--:-- Rylan Barton: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton.
--:-- Rylan Barton: President Trump has removed tariffs on a lengthy list of items. The reversal of some of his sweeping import taxes comes after Democrats won big in last week's elections, with many candidates focusing on affordability.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: The long list of items that tariffs will be removed from includes foods like fruits and vegetables, beef and coffee. American importers paid those tariffs with many passing costs on to U.S. consumers. Removing these tariffs could therefore lower the higher prices the tariffs caused.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: The tariffs that will be removed are the sweeping country-by-country tariffs Trump first introduced in April, calling them reciprocal tariffs. Recent polls have shown Americans' approval of Trump on the economy, typically a strong issue for him, has slipped. Consumer confidence has also declined.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Attorney General Pam Bondi has tapped a senior federal prosecutor to look into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's ties with prominent Democrats, banks and institutions. This comes after President Trump publicly called on the Justice Department to do so.
--:-- Ryan Lucas: In a post on social media President Trump accused Democrats of using the controversy over the Jeffrey Epstein files to deflect from their own actions in the recent government shutdown. He also called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate former President Bill Clinton and other prominent Democrats whom Trump alleges were involved with Epstein.
--:-- Ryan Lucas: In her own social media post, Bondi said she's tapping the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Jay Clayton, to take the lead on the matter.
--:-- Ryan Lucas: The moves come as Trump continues to face questions about his own ties to Epstein, particularly after House Democrats released a batch of emails this week that raised questions as to what Trump knew about Epstein's activities with underage girls.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
--:-- Rylan Barton: A judge says he will approve OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids on victims. The deal would require members of the Sackler family who own the company to pay up to seven billion dollars and give up ownership.
--:-- Rylan Barton: The agreement replaces one the Supreme Court rejected last year, finding it would have improperly protected the family against future lawsuits.
--:-- Jacob Margolis: People affected by the fires in Los Angeles earlier this year are now bracing for possible debris flows as a large storm bears down on the area.
--:-- Jacob Margolis: The period of greatest concern is early to midday Saturday, when the heaviest part of the storm is expected to press up against the mountains, essentially squeezing out a whole lot of moisture in a short period.
--:-- Jacob Margolis: Evacuation warnings have been sent out in anticipation for those in and around the Eaton and Palisades fire burn scars.
--:-- Jacob Margolis: Marinefall totals could be close to record setting. This storm might also cause delays at LAX and even generate some small tornadoes.
--:-- Jacob Margolis: Luckily, those don't usually cause much damage here.
--:-- Rylan Barton: For NPR News, I'm Jacob Margolis in Los Angeles.
--:-- Rylan Barton: This is NPR News.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Federal health officials say 23 babies in 13 states have been sickened in a growing outbreak of infant botulism tied to BiHart baby formula.
--:-- Rylan Barton: By heart recalled all of its products sold in the U.S. No deaths have been reported.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Botulism is a rare but serious disease that can cause paralysis and death. Symptoms can take weeks to develop.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: South Korea and the U.S. have finalized the terms of a broad economic and military deal.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: That fits in with U.S. efforts to have allies spend more on defense.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: The agreement was reached between President Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a summit in South Korea last month.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: It includes South Korea's pledge to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: Seoul says it will also boost defense spending from its current 2.3 percent of GDP to 3.5 percent as soon as possible.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: It'll purchase $25 billion worth of U.S. military hardware by 2030 and pay substantially more to host the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops currently based in the South.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: The fact sheet adds that the U.S. has agreed to let Seoul enrich uranium, reprocess spent nuclear fuel, and build nuclear-powered submarines, which Seoul says will happen in Korean shipyards.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.
--:-- Rylan Barton: What's thought to be the world's largest known spider's web has been discovered in a cave on the Albanian-Greek border.
--:-- Rylan Barton: Researchers published their findings in the journal Subterranean Biology of two different spider species peacefully cohabitating in the giant colony nestled in a pitch-black, sulfur-rich cave.
--:-- Rylan Barton: This is NPR News.
