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program called SNAP will run out of money on Saturday, unless Congress ends the federal shutdown by then. There's no sign of any compromise between Democrats and Republicans 27 days into the shutdown. NPR Stephen Fowler reports that the Trump administration has shifted money from other programs to extend WIC, a program that aids mothers and children,

but not for SNAP. According to federal budget documents, the Trump administration transferred the $300 million for WIC from a state child nutrition programs account that's funded in part by a portion of custom duties collected the previous calendar year. These so-called Section 32 funds are separate from the increased revenue generated from sweeping tariffs imposed by President Trump in recent months. The Trump administration said transferring any money from this $23 billion pool of funds to support

SNAP would jeopardize money for school meals and infant formula. NPR Stephen Fowler reporting. More than 100 former Justice Department officials are urging a federal judge to dismiss DOJ's case against former FBI Director James Comey. They've signed a court brief arguing that the charges are being fueled by political revenge and not by legal standards. The filing also accuses DOJ of tossing aside long-standing practices that govern prosecutions. The National Hurricane Melissa's top winds have reached 175 miles per hour. Melissa is a Category 5 storm. It could be the strongest to ever hit Jamaica, as NPR's Ada Peralta reports.

The story missed forecast to move right through the middle of the island, early Tuesday. morning. Jamaica's meteorological service says the outer bands of Melissa have already reached the island and they are expecting a life-threatening storm surge of 9 to 13 feet. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the whole island should expect flash floods and landslides. While we must prepare for the worst, let us also pray for the best. Holness asked everyone to heed evacuation orders. Ada Peralta reporting, this is NPR. The man charged with murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk may appear in street closed during court appearances,

but the Utah judge overseeing the case says Tyler Robinson must remain shackled in court, citing safety concerns. Judge Tony Graff agreed to make some allowances in order to protect the defendant's presumption of innocence. A Confederate statue has been renovated and reinstalled in a northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood. The statue of General Albert Pike was erected in 1901. and is the only Confederate monument in the nation's capital. It was toppled and burned during the June 2020 protests against police killings of unarmed black people. A Halloween trend is scaring up customers at car washes all over the U.S.

NPR's Netta Ulibe has the story. Fast Splash Car Wash has about a dozen locations. This one in Detroit is only haunted on the weekends leading up to Halloween. Employees costumed as ghouls and horror movie monsters, tap on your windows and brandish chainsaws as you wait in line for a wash. The tunnel is lit blood red. Evil clowns pop out to scare you. Or, okay, to scare me.

No one's keeping track of the exact number of haunted car washes, but at least one national chains says it's adding more of them every year. Tommy's Express has hundreds of locations from Virginia to Alaska. It says half of its car washes are haunted over Halloween. Netta Ulibe, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading, following Monday's gains on Wall Street, on Asia-Pacific market shares are mixed. This is NPR News.