NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-30-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

NPR News: 10-30-2025 12PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump says the U.S. will start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis with Russia and China. NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports the announcement could mark a reversal of decades of policy. The president made his announcement in a lengthy post on truth social. The U.S. has not conducted a test of a nuclear weapon since 1992. Instead, it uses scientific experiments and computer simulations to make sure its bombs still work. The voluntary test moratorium has been in place since the end of the Cold War as part of an effort to maintain nuclear stability. It's not entirely clear what resuming testing on an equal basis means. The U.S. is not prepared to conduct a nuclear test in the near term, and China and Russia haven't tested their nuclear weapons in decades either, though both nations have been modernizing their arsenals in recent years. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. NPR has obtained the draft text of a proposed role.

barring federal Medicaid reimbursement for medical care provided to transgender patients younger than 18. The proposals by the Department of Health and Human Services also would prohibit reimbursement through the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP for people under 19. And additional proposed rule would go further, blocking all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care. There's been no formal HHS response yet to this. With no apparent end to the government shutdown in sight, more than 65,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are at risk of losing access to Head Start, the federal program that provides child care and early learning for low-income families. Here's NPR's Corey Turner.

Head Start programs all over the country are on different federal funding cycles. And the National Head Start Association says 134 of these programs are supposed to get their next round of funding, November 1st. But they can't if the government is shut down. These at-risk programs are in more than 40 states, but the hardest hit will likely be in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Ohio. Overall, Head Start serves about 750,000 children providing high-quality preschool, health screening, and free meals. If the shutdown continues, more and more centers will run out of money each month. That had forced many working families to choose between taking care of their kids and going to work. Corey Turner, NPR News.

Universal Music Group says it has reached a settlement with artificial intelligence music platform UDio in a copyright infringement lawsuit. And UMG says the two are collaborating. They're launching a subscription-based AI music creation, consumption, and streaming platform next year. UMG is also joining forces with stability AI to work with artists in creating licensed tools. UMG, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records are still suing the developer of A.I. This is NPR News. A new analysis finds the vaccines to protect people against COVID, RSV, and the flu remain very safe and highly effective. NPR's Robstein reports. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Stanford, Harvard, Brown, and other leading

universities as part of the Vaccine Integrity Project. That's an independent effort by public health experts. It's designed to provide reliable information about vaccines despite disruptions in vaccine policies in the Trump administration. The researchers analyzed more than 500 studies and report in the New England Journal of Medicine that the vaccines continue to provide strong, safe protection against COVID, RSV, and the flu. Rob Stein and PR News. Girls flag football is one of the fastest growing sports at U.S. high schools and some NFL teams are behind that trend. Here's KMUW Suzanne Perez. 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. 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. It's NPR.