SNAP benefits to expire; Hurricane Melissa : NPR
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Today’s best stories
More than 40 million Americans will soon be cut off from federal food assistance. The Trump administration says there will be no more money for SNAP benefits starting November 1. The US Department of Agriculture has announced that it will not use emergency funds to address this situation. The White House places blame for this outcome on Democrats, similar to its approach to various other issues related to the network shutdown over the past month.
A sign alerting customers to the benefits of SNAP food stamps is displayed at a Brooklyn grocery store on December 5, 2019 in New York.
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Scott Heins/Getty Images
- 🎧 Some budget experts suggest lawmakers should use the nearly $6 billion in the reserve fund to finance benefits.tells NPR’s Stephen Fowler First. The USDA issued a memo Friday saying it is currently illegal to use these contingency funds to pay benefits. The administration argues that emergency money can only be used as a supplement when regularly allocated benefits are available, but due to the shutdown there are none. Initially, USDA’s plan for dealing with the shutdown mentioned reserve funds as an option and suggested that Congress intended to continue SNAP operations during a shutdown.
President Trump today spoke to U.S. troops in Japan and met with the country’s newly elected Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. Japan and the United States signed an agreement on rare earth minerals. Japan announced today that in honor of America’s 250th birthday next year, it will give the United States 250 cherry trees in Washington, DC. The president will travel to South Korea tomorrow, where the big event of his trip to Asia should take place: his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- 🎧 Trump praised Japan’s first female prime ministerand when he addressed the troops, he brought her on stage to make her own remarks, NPR’s Deepa Shivaram said. Earlier this year, the United States and Japan agreed on a framework for a trade deal that imposes a 15% tariff on Japanese exports and calls for Japan to invest $550 billion in the United States. Shivaram says there is a possibility that the framework could be renegotiated.
Jamaica prepares for Hurricane Melissawhich is expected to make landfall this morning as a Category 5 storm. Melissa is the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica, and its winds are beginning to build on the island.
- 🎧 NPR’s Eyder Peralta says it’s no exaggeration to say this is a monster storm. The National Hurricane Center says the massive hurricane has wind gusts of 175 miles per hour, making it one of the strongest storms recorded in the Atlantic basin. Forecasters expect the storm to cause catastrophic damage to the island, which has a population of about 3 million. Last night, Jamaican government officials expressed concern that few residents had actually sought shelter and that out of 881 shelters, only 133 were hosting people.
Deep dive
American flags fly at half-mast following the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10 in Chicago.
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
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Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has sparked discussions about political violence in the United States and fueled claims that far-left extremists are primarily responsible for increasing levels of violence. So far, authorities have not released information linking the man accused of Kirk’s murder to left-wing groups. A recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says a significant shift has occurred in the first half of this year. CSIS analyzed about 30 years of data and found that between January 1 and July 4 of this year, the number of far-left terrorist plots and attacks exceeded those of the far-right. The report sparked a debate in the field of counterterrorism. Some critics say the report does more to highlight problems with analyzing domestic terrorism data than it does to clarify the current situation.
- ➡️ There are no public, official, unified, and comprehensive reports on domestic terrorism in the United States. Researchers therefore need to gather their own data sets to analyze trends.
- ➡️ CSIS found that five cases of left-wing terrorism and one of right-wing terrorism occurred in the first six months of 2025. Critics of the research say the numbers found are too low to support a strong conclusion.
- ➡️ The study omitted incidents that some might characterize as acts of left-wing terrorism, including the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC. CSIS is working to adjust its classification for violence committed in the name of Palestinian rights due to the complexity of the issue.
Live better
Research reveals that people who feel depressed are more likely to seek out negative content on social media. But those who watch inspiring stories are more optimistic and less stressed.
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Oscar Wong/Moment RF/Getty Images
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
Social media feeds can lead people to the dark side with negative or self-esteem-lowering content. But you can reprogram what you see by making different choices. A new study found that three to five minutes of inspirational content every day can improve your mood. The study included a thousand adults in the United States, aged 18 to 86. One group watched about three to five minutes of inspirational videos every day for five days. Another group did a few minutes of meditation. Both groups felt significantly increased hope compared to a control group and another group that watched a comedy. For those hoping to see more “feel good” content on your social media feeds, here are some options to try:
- 📱 Find hashtags that match your interests, like positive body image, wildlife, or content that matches your hobbies.
- 📱 Create a media journal where you document the things you watch and ask yourself how you feel. Tracking will help you connect the dots between your media use and your mood.
- 📱 You can start again by deleting your account and opening a new one. You can then discover what content in your feed works for you and reset your online presence.
- 📱 Take a weekly break, such as a 24-hour break from social media, to create distance from the platform.
3 things to know before you leave
Here We Go Magic performed at the Wiltern in Los Angeles in 2009.
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- New music from your favorite artists could be the work of AI. Now that AI music generators are easily accessible, scammers are uploading songs to the profiles of inactive artists and dead musicians.
- The federal government has reinstalled a statue commemorating Confederate General Albert Pike on Judicial Square in Washington, DC. Protesters toppled the statue and set it on fire in June 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Paul Biya, 92, the world’s oldest head of state, has won an eighth term as president of Cameroon. If he completes his new term, he will remain in power until he is almost 100 years old.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen
