NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-03-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all on the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The Trump administration is restarting SNAP food benefits after a pair of federal court rulings, but they'll pay out just half of what 42 million Americans normally receive and their warning of lengthy delay. As Chris Polanski of Connecticut Public Radio reports, one state lawmaker is trying to raise awareness of the hardships faced by SNAP recipients. Connecticut state senator Saoud Anwar has spent more than a week living on $6.20 a day.

That's the amount an average person on SNAP receives and assistance. Anwar, a Democrat, says the experiment is meant to shine a light on those going without as the federal government shutdown continues. That's the real focus that I want people to pay attention to. And I also want people to pay attention to the fact that we have a responsibility to take care of our neighbors and the people in our community. How can we sleep when our neighbors are sleeping hungry? More than 360,000 Connecticut residents receive SNAP benefits. For NPR News, I'm Chris Polanski in Hartford, Connecticut.

Tomorrow is election day in some states and cities. Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors and other statewide officials. And in California, voters will decide. whether the state should draw new political maps to try and counter redistricting efforts in Republican-led states like Texas. In New York's mayoral race, President Trump is throwing his support behind former Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, who's running as an independent, Democratic candidate Zoran Momdani responded during a stop in Queens. We know and have known for months that Donald Trump would favor Andrew Cuomo as the mayor.

They share the same donors. They share the same donors. They share the same small vision. They share the same sense of impunity. Trump posted online tonight that it is, quote, highly unlikely he would send federal funds to New York if Mamdani wins. Trump has already sought to slash federal grants and initiatives going to the city. Turkey hosted a group of foreign ministers from Muslim countries to discuss next steps in the U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza. The deal remains shaky, as NPR's Aibatrowi reports. Top diplomats from Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE participated in the Istanbul meeting.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakon Fidane told reporters that the group had agreed that, quote, we don't want the genocide to restart in Gaza and want the ceasefire to continue. And he says pressure on Israel should be sustained, particularly he says, because humanitarian aid into Gaza remains lower than what was agreed upon. Turkey has emerged as a key signatory to the ceasefire, leveraging its contacts with Hamas. Fidon met with a senior Hamas official just two days ago in Turkey. Israel, which denies the charge of genocide, is reportedly opposed to Turkish troops

as part of a stabilization force still being discussed to secure Gaza. President Trump, though, is looking to Turkey to play a role in post-war Gaza. Ayabotrawi, NPR News, Dubai. From Washington, this is NPR News. Peru's government has severed diplomatic relations with Mexico for granting asylum

to Peru's former prime minister. Betsy Chavez has been accused of participating in a failed coup attempt by Peru's former president, Pedro Castillo. Mexico granted asylum to Chavez at its embassy in Peru. Peru's foreign minister called the move, quote, an unfriendly act. Consumer giant Kimberly Clark is buying the maker of Tylenol in one of the biggest mergers of the year. Kimberly Clark makes huggies and Kleenex. It comes weeks after the Trump administration linked Tylenol use by pregnant women to autism, an assertion that the company

says is false. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports. The Tylenol controversy is not even mentioned in the merger announcement. Kenview has been on the selling block for quite a while. Its share price plummeted soon after it was created in 2023 as a spin-off from Johnson & Johnson focused on consumer health. Meanwhile, Kimberly Clark has been pushing to compete with a Goliath in the field, Procter & Gamble, whose brands are everywhere on drugstore shelves, from laundry to skincare to over-the-counter cold medicine. Kimberly Clark has a ton of competing brands, including Cotonel and Scott toilet paper, huggies, and depends. With Kenview, it will add more familiar names besides Tylenol, including Band-Aid,

Listerine, Neutrigina and Avino. Alina Selhu, NPR News. Actress Diane Ladd has died. She was 89 years old. Her daughter, Laura Dern, called her an amazing hero and profound gift of a mother. Ladd's career spanned decades and earned three Academy Award nominations. She starred in films like Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Chinatown. I'm Rylan Barton.

This is NPR News from Washington.