SNAP Benefits Shutdown, Trump In Japan, Hurricane Melissa

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🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

More than 40 million Americans will soon be without federal food assistance because SNAP benefits are set to expire on November 1 as the government shutdown drags on. President Trump signs a trade deal in Japan to secure rare earth minerals, a key bargaining chip ahead of his meeting with China's president later this week. And Hurricane Melissa bring over 170 mile per hour winds as it barrels towards Jamaica, and threatening other island nations in the Caribbean.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wow, 40 million Americans could lose food benefits this weekend.
0:07.0	The Trump administration says SNAP funding has run out and it will not tap emergency funds to keep the aid going.
0:12.7	I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is up first from NPR News.
0:20.6	The president signed a deal with Japan's new prime minister about rare earth minerals, which go into everything from cell phones to fighter jets to cars.
0:29.6	It's a bargaining chip ahead of Trump's meeting with China's president.
0:33.4	And officials in Jamaica issued mandatory evacuation orders in some areas as one of the strongest hurricanes on record heads toward the Caribbean Islands.
0:41.2	Get to eye grown as quickly as possible.
0:45.1	Hurricane Melissa is traveling slowly but has 175 mile-per-hour winds.
0:50.2	Stay with us, we've got news you need to start your day.
1:00.0	Hey, I'm Daewud Tyler Amin.
1:00.9	And I'm Am Powers.
1:04.1	We are an editor and a critic at NPR Music.
1:10.1	And we're also friends who love digging into music histories and thinking about how songs can change over time.
1:12.0	And we're doing that on a new show.
1:16.3	We're totally nerding out about the songs that just stick with us and why. Find our first episode in the All Songs Considered Feed on October 23rd.
1:22.3	On the ThruLine podcast from NPR, the story of the undersea cables that run the internet.
1:29.4	Other historians have compared it to the Apollo missions of going to the moon.
1:34.9	Listen to ThruLine in the NPR app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:43.7	More than 40 million Americans will soon be without federal food assistance.
1:48.3	The Trump administration says there is no money for SNAP benefits starting November 1st,
1:53.7	which is coming right up. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will not use emergency funds to change that.
2:01.6	And Pierre Stephen Fowler is here to help explain how food benefits for low-income Americans are now being pulled into a political pressure campaign during the government shutdown.
	...

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