A (0:00)

Today is Thursday, October 30th. We'll explain President Trump's announcement about nuclear weapons testing just before his highly anticipated meeting with the Chinese president. Also, sticker shock as Obamacare window shopping begins. And what to know about the latest interest rate cut. Plus, an unprecedented milestone for an American tech company, which major AI platform is now banning teens. And the word of the year that you probably won't understand if you're over the age of about 15. Those stories and even more news to know next. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun and on the go. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. The US Is going to start testing nuclear bombs for the first time in 30 years. President Trump made that announcement last night, just about an hour before his highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He explained that Russia and China are catching up to the US In a nuclear arms race. So he told the Pentagon to test America's nuclear weapons on an equal basis starting immediately. The US And Russia have had massive stockpiles for decades, each enough to end all life on Earth. And China's been building up its arsenal, too, though there haven't been any public reports of China actually conducting full fledged nuclear testing, at least not yet. Trump didn't say exactly what kind of tests the US Would be doing, either. After that announcement, Trump met with Xi for talks he described as a huge success. After that meeting, the US President announced he would cut tariffs on China, and the Chinese president agreed to allow exports of rare earth elements. Plus, it's going to start buying American soybeans. So far, no word on a final deal on the sale of TikTok, which analysts were expecting. But overall, the talks were considered a breakthrough. The two countries are still considered rivals. They're both trying to have dominant places in manufacturing, technology and shaping world affairs. But this won't be the last time the leaders come together. President Trump says he's going to China next year and that Xi would come to the US Sometime after that. Stay tuned. Israel carried out more intense airstrikes across Gaza this week. Dozens of targets were struck, and local health officials say more than 100 people, including children, were killed. It comes as Israel and Hamas have been disagreeing over the return of hostages who died. And after the Israeli military accused Hamas of firing on the Israeli troops in southern Gaza. Hamas claims it was not involved in the incident. Either way, Hamas says it is still committed to the ceasefire. And as of this morning, Israel says the ceasefire is back on. It shows how challenging the next step will be. That includes disarming Hamas. Trump responded to the latest developments by saying Israel had every right to retaliate and that he's still confident the ceasefire will hold. Hurricane Melissa has caused widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. Homes collapsed, streets turned to mud pits and infrastructure was toppled. Dozens of people have died and the death toll could rise with several more people still missing. Remember, Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a category 5 hurricane. Then yesterday it hit Cuba as a category 3. Even countries that did not take a direct hit like Haiti felt devastating effects. The US Is now sending rescue and response teams to help with the recovery. And this morning, Melissa is a Category 1 hurricane. It's passing through the Bahamas with dangerous winds, flooding and storm surge. By tonight, it's expected to pass just west of Bermuda. A former Illinois sheriff's deputy has now been convicted of killing a woman he was supposed to help. You may remember the story from last year. It all started when sonia Massey called 911 worried there might have been an intruder in her home. But prosecutors say soon after authorities arrived, Deputy Sean Grayson yelled at her to put down a pot of hot water that had been on the stove. Body cam footage shows she then put her hands in the air, said, I'm sorry, and ducked for cover. But she was still shot. Grayson said he feared for his safety when Massie lifted the pot of water. But the other deputy who was with him testified, saying there was nothing she said or did that made him think she was a threat. So yesterday, jurors found Grayson guilty of second degree murder. Massie's family said they thought he should have been convicted of first degree murder, but that the outcome was still a measure of justice. This was just one in a series of instances in which a law enforcement official who was white killed an unarmed black person. But this is a rare example of the law enforcement officer being convicted for a shooting that happened while on duty. And now Grayson faces anywhere from four to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced. The Federal Reserve has now cut interest rates to the lowest level in three years. This is the second meeting in a row that rates were cut by a quarter of a percentage point. It was widely expected in the face of a weakening labor market and stubborn inflation. Once it happened, the Fed's benchmark interest rate fell to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Remember, Fed rates influence what households and businesses pay for mortgages, credit cards and other loans. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says there's been disagreement about what to do with the rates in the months ahead. We have much more news for you still coming up, including the latest on the government shutdown, a new analysis of health care premiums, the word of the year and more. But first a break to talk about our sponsor. Do you ever think about your liver health? We all know our liver is important, but I didn't realize it's responsible for over 500 functions and is the second largest organ in the body. It's like your body's filter, helping process what you eat and drink, storing vitamins and minerals, and even impacting your energy levels and sleep quality. I was thrilled to learn about Dose for your liver, especially because it's a science backed formula that tastes great so it's easy to drink and it's clinically proven to promote liver function. It's in fact, in a double blind clinical trial, dose lowered liver enzyme levels by 50% in over 86% of participants. Each shot is equivalent to 17 shots of turmeric juice combined with ingredients like milk thistle, ginger and other plant based nutrients that help keep your liver functioning at its best. My husband and I both love the taste. It's a small daily habit that makes a difference for our Overall Wellness. Save 25% on your first month of subscription by going to DueDaily Co Newsworthy or entering Newsworthy at checkout. That's D O S E D A I L Y co Newsworthy for 25% off your first month subscription. Now back to the news. Nvidia has reached historic new heights. It became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $5 trillion. Of course, it's been growing quickly with the rise of artificial intelligence. At this point, Nvidia's AI chips account for more than 90% of the market, and they're highly coveted by businesses and governments around the world. So President Trump has made them part of America's trade strategy, striking deals to sell chips to Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan and more. And this week, they're even a factor in Trump's trade talks with China, making investors even more optimistic. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Apple have recently crossed the $4 trillion valuation mark. AI related businesses have accounted for 80% of gains in the US stock market this year. Americans hoping to get health insurance through the Affordable Care act are now able to start browsing their coverage options. The Trump administration released a preview of available plans sold through marketplaces in 30 states yesterday, and the health research group KFF analyzed those plans. It found premiums rising an average of 30% for a typical plan in states that run their own markets. It expects premiums to go up 17% on average. As for why, well, well, there's a mix of factors like rising hospital prices, the prevalence of GLP1 drugs to treat diabetes and obesity, and the impact of tariffs. But the biggest change for nearly everyone covered by Obamacare plans will come when subsidies expire at the end of the year. As we've told you, that's the major sticking point in the government shutdown right now. People can actually begin selecting their plans for next year Starting Saturday, day 30 of the government shutdown, and there's still no clear path out of it. Democrats still insist they need negotiations on health care subsidies before voting to reopen the government, and Republicans still say they won't negotiate until the government reopens. On a call earlier this week, GOP senators sounded confident that Dems would budge since the largest federal workers union called for the shutdown to end. But that didn't happen. Then. Dems thought Republicans would be persuaded. Yesterday when news came out about soaring health care premiums. Well, that did not pan out either. So now the question is, what will be the thing that breaks the impasse? It could be the benefits about to end for millions of Americans like those who rely on food aid. It could be the off year elections that are happening next Tuesday or something else entirely. But for now, both sides are standing firm in their positions. And it's costing a lot of money. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget office says the US economy is losing $7 billion a month that won't be recovered. To be Continued An AI role playing startup called Character AI is banning teenagers from having open ended chats with its virtual characters. The company says users under 18 will be limited to two hours of chat a day starting this week and then cut off completely by November 25th. The platform, known for its personalized characters that chat like friends or romantic partners, has been under scrutiny for how easily minors could access those features. The company has faced lawsuits and public outcry after at least two teens died by suicide following extended conversations with AI companions on the site. Character AI also announced it'll start using a New Age detection system to flag minors based on user behavior along with other on site or third party data. After the ban, teens will still be able to use other features like building characters or making videos, but not chat with them. The company is also launching an independent nonprofit called the AI Safety Lab to study the risks of entertainment based AI. Dictionary.com has crowned its 2025 Word of the Year and this time it's not even a word. The winner is 6 7. Yes, just the numbers. 6 7. I'm guessing a lot of parents and teachers listening know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a slang term that blew up among Gen Alpha this year, showing up in songs, memes and classrooms everywhere. Nobody can fully agree on what it means. Some say it stands for so so. Or maybe others call it pure brainrot slang, purposely nonsensical and all about being in on the joke, a sort of shared wink among the online generation. Lexographers say its rise shows how fast a new word or number can take over the Internet and spread worldwide. Well, that's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Thing to Know Thursday. But first, this episode is sponsored by Oneskin. As the seasons change, a lot of people deal with seasonal shedding. That extra hair you might find in your brush or shower drain when the air gets cooler and drier out. It's a normal cycle, but that doesn't mean you have to accept it. That's where OneSkin's OS1 hair comes in. It's a lightweight scalp serum powered by their patented OS1 peptide, scientifically proven to target aging at the cellular level. In clinical studies, participants saw on average a 43% increase in hair thickness and a 40% increase in hair density after. I appreciate that OneSkin's team of PhD scientists built this formula with the same rigor behind their award winning skin and sun care, which I also love. And now it's bringing that same science to our scalps. Born from over 10 years of longevity research, OneSkin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the cells that cause the visible signs of aging. So your scalp and your hair stay healthy now. And as you age, go to OneSkin Co hair and use the code newsworthy for 15% off your first order. That's OneSkin Co Hair and use the code Newsworthy. After your purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. So please support our show and tell them we sent you. Now back to Thing to Know Thursday. Even outside of Halloween season, there's a thriving online market for witches. The phenomenon has been booming for months on what's known as the Witch Talk online community. And the selling platform Etsy has become the go to site for spell casting services. There you can pay to cast a spell for just about anything on anyone. For example, you can order one for good luck, good weather, a win for your favorite sports team, a successful first date, and so on. Some are even deeper, like spells to repair a relationship or to seek revenge. And those are just a few examples. In fact, thousands of spells are for sale. Prices typically range from 10 to $200. One full time Etsy witch says the popularity actually makes sense with the times since, she says, when outside circumstances seem overwhelming, more people reach for spirituality. And now with the Internet, it's a mass market trend that anyone can access. Critics say the practice is taking advantage of people using the digital marketplace to trade in hope, fear and heartbreak. But many spellcasters say they're just looking to help, and some say it's no different than the power of positive thinking, affirmations, vision boards or any number of self help trends that come and go. Either way, their businesses seem to be flourishing. Thank you so much for listening today. You can further support our work here and get access to ad free episodes by becoming a newsworthy insider. Thanks. Start your free trial@thenewsworthy.com Insider and Wondry. Plus subscribers can listen to episodes of the newsworthy ad free in the Wonder app. We'll catch you up on more news to know tomorrow. Until then, have a great day.