Up First from NPR - Trump-Xi Meeting, Head Start Funding, Surgeon General Nominee

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

President Trump met with China’s President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two leaders agree to ease trade tensions after months of tariff wars and threats. More than 65,000 children could lose access to Head Start as the government shutdown threatens to cut off funding for childcare and early learning programs. And Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, faces questions today in her Senate confirmation hearing.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Lauren Migaki, Diane Webber, Mohamad ElBardicy and Ally Schweitzer.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher ThomasWe get engineering support from Damian Herring-Nathan. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, hello. Why do you sound so depressed? Um, I'm debuting a new personality now. Okay. No more self-deprecating A. Okay. So what does that mean? That means I'm not going to make fun of myself anymore.

So that's, so you're just not going to talk? I know, it's hard because that's all I got to talk about. President Trump says trade talks went well with Chinese President Xi in South Korea. It was an amazing meeting. He's a great leader. Some tariffs are going away, but is there an agreement on a formal trade deal? I'm Leila Faudil. That's A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News.

Tens of thousands of toddlers and preschoolers could lose access to their headstart classrooms. They are scrambling and trying to figure out how long they can keep the doors open. Funding runs out this weekend for the federal program providing child care and early learning for low-income families. And President Trump's nominee for Surgeon General appears before the Senate today. She's a wellness influencer with ties to RFK Jr. What we are dealing with here is so much more than a physical health crisis. This is a spiritual crisis. Stay with us.

We've got all the news you need to start your day. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, You'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. President Trump met with China's leader Xi Jinping today and afterward seemed very happy. Overall, I guess on the scale of from zero to ten with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was at 12.

The president spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One about his first meeting with Xi since 2019. Trump said, as a result of the talks, he was going to cut some tariffs on Chinese products, though most of his tariffs from the trade war will stay in place. He also said the two sides are scheduling visits to each other's countries next year. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from South Korea. So Anthony, tell us about the trade details. Okay. Well, basically what Trump and Xi did was to confirm what economic officials from the U.S. and China

had already ironed out last weekend in Malaysia. And Xi Jinping said to Trump that that ironing out was basically a precondition for their meeting. The key details are that, first of all, China will defer export controls on rare earths. China will resume buying U.S. soybeans, and China will do more to curb exports of the ingredients for the drug fentanyl. So President Trump responded by saying that the U.S. will lower the 20 percent tariffs that are on China because of the fentanyl issue down to 10 percent, and both countries will suspend collecting port fees on each other's ships. Okay. Now, China and the U.S. met in South Korea. What did they meet there? Well, they met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit here in Gyeongju, South Korea.

And President Trump said the main point of his coming to South Korea was to speak to Xi Jinping, not come to this APEC meeting. So both of them were guests of South Korea. And that setting was not right for a big deal or an announcement. Trump said also that he did not have time to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on this trip, but he'd return for that another time. Now, President Trump seemed to be saying that he made a deal with Xi. I mean, is it a real deal? Well, what the Chinese state news agency, Shin Hua, said, is that Xi Jinping called it a consensus on solutions to problems.

In other words, this is not a broad framework deal. It is a temporary fix for specific issues. Trump said a deal could be signed pretty. soon. Perhaps a fuller agreement could be reached during a state visit, which he says he will visit China in April. I asked Chu Jiu, is an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Kyeonghi University outside Seoul, and here's his take. He said it was difficult to reach a final agreement this time. Instead, I anticipated that the two leaders would confirm their differences and be satisfied with building a common understanding.

And that's what seems to have happened. And he added. that President Xi appeared to be eager to prevent trade tensions from impacting China's economy, especially its high-tech sector. One more thing, Anthony, because an hour before the meeting, President Trump posted on social media that the U.S. would conduct testing on nuclear weapons, quote, on an equal basis with Russia and China. So how did that announcement go over? Well, we didn't hear a response from Xi Jinping, but he can't have liked Trump's statement very much. Trump said that the U.S. will resume nuclear testing because other countries are doing it.

Now, it's true that Russia and China are upgrading and expanding their nuclear arsenals, but neither of them have tested any atomic bombs since the 1990s. And for decades, China maintained a minimum nuclear deterrent, but it apparently decided that the U.S. was trying to cancel out that deterrent so that it could hit China with nuclear weapons and not be hit back. So Trump's announcement may confirm those fears, and if Trump was trying to pressure China into arms-control talks, it may have had the opposite result and just sped up an arms race.

That's MPR's Anthony Kuhn, speaking to us from South Korea. Thanks. You're welcome. More than 65,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers may soon be at risk of losing access to Head Start. That's the federal program that provides childcare and early learning for low-income families. And because of the government shutdown, a wave of local Head Start centers across the U.S. could be forced to close beginning November 1st. For more, we're joined by NPR's Corey Turner. Good morning, Corey. Good morning, Whaley.

So 65,000 children, I mean, help us understand why this is happening. Yeah, so local Head Start programs all over the country run on different federal funding cycles. And the National Head Start Association says 134 of these programs are supposed to be getting their next round of federal funding. November 1st. They can't do that if the government is still shut down. And so without those federal dollars, these centers are now rushing to find alternative funding. Here's Tommy Sheridan of the National Head Start Association. They are scrambling and trying to figure out how long they can keep the doors open. There is a ton of hard work, a ton of goodwill, a ton of dedication, but hardware, goodwill, and dedication don't keep your doors open. For now, Leila, these unfunded

programs serve nearly one in 10 children in Head Start. And if they have to close, many working families may have to choose between taking care of their kids and going to work. Is there anything these communities can do short of waiting for the shutdown to end? I mean, for many programs, the answer is a pretty clear no. They are going to have to close after Friday. Some may be able to stay open, at least a little longer. A year ago, I spent some time in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, where Corey Holcomb runs a Head Start program, and it turns out of these places that is going to run out of money in early November. Holcomb told me, her agency and board of directors have found a way to keep the doors open two more weeks.

Here's how. Making use of some reserve funds, pulling in other resources with the hopes that we will be reimbursed, and we've asked for deferments on rent payments and some utility bills. during that time to still provide services. And I should say, Lila, by services, Holcomb doesn't just mean child care. Head Start provides high-quality early learning, backed by research, plus free health screening, care for kids with disabilities, not to mention multiple nutritious meals every day, which is extra important right now with federal food benefits for low-income families,

also set to expire at the exact same time. Wow. So, Corey, do we know where you? these closures might hit hardest. Yeah, according to a map put together by the National Head Start Association, programs will be at risk in more than 40 states, but the places hit hardest first will likely be Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Ohio. Keep in mind, though, Head Start serves about 750,000 children, and if this shutdown keeps going,

more and more of those centers are going to run out of money. It's also worth stepping back here for a quick second, Lela, because Head Start celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. And while it still enjoys strong bipartisan support, the Trump administration actually considered trying to cut the program from its budget proposal. And in the spring, they temporarily withheld funding from Head Start. So this shutdown is just the latest crisis and what's been a pretty tough year for Head Start and the families who depend on it. NPR education correspondent Corey Turner. Thank you, Corey. You're welcome.

President Trump's pick for Surgeon General will have her confirmation hearing. Later this morning, Dr. Casey Means will appear in front of a Senate committee. It's been more than five months since Trump announced Means would replace his initial choice, who was a Fox News contributor. Means is a wellness influencer, entrepreneur, and author. NPR's Will Stone joins us now to talk about her nomination. So, Will, what will you be looking for in this confirmation hearing for a certain general? Well, this is a somewhat unusual hearing because it will be held virtually.

Casey Means will join remotely. And we do know she's pregnant, actually her brother, who is a close advisor to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shared that back in May. So I'm expecting she will be grilled about her qualifications and potential conflicts of interest. Means recently said if confirmed, she would resign from her company that promotes continuous glucose host monitors, and she also disclosed other financial ties, including to the supplement industry. Okay, so tell us about Casey Means' medical resume. Yeah, Means is in her late 30s. She went to Stanford Medical School and was pretty far along in her training to be a head and neck

surgeon, but she dropped out of residency before finishing. Then she pivoted to what's known as functional medicine, briefly had a practice in Oregon, but really made her name on social media and through a book she published with her brother on diet and metabolic health. They did the rounds on big podcasts and the wellness space. And her message tends to echo what you hear from Kennedy and his allies in the Make America Healthy Again movement, especially when they talk about the high rates of chronic illness. Here's how she talked about that at a congressional roundtable led by Republicans last year. What we are dealing with here is so much more than a physical health crisis.

This is a spiritual crisis. Means often talks about our food supply, environmental toxins. She criticizes the reliance on the pharmaceutical industry. Ann Kennedy has said she will be, quote, the greatest surgeon general ever. Now, Will, I've heard that there has been a little bit of pushback to Casey Means. That's right. On several fronts, certainly a lot of pushback from folks in the medical and public health establishment pointing to what they say is her lack of qualifications. She doesn't have the leadership or clinical experience you'd expect from the Surgeon General,

who is considered the nation's top doctor. Dr. Jerome Adams, who was Surgeon General during Trump's first term, told me confirming means would set a, quote, disastrous precedent for the nation's top public health role. And she has made statements casting doubt on the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule, also about oral contraceptives. She's endorsed raw milk, similar to Kennedy. Now, interestingly, when Trump announced he'd picked means, you also saw some opposition emerged from some supporters of Kennedy.

And part of that was some in that camp seemed to worry she wasn't critical enough of vaccines. So there were questions about whether this fracture in the Maha base would sink her confirmation. I asked David Mansdorfer about this. He's a consultant and was deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services during Trump's first term. To me, there's nothing substantive in the opposition that I think will cause any sort of significance impediment for her being implanted. Mansdorfer says it takes a lot to get these hearings set up, and the Trump administration would not be scheduling this now

if they thought she did not have the votes to get confirmed. All right. That's NPR's Will Stone. Well, thanks. Thank you. And that's up first for Thursday, October 30th. I'm A. Martinez. And I'm Layla Faulted. We hear it up first give you the three big stories of the day. Our consider this colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Lauren Megaki, Diane Weber, Mohamed El Bardisi, and Ali Schweitzer was produced by Ziet Budge, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Damien Herring Nathan, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow. Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to Up First sponsor-free through Amazon music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get UpFirst Plus at plus.npr.org.

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