NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-01-2025 6PM EDT

Episode Date: November 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump says he's open to continuing snap food assistant benefits after he gets appropriate legal direction from the courts. Two federal judges yesterday ruled that the government has to use emergency reserves to pay for the program. It's not clear how long that would take. 42 million Americans are at risk of going without food aid benefits until then. Cynthia Abrams from Member Station WPLN reports in Tennessee, some private groups are hoping to fill in some of the gaps. Tennessee's state leaders have not jumped in to cover the losses,

so some cities, like Nashville, are pushing food drives and directing people to local food banks. Dollar General employee, Siever Harp, volunteered with his coworkers at a Nashville food bank. Harp said he relied on federal nutrition assistance growing up. I took for granted at the time how important those benefits are. I think this is an apolitical issue to keep our neighbors fed. thousand Tennessee residents rely on federal food aid. For NPR news, I'm Cynthia Abrams in Nashville. Open enrollment has begun on health care.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace for health insurance. And PIR Salina Simmons-Duffin has more. In 2026, premium costs for these plans are

going to double on average because enhanced federal subsidies are set to expire. That's the central issue in the ongoing government shutdown. Jeremy Smith works with First Choice Services in Charleston, West Virginia, an organization that helps walk people through the enrollment process. They've already gotten hundreds of calls. They are nervous, and we're just encouraging them to go through the process and look at the new plans and prices. He says people should check to see what's happening with their plan and their circumstances. There is a chance that Congress will work out a deal to prevent the premium spikes before the end of the year. Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.

Two new suspects were charged in the Louvre jewel heist today. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, four people are now being held and charged with stealing $100 million worth of royal jewels from the museum two weeks ago. Those jewels haven't been found. In a statement Saturday, the Paris prosecutor said two of the five people arrested Wednesday have been charged.

One charged with organized theft and criminal conspiracy is thought to be part of the four-man commando team that carried out the heist. The other, a woman, has been charged with complicity in preparing the crime. Two men also thought to be a part of the commando unit and arrested a week ago have also been charged. All were caught using DNA and fingerprints from objects left behind at the scene of the crime. Quoting the findings of a report Friday, France's culture minister said there has been a chronic underestimation of the risk of intrusion and theft at the Louvre for the last 20 years. NPR's Eleanor Beersley reporting, this is NPR News.

President Trump's renovations at the White House aren't stopping at the east wing. And peers Chloe Veltman reports the Lincoln bathroom has been remodeled in marble and gold. In a post on social media, President Trump said the renovation to the so-called Lincoln bathroom is, quote, very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln. But according to former White House Historical Association Chief Historian Edward Lengel, Lengel says in Lincoln's Day that space was part of an office belonging to one of the president's aides. And Marble wasn't used in bathrooms during the Civil War era, though there's evidence to show that it appeared in other household areas.

Lengel says it's common for presidents to alter the White House, though most don't publicise it. He adds Trump did the right thing by putting his own spin on the decor, which dates back to the green tile Harry Truman installed in 1914. Lengel says the toilet in the new bathroom is perfectly placed for the sitter to look out the window and watch the renovations going on in the east wing. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. The FDA is no longer recommending fluoride supplements for children under three and older children who don't face serious risks of tooth decay,

saying it could be linked to emerging safety concerns. But the American Dental Association disputes that claim, saying there are no significant health problems. The FDA isn't removing the products from the market, but it is warning companies that they can't market their products to those children. This applies to fluoride tablets and lozenges, sometimes prescribed for children, and also the drops for babies. It doesn't apply to toothpaste.

I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.