NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-01-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: November 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. The Federal Food Assistance Program, known as SNAP, ran out of money today, affecting more than 40 million Americans. President Trump says he's open to continue making the payments once he's given the appropriate legal direction from the courts. Two courts had ruled that stopping the payments is unlawful. A bagel shop in Seattle is offering free breakfast and is raising money to feed people. Casey Martin of member station, K. KUOW reports. Two recent college grads opened toasted bagels and coffee last year.

Co-founder Marat Akus says they grew up on government food assistance. Didn't have to face food scarcity because we're able to rely on SNAM. This weekend, Akus says they'll give out free breakfast to the first 100 people, no questions asked. To keep it going, they're asking paying customers to chip in what they can. Right off the bat, like the first 10 hours, we raised like $10,000, and we're about to hit $40,000. He says they got the idea from a Portland coffee shop doing something similar. Food banks in Seattle say they're already seeing a spike in demand because of the government shut down.

For NPR News, I'm Casey Martin in Seattle. The government shutdown is now in its 32nd day with no apparent movement towards ending the stalemate. Democrats say they won't approve a short-term bill to reopen the government unless there's an extension of health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, set to expire at the end of the year. Millions of Americans are now getting notices of how much their insurance will cost without the subsidies. One of them is Beth Dreyer of Norfolk, Virginia. She says there's no way she can afford her insurance next year.

There's no more routine care for me. There's no mammography. There's no annual visits. And I know that there are a lot of things that run in my family that could get me right about this age. All the women in my family have had breast cancer. So I know that's on the table for me. She says her new premium will be $425 a month. It's now just under $80 a month.

It was another winning week on Wall Street with investors cheered by some strong corporate earnings and easing of trade tensions with China. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Amazon shares jumped on Friday after the company reported better than expected sales and profits. Amazon also says it's cutting about 14,000 corporate jobs as it plows more money into artificial intelligence. China agreed to end its boycott of U.S. soil. beans and pause export limits on rare earth minerals. After a meeting this week between President

Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Trump agreed to lower some tariffs, although imports from China are still being taxed at nearly 50%. The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point this week, but cast doubt on whether rates will fall further in December. For the week, both the Dow and the S&P 500 index rose more than seven-tenths of a percent, while the tech-heavy NASDAQaeda jumped two and a quarter percent. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. This is NPR News in Washington. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Serbia today to mark the one-year anniversary of the collapse of a canopy at a railway station.

Sixteen people died. The tragedy prompted widespread protests against government corruption. The movement has expanded into a nationwide call for democratic reforms and new elections. The president of Tanzania has been declared the winner of the country's presidential elections on Wednesday. Michael Koloki reports the East African nation has witnessed a series of protests since the votes were cast earlier this week. Tanzania's Electoral Commission said that Samia Sulhu Hassan had won with almost 98% of the votes. Since the country went to the polls this week, protests have been witnessed in various cities and towns. Demonstrators have denounced the disqualification of two leading opposition leaders from the presidential race

and also condemned what they claim is increasing repression by the government. The United Nations said that credible reports indicate that at least 10 people have been killed in three cities since the start of the protests. In a statement, UN Chief Antonio Guterre said he was deeply concerned by the situation in the country. The United States warned Americans to reconsider travel to Tanzania, adding that demonstrations in the country can be unpredictable. For NPR News, Michael Koloki in Nairobi. Today, New Mexico became the first state in the Union to offer free child care to everyone regardless of income. Under the program, families may receive state vouchers to pay for public and private child care. Proponents say this will raise education in the state where studies show students were well below the national average.

I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.