The Headlines - Trump Threatens to Resume Nuclear Tests, and Nvidia Crosses $5 Trillion

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

Plus, goodbye to “milk chocolate”?Here’s what we’re covering:Trump Threatens to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing, Minutes Before Xi Meeting by David E. SangerTrump Says China Will Ease Limits on Rare Earths by Katie Rogers, Erica L. Green, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Lily KuoNvidia Is Now Worth $5 Trillion as It Consolidates Power in A.I. Boom by Tripp MickleProsecutors Who Called Jan. 6 Attackers a ‘Mob of Rioters’ Are Punished by Alan FeuerToll Rises as Hurricane Melissa Begins Passing Through the Bahamas by Nazaneen Ghaffar, Alan Yuhas, André Paultre and Jovan JohnsonWhy Did My Favorite Candy Bar Drop ‘Milk Chocolate’ From the Label? by Claire BrownTune in every weekday morning, and tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, October 30th. Here's what we're covering. In the middle of a high-stakes diplomatic tour of Asia, President Trump threatened to resume testing nuclear weapons, something that the U.S. hasn't done in more than 30 years. Because of other countries' testing programs, Trump wrote on social media, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. It's unclear what that will entail, and Trump didn't clarify his remarks when asked. He will be announced. You know, we have test sites. It'll be announced. He could intend to just show off the U.S.'s missiles or other nuclear-capable assets,

potentially prompted by Russia's announcements in the last few days, that it had tested both a nuclear-powered missile and a nuclear-powered torpedo capable of causing a tsunami. Or Trump could mean detonating a weapon, like the testing that used to be done in the Pacific or underground in Nevada. For years, American weapons engineers have said that's unnecessary, because they can model tests on a computer. But recently, as the U.S. has been updating its aging arsenal, there have been some calls to start testing again. If that does happen, it would likely trigger similar actions by other nuclear-armed countries. Trump posted his comments about nuclear weapons just minutes before he was supposed to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping. She's been overseeing one of the fastest build-ups of nuclear weapons on Earth.

But Trump suggested that wasn't what prompted his remarks, telling reporters it had to do with others. At the meeting between Trump and Xi, there were signs of progress in easing some of the trade tensions that have rocked both countries since Trump returned to office and took an aggressive stance toward Beijing. After they spoke, Trump said he's reducing a small slice of his tariffs on the country because he feels China has stepped up to help reduce the flow of fentanyl to the U.S. Trump also said China agreed to postpone for one year its restrictions on exporting rare earth metals, a resource that China has a near total lock on. The minerals are crucial for batteries and computer chips that are used in everything from

coffee makers to fighter jets. China had previously tightened controls on the materials in a tit-for-tat response to Trump's high tariffs. This meeting was a really important step in stabilizing what really was a relationship that had looked like it was going to go off the rails again. My colleague David Pearson was in South Korea for the meeting between the world leaders. I think the thing that really changed was a realization on the U.S. side that this leverage that China has over rare earth is a really big deal. by taking away these minerals, these magnets that are the cornerstone for modern life, I think President Trump realized, okay, we need to come up with some sort of solution here. And so I think we can expect things to stabilize for the near future.

But, you know, the reality is this is a very, very fragile relationship. And I don't think that is fundamentally changed. There's still reservoirs of mistrust between these two countries that can't. be resolved. So what we have is a band-aid. After the meeting, President Trump said the two would talk in person again. He's planning to go to China in April, and he said Xi would visit the U.S. after that. He also suggested the two would be signing a larger trade deal soon. Meanwhile.

Well, it just continues to go higher. It is opening at a $5 trillion market cap. Vidia, the tech giant that makes almost all of the chips used for artificial intelligence, smashed a record yesterday, becoming the first publicly traded company to be valued at $5 trillion. Five trillion is extraordinary, considering it was only four months ago. It hit $4 trillion. Part of what tipped the stock price into record-breaking territory was signs of a potential thaw on trade between China and the U.S. The U.S. currently prohibits Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to the country, but a change on that front would be a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for the company.

Since Trump returned to office, he's repeatedly used NVIDIA's chips as leverage in foreign policy discussions, striking deals to sell the chips everywhere from the UAE to Japan. At the same time, as NVIDIA's stock continues to boom, its growing role in the American economy has set off some alarm bells. The company now makes up almost 10% of the entire S&P, and its dominance is fueling concerns that too much of the economy is riding on the success of AI. According to one calculation, more than 90% of the growth of the country's GDP in the first half of this year was from spending on data centers, the backbone of the technology.

Now, one last update related to the Trump administration. In D.C., officials are continuing the president's retribution campaign against those involved in prosecuting cases related to January 6th. Here's what happened. This week, two federal prosecutors filed sentencing paperwork for a man who'd been found guilty of showing up near President Obama's house with firearms and ammunition back in 2023. In their memo, they requested a stiff sentence, writing that the man had previously been part of the, quote, mob of rioters. on January 6th, something he'd also faced charges for before Trump granted blanket clemency to those accused of being involved. The memo also noted that the man had apparently found Obama's address from one of Trump's social media posts. Then, yesterday, in an extraordinary move, the Justice Department withdrew the sentencing papers, saying they'd been entered in error.

When they were resubmitted hours later, all references to January 6th were gone. So was any mention of Trump's message, and the prosecutors who originally filed them were placed on leave. Since Trump returned to office, many prosecutors who've worked on January 6-related cases have been targeted by the administration as part of Trump's broader effort to root out people he believes to be disloyal. absolutely decimated this portion of the island. Only places that have four concrete walls are still standing, and usually their roofs are gone. In Jamaica, the Times has been speaking with people on the ground after Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island this week.

There are some things that are just completely level where there's nothing there. The Category 5 storm knocked out power and a lot of communications, and that's complicated search and rescue efforts. Officials say they're still looking. for victims after finding at least five bodies in St. Elizabeth Parish on the southwestern coast. Tell me, how are things looking in St. Elizabeth? It's not looking good at all. We were hit very hard. Total devastation. I am trying to find appropriate term to use to classify the level of disaster that we are experiencing here. In one town there, Black River, the mayor told the times his community was, quote, totally destroyed.

with the courthouse, the libraries, churches, and other buildings gone. The hospital was badly damaged, and they are making this use of the conditions that they have there currently. He estimated that the surge of seawater rose to 16 feet. A UN official said the devastation in Jamaica was unprecedented, and recovery will be a challenge, as many roads are still blocked. The UN also said it's moving to help other countries in Melissa's path, including Cuba and Haiti, where at least 20 people were killed. The storm has weakened to a category one at this point, but is still wreaking havoc in the Caribbean,

causing damage in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos overnight. It's expected to approach Bermuda later today. And finally, something may have changed about your favorite chocolate bar in recent years without you noticing. It's in the fine print. Good peanuts and good chocolate make a very good bar. Candies like Mr. Goodbar. Almond Joy's got real milk chocolate, coconut and munchy nuts too. Almond Joy.

Chewy chunks of caramel each covered in real milk chocolate. And Rolos used to say milk chocolate on the wrapper. Now they say chocolate candy. The difference is that milk chocolate is an FDA regulated term. To use it, you've got to have a search. amount of cocoa butter in the product. But as climate change and droughts have driven up cocoa prices, some candy companies have pivoted, replacing cocoa butter with other fats. The Hershey company, which makes Mr. Goodbar's, almond joys, and rolloes declined to comment, but the Times

compared product labels and checked an ingredient database run by the Department of Agriculture to find that the labels have changed in the last few years. An expert in the world of candy Science, the woman who developed flavored peeps, told the times there's lots of techniques to subtly cut cocoa costs, like replacing chocolate coating with compound coating, which uses vegetable fats instead. Butterfinger and Baby Ruth have been made that way for years. Another method, add more sugar. One analyst told the times that candy companies had been cutting back on added sugars for the last decade in response to health concerns, but they've been quietly putting it back in to replace the ever more expensive cocoa. There's also been another

more dramatic strategy. Drop the chocolate altogether. You may see that in the Halloween bag of treats this year. The Hershey's Halloween assortment includes light green kit cats and cookies and cream fangs, neither of which contains any chocolate at all. Those are the headlines. Today on the daily, Palestinians in Gaza share their experiences of trying to return home after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest and the Friday News Quiz.