NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-10-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: November 10, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. NPR has learned that President Trump has pardoned dozens of people who were involved in the effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election results. Among the 77 pardons are former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Joe Biden won the presidential election in 2020, but Trump has repeatedly, falsely claim that he did. The Senate has passed a stop-gap spending plan after 41 days of a government shutdown. The agreement seeks to reopen federal agencies. The Senate returns today, and NPR's Claddea Grisales reports several votes are lined up to move the package to the House. A group of Senate Democrats broke ranks to join Republicans to overcome a key first procedural hurdle Sunday to take up the package. New Hampshire Democrat Gene Chaheen, who led the group, argued the plan was the best deal on the table.

Waiting another week or another month wouldn't deliver a better outcome. It would only mean more harm for families in New Hampshire and all across the country. The package funds the government through the end of January and includes full appropriations funding plans for some government agencies, including agriculture and veterans affairs. It also pauses plan cuts to snap and reinstates federal workers laid off during the shutdown. Claudio di Salis, NPR News. In a ruling late last night, a federal appeals court has ordered President Trump, to pay the full amount of benefits to people receiving federal food aid. These benefits have been interrupted by the federal government shutdown,

and it's the latest federal court decision ordering that the benefits be paid. Julia LaFontaine runs a food pantry in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She says the status of the food benefit program is constantly changing. People are experiencing whiplash. It seems like the information about SNAP-the-snap benefits changes by the hour, by the minute. But last night's federal appeals court decision may not be the end of the matter. The Trump administration can appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Syria's president is scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House later today.

Jane Arraf reports there are a lot of firsts in this visit. President Ahmad Ashara will be the first Syrian head of state at the White House in almost 80 years. But it's also a big deal because of Shara's own history. He's a former al-Qaeda in Iraq militant leader. A year ago, he had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. His fighters toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad last December. And since then, Trump has decided that Shara is someone he wants to deal with. Most sanctions on Shara and Syria have been removed, but there are still some to be lifted.

Trump is expected to invite Syria to join U.S.-led efforts fighting the militant group ISIS. Jaina Raff, NPR News. Amon. On Wall Street, in pre-market trading, stock futures are higher. This is NPR. Soft drink maker Coca-Cola is doubling down on AI-generated holiday ads, and the public does not appear to be accepting it. Some viewers say the new commercial lacks the warmth of the classics

and raises questions about creativity and authenticity. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports. Coca-Cola's late. latest Holidays Are Coming commercial was created with the help of generative AI. But viewers say the ad looks off, with stiff characters and eerie dreamlike scenes that lack the warmth of Coke ads in the past. The company is defending the campaign, saying it combines technology with human creativity to celebrate behind-the-scenes givers and spread festive joy. Coca-Cola isn't the first brand to test AI in advertising. Toys R Us tried it last year and faced similar backlash.

for its awkward lifeless look. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, up to one-third of ads are currently generated by AI. Windsor Johnston, NPR News. The Food and Drug Administration says parents should stop using some batches of one type of baby formula because of cases of botulism. The formula is produced by the company By Heart, Inc., and is called Whole Nutrition Infant Formula.

Health agencies have found an increase in the number of botulism infections in babies who drank it. Officials at the company, by heart, say they have recalled two lots of the product, Whole Nutrition Infant Formula. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.