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Episode Date: October 31, 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 Janine Hurst. Congressional Democrats say the Trump administration is blocking them from classified information tied to President Trump's ordered military strikes on alleged drug traffickers. Empires-Claude Grisales reports the administration has held unprecedented Republican-only classified briefings on the more than two, one dozen attacks. Virginia Senator Mark Warner said the partisan information sharing endangers national security. When you politicize decision-making about putting our service members in harm's way, you make them less safe. The top Senate intel Democrats had more than a dozen Republicans were cherry-picked for the secret briefing. ahead of a vote next week to limit President Trump's war powers. The remarks came after a House Armed Services Committee briefing, where Democrats complained information was limited to attack

tactics. They said the Trump ordered actions appear to be illegal. And while some cocaine was recovered, not fentanyl, as Trump claimed, was a reason for the strikes. Claude Riesales, NPR News, the Capitol. Maryland's governor has declared a state of emergency in response to the looming halt of federal funds allocated toward food assistance, a direct result of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Jenny Obamu of member station WAMU has more. Since the federal government shutdown began, the state of Maryland has received over 20,000 unemployment insurance claims from former and current federal workers. This, in addition to an estimated 680,000 people at risk of losing supplemental nutrition assistance funding, has led Governor Westmore to declare a state of emergency.

and allocate $10 million in assistance to food banks. We need to move quickly to make sure we're getting the most support to those most in need. This move stopped short of replacing an estimated $123 million for SNAP for the month of November that both Republicans and Democrats in the state urged the governor to fund. For NPR News, I'm Jenny Abameau. The leaders of the world's two biggest economies met in South Korea today. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked tariffs and while they didn't reach trade agreements, they did pause other concerns.

And Piers Dupa Chivaram has more. One is basically that China agreed to pull back on some of the limits they had put on rare earths exports. The other element was that China would resume buying soybeans from the U.S. immediately. And that's, of course, been a major issue for American farmers since China halted those shipments. And then the other thing is that Trump said this is the big number part, that tariffs on China would be lowered from 57% to 47%. NPR's Deepa Shiboram reporting from South Korea. Meanwhile, Trump ordered the Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons immediately. U.S. Futures contracts are trading higher at this hour.

You're listening to NPR News. Apple rated in our record $102.5 billion last quarter, and the company expects double-digit revenue growth in the October to December period. MPIRS-John Ruich reports it's riding high on. strong demand and higher prices for its new lineup of iPhones. iPhone sales hit $49 billion during the July to September quarter, helping drive overall revenue after the company unveiled fresh iPhone designs. iPhone revenue fell short of analyst's expectations, however,

and Apple says that was because of supply constraints. CEO Tim Cook says demand is off the charts, though. The company says it's significantly increasing its investment in artificial intelligence. To date, it stayed on the margins, as others have poured cash into data center, and personnel to try to gain advantage in a fiercely competitive AI arena. Apple says it's on track to unveil an upgraded AI-enhanced version of its personal assistant Siri next year, as planned. Its share price jumped in after-hours trading following the news, adding to a market cap that rose

above $4 trillion earlier this week. John Rewich, NPR News. Britain's King Charles is stripping his brother Andrew of his title as Prince. It's an extraordinary move, capping Andrew's fall from grace, because of his ties to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The palace says the 65-year-old will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor, and will be evicted from his home, the 30-room Royal Lodge. The recent publication of the book, Nobody's Girl,

a posthumous memoir by Andrew's accuser, Virginia Joufrey, put the spotlight again on allegations against him. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Support for NPR, and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mone. thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.