NPR News: 10-31-2025 5PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Two federal judges say the Trump administration must distribute reserve money from a USDA fund to those who get food assistance through the SNAP program. That benefit is set to run out tomorrow because of the government shutdown. In Boston, Judge Indira Talwani says the administration has until Monday to consider whether to pay at least partial benefits. And in Rhode Island, Judge John McConnell barred the administration from stopping benefits. What's not clear is how his ruling relates to Talwani's order. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has more on the program that supports around 42 million Americans with food assistance.
The federal government usually sends SNAP funding to states well before the first of the month because it takes days to distribute it onto people's debit-like cards. Now, there's an added complication. The Agriculture Department's contingency money falls short of full SNAP funding for November. The administration has said calculating partial payments would be a logistical nightmare that could take weeks. States and cities across the country have been preparing for a lapse. They're ramping up donations to food banks, offering protections if people fall behind on their bills, even shifting their own budgets to pay some amount of food aid to snap recipients temporarily. Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.
The Trump administration is creating a National Guard quick reaction force for nationwide deployment. And Pierce Quill Lawrence reports the troops are expected to be stood up by January.
The National Guard has had a reaction force for decades, ready to deploy in all 50 states in case of natural disasters or other emergencies. But in August, the Trump administration ordered the Guard to create a standing quick reaction force that could be deployed nationwide. A Guard spokesman told NPR those troops have been training and will be ready, equipped with riot gear, by the new year. President Trump has spoken openly about sending Guard troops and even active duty military troops into U.S. states and cities led by his political opponents. Trump says the troops are needed for immigration enforcement and to control largely peaceful protests. Lawsuits challenging the president's right to do that are working their way through the courts.
Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
Medicare drug price negotiation is wrapping up for this year's batch of 15 drugs, and that includes Ozempic. NPR's Sydney Lupkin has more.
Drugs like Ozempic could soon get lower prices in Medicare. Friday is the last day for drug companies to accept or reject final offers from the government as part of Medicare drug price negotiations. The new prices are expected to be announced by November 30th, but won't go into effect until 2027. Until the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare was not able to negotiate drug prices for the more than 50 million beneficiaries with drug plans.
NPR's Cindy Lupkin reporting. Wall Street higher by the closing bell. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Israel says it's received the bodies of two male hostages killed in Gaza during the two-year-long war. For every hostage body returned to Israel, 15 Palestinian bodies are returned to Gaza. Empir Zaya Batraoui has more on this fragile phase of the ceasefire.
Israel says it's confirmed the identities of the two hostage bodies. One was an elder founder of kibbutz near Oz, an Israeli community near Gaza's border that was attacked by Hamas gunmen on October 7th, 2023. Israel says he was murdered in captivity. The other hostage returned for burial in Israel was taken from another kibbutz that same day. The Israeli military says he was murdered during an attempt to rescue him, but provided no further details. In return, Israel released the bodies of 30 Palestinians on Friday. Many of the bodies returned by Israel to Gaza in these exchanges have borne signs of torture and execution, according to the health ministry's forensics and photos. Israel says 11 bodies of hostages still remain in Gaza.
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