NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-30-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. It is now day 30 of the government shutdown. Vice President J.D. Vance, accompanied by aviation industry officials today, press congressional Democrats to stop blocking a GOP-back spending measure that would reopen government. We are happy to talk about any policy issue. We're happy to talk about health care policy. We're happy to talk about tax policy. We're happy to talk about regulatory policy, but not at the point of a gun.

Democratic Party leaders argue President, and Trump has refused to meet with them to discuss their request for commitments on stronger health care protections. A federal judge is considering a move that might help ensure that millions of Americans continue to get at least some federal food assistance despite the shutdown. The administration says benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP would be cut off beginning Saturday. But Democratic officials from about two dozen states sued to keep the payments coming. And P.R. Stovey Smith reports a judge may issue an order as soon as this. afternoon. After an hour of arguments, Judge Indira Talwani strongly suggested she was not buying the Trump administration's argument that they're legally barred from using emergency money to keep food aid

flowing. It's clear that Congress was trying to protect the American people, Talwani said. The government might not be able to fully cover payments for November, but requiring the emergency funds, she said, was Congress's way of saying, quote, we're not going to make everyone drop dead because it's a political game someplace. The Trump administration argues setting up partial payments would be a logistical nightmare and could take weeks. Tovia Smith, NPR News, Boston. NPR obtained the draft tax of a proposed rule barring federal Medicaid reimbursement for medical care provided to transgender patients younger than the age of 18. The proposals by the Department of Health and Human Services would also prohibit reimbursement through the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP for people under 19.

In Gaza, Hamas is handed over what it said are the bodies of two Israeli hostages. Israeli authorities are now working to confirm the identities of the bodies. From Tel Aviv, NPR's Rob Schmidt's reports the handover comes two days after Israel launched a series of strikes on Gaza. Hamas has identified the bodies as those of Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, both kidnapped during the events of October 7, two years ago. If the identities of the bodies are confirmed by Israel's National Center for Forensic Medicine, that would leave 11 remaining deceased hostages inside of Gaza. Hamas says it's having trouble locating those bodies due to destruction on the ground inside the strip, but Israel's government has accused Hamas of knowing where several of the bodies are located,

saying Hamas is delaying their return. Tensions between the two sides spilled over on Tuesday when Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Gaza, killing 104 people, including at least 46 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Rob Schmits, NPR News, Tel Aviv. It's NPR. Today, the U.S. Senate voted 51-47 in favor of a resolution that blocks President Trump's tariffs. Kentucky Republicans Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul joined Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Maine Susan Collins in voting with Senate Democrats.

Citing the need to secure better trade terms for the U.S., Trump impose a baseline of 10 percent tariffs on goods from other countries earlier this year, and he called it Liberation Day. U.S. tensions with China escalated. But after their recent meeting in South Korea, President Trump now says that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have forged new agreements, including a U.S. tariff reduction from 57 percent to 47 percent. The planet is hotter than ever, and people's health is suffering because of climate change. That's the main message of a new report from the International Health Journal, The Lancet. Here's NPR's Alejandra Burunda.

The ninth annual Lancet Countdown report focuses on the many different ways climate change affects health. Lead author Marina Romanello is an environmental health scientist at University College London. Over half a million deaths have occurred in the last 10 years

on average annually because of heat exposure. Climate change is also smoothing the path for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever. and more potent wildfires mean higher exposure to smoke worldwide. Yet some countries like the U.S. are retreating from their previously stated climate goals, and fossil fuel production forecasts are rising. Romano says the combination could result in more health harms from climate change in the future. Alejabaruna, NPR News.

It's NPR.