NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-29-2025 9PM EDT

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiyavoni. The government of Jamaica says recovery efforts are in full swing in the western part of that country. NPR's Ada Peralta reports that's where Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a category. The country's Prime Minister Andrew Holness took a helicopter to St. Elizabeth Parish. Footage shows devastation. Homes with roofs ripped away, vast tracks of land that have been stripped of trees. The images show the town of Black River was reduced to rubble. The government of Jamaica says crews are working to open up roads. Local government minister Desmond Mackenzie tried to reassure the island's western residents. We are all in your corners and we are

hoping for the best. There is no official death toll yet, as many of the hard hit areas are still cut off. Hurricane Melissa is still in the Atlantic, now headed for Bermuda. Yadapralta, NPR News, Mexico City. Snap recipients across the nation are at risk of losing benefits next month. As the government shutdown continues, that's leaving it up to the states to try to find funding for the food assistance program for low-income households. Alex Cox with Member Station WRKF has the story on funding in Louisiana.

While already convened for a special session on redistricting, the Louisiana legislature passed a resolution that paved the way for SNAP recipients to receive funding from the state. But 53,000 of those who rely on the program probably won't get the benefits. Louisiana Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein says that's because they are prioritizing. children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The intention is that we're not covering able-body adults. That's the direction that we're headed. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the people who won't qualify for the state-funded

benefits should lean on food banks or pursue jobs highlighted on the state-run online job board. For NPR News, I'm Alex Cox in Baton Rouge. A raft of tech companies are reporting earnings this weekend, as NPR's John Ruich reports, artificial intelligence is driving a lot of the growth. Google's parent company Alphabet saw its sales grow 16% during the third quarter from a year earlier. The results beat analyst expectations and showed that Google's dominant search business remains strong. That's despite challenges from AI startups, sometimes called answer engines, like ChatGPT.

The company's cloud computing business did well during the quarter two, a result of growing demand from AI. That was the case for Microsoft also. Its commercial cloud business grew 26% in the quarter. META, Facebook's parent company, announced strong earnings during the quarter, but its share price slumped after the bell following heavier-than-expected expenses related to AI. John Rewich, NPR News. On Wall Street, the NASDAQ gained 130 points the S&P 500 was basically unchanged. This is NPR News in Washington. The Federal Reserve has reduced its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

the short-term rate as a result is down to about 3.9%. The Fed today noted that job gains have slowed and the jobless rate has edged up. The move was made despite the nation's inflation rate still sitting at 3% above policymakers' 2% target. Girls flagged football is one of the fastest growing sports at high schools across the country. As Suzanne Perez of member station KMUW reports, some NFL teams are behind the trend. The Kansas City Chiefs Flag Football Initiative helped launch girls' flag football in Kansas this fall by providing equipment, uniforms, and funding for coaches and officials. It's fast-paced and competitive, even without tackling or blocking.

Flag football fields are shorter, and each team fields five to seven players at a time. Addison Raytana grew up watching football with her dad. Now she plays quarterback for Wichita North High School. I've never been given the opportunity to be able to play football, and it's never been able to be like for girls like that. So now seeing this program is amazing. It's awesome. Players say they hope that girls will soon be able to letter in flag football. The sport will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.

For NPR News, I'm Suzanne Perez in Wichita. The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing game five of the World Series in their home stadium today, tied at two games apiece with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto currently leads two to nothing in the third inning. I'm Louise Skiyvone and PR News, Washington. When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, all you want to do is help. But where do you start?

On the Life Kit podcast, we have tips for you. Your agenda should be, I'm going to be with you and be totally present to whatever comes up. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts for different ways to offer support.