NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-30-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. President Trump is flying back to Washington after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Writing online, Trump said they had a, quote, truly great meeting. He says China will start buying American farm products and may start the process of buying American oil and gas. NPR's deepest shiver on reports on Trump's comment about the next trade step. Trump says he and she came to an agreement on a trade deal, but it hasn't been finalized just yet. group of decisions. I think that was made. A lot of decisions were made to. There wasn't too much left out there. The U.S. will lower tariffs on China from 57 to 47 percent because of Xi's commitment to reduce the flow of fentanyl, Trump says. China will also start repurchasing

soybeans from the U.S. and stop the recent limit on rare earths exports that was announced a few weeks ago. Trump says he will visit China next April and she will come to the U.S. after that. Deepa Shiveram, NPR News, Jiangzhou Korea. It's been a month since the federal government shutdown. Federal programs at risk include food assistance to millions of Americans. Now, lawmakers in both parties warn that millions of needy Americans who get funding to help pay their heating bills could have trouble getting those funds as cold weather sets in. President Trump's pick to be the next U.S. Surgeon General is scheduled to appear for her confirmation hearing later this morning. Casey Means is an entrepreneur and wellness influencer. She was tapped for the job after Trump's first nominee withdrew.

NPR's Will Stone has more. Casey Means gained popularity after publishing a book on diet and metabolic health. She attended Stanford Medical School, but never completed her medical training to become a head and neck surgeon. She founded a company that promotes devices to monitor your blood sugar and has ties to the supplement industry. She's an ally of Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his broader Make America Healthy platform. Critics of her nomination point to her lack of clinical and leadership experience and raise concerns about some of her views, including on the childhood vaccine schedule. Means will appear before the Senate Committee in a virtual hearing. Will Stone and PR News. Hurricane Melissa is still a category two storm with top sustained winds of 105 miles per hour.

It is moving away from Cuba after roaring over that island yesterday. Melissa smashed into Jamaica on Tuesday. Reporter Nick Davis is in Central Jamaica where recovery is just starting. The storm made its way up over the mountains here. Buildings which were made of solid concrete breeze block, the cinder block buildings have done absolutely okay. But in the sort of communities and more agricultural communities, literally on the other side of the hill, that's where things have got a little bit more precarious. Nick Davis reporting from Central Jamaica. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are lower. It's NPR. The newly merged entertainment company, Paramount Skydance, is going to lay off about 2,000 workers. The company says it'll cut its workforce

by about 10% as part of a reorganization. The first layoffs target staffers at CBS News. The morning and evening streaming shows have been canceled. Texas authorities say a fire that started in a cotton gin has spread to about 14 acres. About half of the fire is contained. Thick smoke is blanketing the southern Texas town of Gregory. It's on the Gulf Coast just north of Corpus Christi. Several people have been told to evacuate. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers last night in L.A. in game five of the

World Series. They've now taken a three games to two lead in the series. Steve Futterman has more from Dodgers Stadium in L.A. The Toronto Blue Jays are one game away from winning the World Series after a six-to-one win here in game five. The Blue Jays took a one-nothing lead on the very first pitch. Davis Schneider hit the ball over the left field fence. Then the very next batter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did the same thing. After just three pitches, it was 2-0 Toronto. The first time in World Series history, the first two batters have hit home runs. The other part of the game five

story was the pitching of 22-year-old Toronto rookie Trey Yassavage. He held the Dodgers to one run on three hits and seven innings, he struck out 12, a World Series record for a rookie. The series resumes on Friday in Toronto. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman at the World Series in Los Angeles. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.