NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-06-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. President Trump says two companies that make GLP-1 obesity and type 2 diabetes drugs will reduce prices on some of their medications. Already Pfizer-Eastrozenica and EMD Serrano have agreed to drastically lower their prices for American patients. And today, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are joining the phenomenal list of the most exciting announcement. Trump says the agreement will slash the cost of we govi to $250 a month, and Zepaunt will be reduced to $346 a month. And Trump says both companies say the oral weight loss drugs currently under development will be sold for

around $149 a month. This also clears the way for Medicare to cover the drugs with $50 monthly co-pays. The list price of the popular drugs range from $1,000 to around $1,300 a month, though the actual price people pay depends on their insurance plans. It's day 37 of a now record-long government shutdown. Earlier this week, some Democrats suggested they were searching for a way out. But as NPR Sam Greenglass reports, victories at the ballot box Tuesday have emboldened many of them to hold firm. Over breakfast at the White House,

President Trump told Senate Republicans the shutdown hurt their party on election night. The results have given some Democrats, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, confidence to hold out for an extension of expiring health care subsidies. The election results were not vague. They were a lightning bolt. Bipartisan talks among rank-and-file senators are continuing, but it's unclear if eight Democrats will back a funding measure without a firm plan to extend the subsidies that can

also pass the House and get the president's signature. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will retire in 20. The California Democrat was the first and only woman to serve as speaker and as such wielded immense power. Her decision comes after she helped lead California's Prop 50 redistricting effort as the party countered President Trump in this week's election. The amount of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and Cuba has increased. And here's Rebecca Hersher reports the storm was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded. Large parts of Jamaica and Cuba are still in ruins a week after Hurricane Melissa.

Melissa swept through. Dozens of people were killed across the Caribbean. A new analysis by the climate risk modeling firm, Karen Clark and Company, finds the storm caused an estimated $2.4 billion of insured damage. That includes damage to homes, businesses, and industrial sites in Jamaica and Cuba. NPR's Rebecca Hersher reporting. All Street is trading lower at this hour. The Dow is down 423 points. The Nazak down 372. You're listening to NPR News. from Washington. The U.S.S. Travel Association says the number of international tourists visiting the United States is down overall, but there's one area of growth. Visitors from Mexico.

From member station KTEP, Angela Coterega, has more. New requirements and much higher fees for visitor visas don't seem to be stopping travelers from Mexico. According to federal data, arrivals by air are up slightly, and entry by car. is grew by more than 13% this year. Texas and other border states depend on those visitors. At the outlet shops of El Paso, 65% of shoppers on weekends are from Mexico, says Gina Selecta, director of marketing for this mall and another one on the border in Laredo. It is not unusual for us to see people come into the shopping center from Mexico with many family members and friends that have traveled together.

They've come here in their big SUVs. Along with shopping, visitors from Mexico spend money on shows in Las Vegas and amusement parks. For NPR News, I'm Angela Cochergan, El Paso. Last month was the worst for layoffs in more than two decades, as job cuts rose to levels typically seen during recessions. That's according to Challenger Gray and Christmas, a private company that tracks layoffs. So far this year, employers announced plans to cut more than 1.1 million jobs, 150,000 of the layoffs announced in October with tech companies and warehouse firms seeing

some of the biggest downsizing. Again on Wall Street, that I was down 453. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.