NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-30-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. President Trump says he's made deals with China's leader Xi Jinping during their meeting today in South Korea. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that she agreed to curb production of fentanyl and lift restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals. In return, the president says he agreed to lower some tariffs on Chinese goods. Overall, I guess on the scale from zero to ten, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was at 12. I think it was a 12.

I think very importantly, you know, just the whole relationship is very important. And I think it was very good. Talks between Trump and she began with a handshake and lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes. A weekend Hurricane Melissa is barreling towards the Bahamas and Bermuda after leaving a trail of death and destruction in the Caribbean. The storm has claimed at least 26 lives after blasting through Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica. Nick Davis is in the central Jamaican city of Manderville. A set of ambulances, a group of ambulances and some buses went out to try and take people from a place called Black River,

which is the capital of St. Elizabeth, the hospital there was completely destroyed. In fact, most of the town has gone, and it's a historic town, it's gone. It's wiped off the face of the earth. From what I'm hearing, the road is still impassable, even with a... assistance. It's just impossible, impossible to be able to get people from there to here. The National Hurricane Center says Melissa has been downgraded to a category one storm, packing top winds of 100 miles per hour. The Federal Reserve Board has cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point. But as NPR Scott Horsley reports, the central bank poured cold water on hopes

for an additional rate cut in December. By making it cheaper to borrow money, the Fed hopes to goose demand and prop up the sagging job market. The vote was not unanimous, however. One member of the rate-setting committee wanted a larger half-point cut, another wanted to leave rates unchanged. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says policymakers also have widely differing views about whether an additional rate cut might be warranted at the next Fed meeting in December. That disappointed investors who were banking on another quarter-point rate reduction before the end of the year. Setting interest rates can be challenging in the best at times. The job is particularly difficult now, since much of the government data policymakers usually rely on to track the economy has been suspended by the federal

shutdown. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. A federal appeals court has blocked a judge's order requiring a border patrol official to submit daily briefings on immigration raids in Chicago. Yesterday's ruling was issued ahead of Greg Bovino's first meeting with the judge. Bovino is chief of Border Patrol in El Central California, and he's leading immigration enforcement in Chicago. This is NPR. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsef says the U.S. has carried out another lethal strike on a boat in the Pacific, killing four people.

Hegset says U.S. intelligence shows that the vessel was hauling narcotics. His announcement on X included a video of the attack and came a day after the U.S. struck another boat in the area claiming 14 lives. Dozens of people have been killed in a series of U.S. attacks on boats deemed to be hauling narcotics in the Caribbean and Pacific. Girls Flag Football is one of the fastest growing sports at high schools across the U.S. 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 let her in flag football. The sport will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. For NPR News, I'm Suzanne Perez in Wichita. U.S. futures are slightly lower in after-hours trading on Wall Street. On Asia-Pacific market, shares are mixed up a fraction in Tokyo. This is NPR News.