NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-01-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: November 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwaalisei Kautel. Two federal judges ruled late Friday that it's unlawful for the Trump administration to suspend snap food benefits that ends Saturday. At this moment, it's not clear when payments for food aid will get to the 42 million people who rely on it across the country. NPR's Jennifer Luddin says one judge gave the administration until Monday to come up with a plan. The Trump administration had said a week ago there was not enough money for November payments of SNAP, that's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and it said it had no legal authority to tap contingency funds for that. Judge Indira Talwani in Boston did not buy that at all. She says the administration must use that money to keep the country's largest anti-hunger program going. And in fact, she said they could also tap a larger amount in customs revenue, though she's leaving it up to the administration.

to decide if they'll do that. In peers, Jennifer Lutton, as the federal government shutdown continues, some states are pulling from local funding to help feed thousands of families, but not Tennessee. Cynthia Abrams from Member Station WPLN reports. Roughly 700,000 Tennesseans are at risk of losing food aid.

So, local leaders, like Joe Pitts, the mayor of Clarksville, Tennessee, are urging the federal government to reopen. I'd like a word with those in the legislation. legislative and executive branch in Washington. If you want to debate the merits of budgets and budget deficits and spending priorities, then get to it. But for goodness sakes, get back to Washington, get to work. We the people are depending on you.

Tennessee does have a $2 billion reserve fund. Other states have used their reserves to donate to food banks, but there doesn't seem to be an appetite for that in Tennessee. For NPR News, I'm Cynthia Abrams in Nashville. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagseth met his Chinese counter. part in Malaysia on Friday, where they talked about Taiwan and the South China Sea, where NPR's Emily Fang reports the Philippines, a U.S. ally, has been trying to boost its defenses against China.

Hexeth met with Dong Jun, China's defense minister. He also met with the Philippines Defense Secretary. And on the same day, China's Coast Guard sailed a patrol around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, one of the many areas of contention between the Philippines and China, who both claim the waters around this reef as theirs. Dong Jun, this The Chinese defense minister told Hegsef that he hoped the U.S. would honor its commitment not to contain China and one of the two countries to build off of a high-profile meeting between President Trump and China's top leader Xi Jinping just the day prior. Hegsef said in a statement on X that he told Admiral Dong, the U.S. would ensure it has capabilities to defend its interests in the region. Emily Fang and P.R. News. And you are listening to NPR News from New York City.

The world's most extravagant toilet is going under the hammer. N. Pierce-Cloy-Veltman reports Sotheby's plans to auction Italian artist Mauritio Catalan's America, a fully functional lavatory made out of more than 100 kilograms of solid gold on November 18th. Catalan's 18-carat gold toilet is as eye-popping as it is infamous. The Guggenheim in New York encouraged visitors to use the artwork as a regular toilet when it was installed at the museum in 2016. 100,000 people lined up to do just that. Three years later, it was stolen while on show at Blenheim Palace in England.

The artwork has never been recovered. In an unusual move for an auction house, Sotheby says the starting bid for the only other existing version of America will be determined by the price of the artwork's weight in gold. It will rise and fall with the gold market until the hammer falls. At today's rate, that's a flush 10 minutes. million dollars. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.

In Kyeongju, South Korea, the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit of 21 member economies has just concluded. President E.J. Myeong closed by saying the Republic of Korea seeks to open a new chapter on the Korean Peninsula. He's soon to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for their bilateral summit. According to Yon Haap News, this is she's first visit to South Korea in more than a decade. The two are expected to discuss improving economic ties and North Korea, a traditional ally of China. I'm Dwa Lisei Countow, NPR News.