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Nov. 3, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Erika EdwardsTaking melatonin for long periods of time could be a sign of underlying heart problems.Long-term use of the popular over-the-counter sleep aid has been linked to a higher risk of heart failure and early death in adults with insomnia, according to research released Monday.There’s no evidence that melatonin supplements themselves cause heart problems, the researchers said. But a need to take them on a regular basis to help with falling and staying asleep could be a signal that the body is experiencing cardiac issues.“Insomnia can increase blood pressure, stress hormones and inflammation,” said Dr. Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi, lead author of the new study and an internal medicine resident at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Primary Care in New York City.Nnadi and colleagues looked at five years of electronic health records from 130,828 adults, average age 56, finding that people who took melatonin regularly for at least a year were nearly twice as likely to develop heart failure compared to those who didn’t use the supplement, though the actual rates were relatively low: 4.6% of people in the melatonin group developed heart failure, compared to 2.7% among those who didn’t take melatonin.They were more than three times as likely to be hospitalized for the condition (19% versus 6.6%), and nearly twice as likely to die during the study period, compared to people who didn’t take melatonin regularly.It’s unclear, however, whether the data captured outcomes of all people in the U.S. who take melatonin long term. Researchers identified people as chronic users of melatonin based on medical records only — that is, if they’d been prescribed the supplement. In the U.S., the supplement is available over the counter and isn’t often reflected in medical records.“I caution people against drawing concrete conclusions based on this study alone,” said Dr. Nishant Shah, a preventive cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, who wasn’t involved with the study. “But now that we have this observation, this is prime time to figure out whether there’s actually a direct association of harm with sleep agents. That would be practice-changing.”Nnadi’s research is scheduled to be presented in New Orleans at an upcoming meeting of the American Heart Association. It has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.Heart failure occurs when the heart can’t pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body’s organs for them to function properly. Nearly 7 million Americans have the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.While the study found that long-term melatonin use was an indicator of potential heart problems — and not causing the problems itself — experts agreed more research is needed into the supplements’ possible side effects.“We have patients using all kinds of supplements without understanding the risks,” said Dr. Martha Gulati, a preventive cardiologist and the incoming director of the Davis Women’s Heart Center at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Institute in Texas. “If there is harm from a supplement, it means the cost could be far more than simply expensive urine.” Gulati was not involved with the new study.Melatonin is a hormone made naturally by the body that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles. Synthetic versions, sold widely over the counter as dietary supplements, are marketed to help people fall asleep faster or overcome jet lag. Because supplements aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, doses and purity can vary widely among brands.Use of the supplement has increased in recent years. A 2022 Sleep Foundation survey found that up to 27% of U.S. adults take melatonin, as well as 4% of kids. The new study didn’t include children.People taking melatonin for sleep for more than a year should talk with their doctor, experts said.“People should be aware that it should not be taken chronically without a proper indication,” Marie-Pierre St-Onge, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, said in a press release. St-Onge was not involved with the new research.Erika EdwardsErika Edwards is a health and medical news writer and reporter for NBC News and “TODAY.”

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

Taking melatonin for long periods of time could be a sign of underlying heart problems

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Nov. 3, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Matt Dixon, Jonathan Allen and Henry J. GomezFor Hannah Szretter, the government shutdown is more than just a political fight.The 26-year-old Buffalo-area resident said she has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 10 and also now has a mental health disorder that prevents her from working. The $300 she receives each month in food assistance from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been a needed lifeline to make sure she is able to maintain her blood sugar level.“I need these benefits for my food. If I don’t get the food, I won’t be able to control my numbers,” she told NBC News. “If you don’t get it taken care of, you can lose toes or limbs, or could go blind.”Now she is among the more than 40 million people who may not receive their November SNAP benefits as the government shutdown goes into its sixth week with no end in sight.“It’s scary,” she said.Along with the loss of SNAP benefits and the disruption of other social service programs for millions of people, the government shutdown has resulted in federal employees going without pay. Many of them have turned to food banks and unemployment benefits to get by.The shutdown is compounding problems that have intensified broader anxiety over an economy that in recent months has been marked by lingering high prices for many consumer goods, rough jobs numbers, mass layoffs at major companies — including Amazon and Target — and an uptick in inflation.That stagnation has in recent months eroded the high approval marks President Donald Trump once enjoyed on the economy.The bleak picture has some Republicans sounding the alarm to the White House — even though delivering the news isn’t easy.“No one wants to tell the president he’s losing on the economy,” said a Republican strategist who said they recently warned the White House about their concerns.Trump’s overall approval rating sits at 43%, while just 34% of registered voters say he has “lived up” to expectations on the economy, 33% say he has “looked out for the middle class” and 30% say he met expectations on inflation, according to a new NBC News poll released Sunday.Steve Kornacki: Most voters blame Republicans for shutdown in new NBC News poll04:24A White House official blamed Democrats for the prolonged shutdown and argued that some indicators, like growing wages and a booming stock market, are proof the economy has bright spots. The person also argued that the massive tax cuts and tariffs pursued by Trump are going to take time to fully take effect.“I don’t think anyone is under any illusions that things are perfect … but looking at the data, we feel good about the trajectory here,” said the White House official, who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.“The bottom line is that the actual buying power and actual purchasing power of American consumers is going up, and, as far as specific prices go, you know there are things like gas and eggs that have gone down,” the official said. They also asserted that Trump’s pursuit of investment in the U.S. will pay major dividends in the future for American workers and consumers.Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican and Trump ally, said in an interview with NBC News that he remains optimistic about the economy.“The state of the economy is very strong, if you look at real wages that continue to go up,” Moreno said. “The Working Families Tax Cut Act worked really well. … The big thing is, obviously, the Democrats don’t want the economy to be successful, which is decently sad considering they should be cheering for the American people. But they shut down the government because they want Trump to fail.”Republicans are pushing for the passage of a “continuing resolution,” which would extend current funding levels until Nov. 21. Democrats, meanwhile, want to include an extension of tax credits that help people buy private insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Those credits expire at the end of the year, and without the extension, millions of people who receive them are likely to see steep premium increases. Republicans have argued the health care fight should be handled separately, after the government reopens.For his part, Trump for weeks has largely been focused on issues aside from the shutdown and economic concerns, with the exception of deals around his tariffs. Democrats have called on him to become more engaged to help end the stalemate.On Tuesday night, Trump did write on social media that Senate Republicans should use the “nuclear option” to get rid of the filibuster. The drastic move would allow Republicans to reopen the government without needing 60 votes — and the cooperation of Democrats — but it was swiftly rejected by Republican leaders.window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});Last week, Trump’s attention was in Asia, far from the pain of the shutdown, with a big announcement on tariffs. Before that, much of his focus was on demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a $300 million ballroom funded by private donors, a project that is ongoing.And on Thursday, a reporter asked Vice President JD Vance about the loss of SNAP benefits, and whether the administration was working to find a funding solution, as it has tried to do to pay troops and law enforcement during the shutdown.Vance avoided answering whether there would be a push around SNAP, instead blaming Democrats.“The unfortunate reality — and we’re starting to see this with our aviation industry — we’re going to find out the hard way with SNAP benefits, the American people are already suffering, and the suffering is going to get a lot worse,” Vance said.Some relief could be coming — but if it does, it’s over the Trump administration’s objections. On Friday, a federal judge ordered the administration to distribute money to SNAP recipients “as soon as possible” by tapping a contingency fund. Another federal judge in a separate case also said it was unlawful for the administration not to pay out the benefits.The White House has argued that it cannot use those funds and is seeking further clarification from the courts.Hassett: ‘If SNAP benefits run dry, it’s because they haven’t been funded by the Democrats’09:00Hannah’s mom, Betty, a 63-year-old recent retiree who is a caretaker for her daughter and a longtime Trump supporter, said she is losing confidence in the president she once supported amid the shutdown fight.“I think deep down he wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,” she said. “But now he is busy out of the country and demolishing the White House. I know that is being paid for with private funds, but those could be used to help people.”“It all seems very selfish,” she added.Betty Szretter said she now regrets voting for Trump in 2024 and would prefer a Democrat in the White House to “protect benefits he [Trump] wants to cut.”Several recent public polls have pointed to Trump having an economic problem, one that is quickly turning into a political one for Republicans trying to maintain slim majorities in the House and Senate headed into the 2026 midterms — an election where Republicans will have to energize Trump voters without his presence on the ballot.The new NBC News poll found Republicans have just a 1-point advantage over Democrats on “dealing with the economy,” a margin that has consistently been 15-20 points in favor of Republicans going back to 2018.Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who advised freshman Sen. Ruben Gallego’s winning campaign in Arizona last year, said that economic hardship gives his party’s candidates an opening to win key segments of the electorate — including the young men who helped Trump take back the White House — if they focus on making the argument that their policies are better than the president’s.“Right now, people’s prices are going up. Their prices are going up for the utility bills, going up for lots of things in their life, because of the tariffs,” Rocha said. “If you show up and start talking to folks about actually trying to provide for their family, there’s going to be a lot of men who right now feel a little regret because they were promised lower prices and they’re not getting them.”Moreno said he was not worried “about the politics” of the shutdown, noting that he has pledged to serve no more than two Senate terms and, as a native of Colombia, is constitutionally ineligible to be president. But he said Republicans need to better articulate their message: that they hold Democrats responsible for the shutdown and its economic ramifications.He specifically alluded to recent remarks from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., who in an interview with Fox News acknowledged that families would “suffer” because of the shutdown but emphasized that Democrats needed to exert their political “leverage” to address health care costs.“We’ve got to speak up more loudly and more aggressively, like [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune did the other day. I think we haven’t shown enough outrage. We do it privately, but we haven’t done it enough publicly. Just call these guys out. It’s disgusting,” Moreno said.“We need to speak clearly, with humanity, not political talk,” he added.Trump remains popular with Republicans on things like immigration enforcement — Betty Szretter says she still supports the president on that issue — but pocketbook issues more often than not have an outsize role in swaying election outcomes.The NBC News poll found 83% of registered voters said the “cost of living” was their single most important issue or very important to them, a number that was at 58% when they were asked about “immigration and border security.”On the Asia trip last week, Trump nevertheless told reporters he had the “highest [poll] numbers I ever had.”He has also directly avoided questions about the economy.“Let’s just make it about this subject,” Trump said at an event centered around an autism announcement last month. “I’d rather not talk about some nonsense on the economy. I will say this: The economy is unbelievable.”Republicans running in swing House seats across the country, however, have not been eager to talk about Trump’s economy.NBC News reached out to eight Republicans either defending swing seats they currently hold or challenging Democrats in winnable seats; seven did not return requests seeking comment. Two judges issue rulings in lawsuits challenging Trump admin. withholding SNAP benefits13:24Brinker Harding is a Republican city councilman in Omaha running to replace Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who is not seeking re-election in one of the most up-for-grab seats in the country. Harding said he believes that once the midterm campaigns really begin, moves Trump has made will have the economy in a better place.“Come next November, Republicans’ tax cuts for working families and small businesses, in addition to projected interest rate cuts, will have the American economy moving more than it already is,” he said.Other swing state Republicans where vulnerable Democrats are on the ballot are pinning economic woes on those Democrats.“Maine’s issues are especially pronounced on the economic front,” said Lauren LePage, who is the Republican national committeewoman from Maine. “And the blame for our high cost of living, nation-leading electricity price increases and more lies at the feet of Democrats here.”Maine is home to one of the nation’s most closely watched 2026 Senate contests as Democrats try to knock off Republican Sen. Susan Collins. LePage’s father, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, is himself running to challenge Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, in a House seat that is considered winnable for either party.Other Republicans, including some former Trump allies, are acknowledging that prices have remained stubbornly high during Trump’s second term in office.“Prices have not come down at all,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said on “The Tim Dillon Show” last week. “The job market is extremely difficult. Wages have not gone up.”She has also made an uncharacteristic pivot in recent weeks. After being one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, she has been critical of the president and her own party of late, agreeing with Democrats that the Affordable Care Act tax credits should be included as part of any deal to reopen the government.“When it comes to the point where families are spending anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 a month and looking at hikes coming on their insurance premiums, I think that’s unforgivable,” she told NBC News in early October.For people like Betty Szretter, they just want the fight to be over and the focus to return to Americans hurting in the current economic climate.“I would say practice what you preach and save the country as a true servant,” she said when asked what she would say to Trump directly. “There are not a lot of people who use their wealth to actually help others. Really no one.”Matt DixonMatt Dixon is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Florida.Jonathan AllenJonathan Allen is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News. Henry J. GomezHenry J. Gomez is a senior national political reporter for NBC News

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

For Hannah Szretter, the government shutdown is more than just a political fight

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April 27, 2025, 9:10 AM EDT / Updated Nov. 2, 2025, 9:04 AM ESTBy Alex Ford, Jiachuan Wu and Nigel ChiwayaPresident Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by a trade war, stock market swings, Elon Musk’s DOGE and its attempts to slash the federal workforce and a government shutdown. The administration has moved fast, drawing praise from supporters and criticism and lawsuits from opponents.But what does the American public think of Trump, and how do those views compare to opinions of Joe Biden and other past presidents?Find out below. NBC News has tracked presidential approval for more than 30 years. The charts below show Trump’s current approval rating, as well as historical approval ratings for Presidents Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. This page will be updated as new NBC News polls are released.

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

Follow President Trump’s approval rating in NBC News polls and see how it compared to former Presidents Biden, Obama, Bush and Clinton. Updated regularly.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 2, 2025, 9:00 AM ESTBy Bridget BowmanVoters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new NBC News poll. But their verdict on the spending stalemate includes more blame for Democrats than some past shutdowns, part of a growing collection of data outlining negative views of both parties.The survey, conducted Oct. 24-28, finds a combined 52% of voters blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the stalemate, while 42% blame Democrats in Congress and 4% blame all of the players.The share of voters who blame Democrats is the highest for the party when compared to other shutdowns or potential shutdowns measured in NBC News polling over the last 30 years.Meanwhile, voters’ negative views of the Democratic Party, including among Democrats, are relatively unchanged from record-low ratings in the March NBC News poll. The Republican Party is underwater with voters too, though not to the same degree. And in another poll question, voters responded positively to the idea of booting every member of Congress.At the same time, the poll also finds that both parties’ core supporters are on their side in the shutdown standoff — perhaps explaining why it has carried on for a month with few signs of a resolution.The groups most likely to blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown include core Democratic constituencies like self-described liberals, young voters, those in urban areas, Black voters and higher-educated voters. Those blaming Democrats include self-identified MAGA supporters, white men, and rural and older voters.“Each party could look at this data and say, ‘Let’s not blink,’” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.Neither party has blinked yet, as Democrats oppose government funding bills unless a deal is reached to extend expiring health care subsidies.“Health care, a central focus of the government shutdown debate, is an area where Democrats continue to hold the upper hand,” said Horwitt.The survey also finds 34% of voters say they or someone in their family have seen their employment, services or benefits affected by the shutdown — the highest share in NBC News polling covering other shutdowns in 2019, 2013, 1996 and 1995.Those personally affected are also among the voters more likely to blame Republicans for the impasse and align broadly with Democrats, including young women and Black voters, 50% of whom say they have been affected.“Historically, Republicans are perceived as not being as supportive of government,” said McInturff, also noting the federal layoffs driven by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency that have driven voter views of his presidency. The Republican pollster added that even though Democratic votes are needed to advance legislation in the Senate thanks to the 60-vote threshold to end debate, voters may broadly view Republicans as controlling the government.“Given those factors, I think the default for people is that it’s a Republican effort in terms of who gets the blame. … We’ve had 30 years of shutdowns, and this is the highest number of blaming Democrats. So both things can be true at the same time,” McInturff said.Although voters place more blame on Trump and the GOP for the ongoing shutdown, the survey does find a deep well of ill feeling toward both parties, as well as negative views of members of Congress.Democrats are 25 points underwater, with just 28% of voters viewing the party positively, near a record-low positive rating of 27% in March. A majority of voters (53%) say they have a negative view of the Democratic Party.Republicans have a net-negative rating of 9 points, with 46% viewing the party negatively and 37% viewing it positively.And according to these results, Democrats’ shutdown standoff has not boosted views of the party within their own ranks.The gap between the two parties’ ratings persists in part because 22% of Democrats say they view their own party negatively, while just 8% of Republicans say the same of the GOP. Back in March, 19% of Democrats said they had negative views of their party.The new poll also finds 59% of Democrats view their own party positively — unchanged since March. (The remainder said they were neutral or not sure.)Asked how they would vote if they could choose to defeat and replace every single member of Congress, including their own representatives, 57% of voters say they would vote to do so — the highest share in NBC News polling since October 2013. Forty percent said they would not oust every member of Congress if given the chance.Similar shares of Democrats (57%) and Republicans (55%), as well as 62% of independents, say they would vote to replace every lawmaker.The findings come as more candidates consider primary challenges against sitting lawmakers in the 2026 election cycle and as both parties confront the prospect of generational change following the results of the 2024 election.The NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters Oct. 24-28 via a mix of telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.Bridget BowmanBridget Bowman is a national political reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

Voters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new NBC News poll.

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Nov. 3, 2025, 12:00 AM ESTBy Evan BushSome orcas have a taste for liver — specifically, the livers of great white sharks. Videos taken by scientists in Mexico reveal how the crafty whales manage to snag bites of the apex predators’ fatty organs. Researchers filmed two orca hunts in the Gulf of California — one in 2020 and another in 2022. They show the pods attacking young great white sharks by flipping them on their backsides to stun them, then slicing their sides open to extract their livers. The team published the findings of their video studies in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science on Monday. In one of the videos, all members of the pod share the pink liver fat while the rest of the shark’s body sinks into the ocean’s depths. During the hunt, a sea lion lurks, seemingly trying to sneak away with a free meal. But the orcas blow bubbles, apparently to deter the pest. Erick Higuera-Rivas, a marine biologist and documentarian who filmed the hunts from a boat nearby, said he didn’t immediately recognize the significance of the footage until he went to edit it.“I saw in the monitor that the shark had the liver hanging out on the side, already popped off. And a few minutes later, they came up with the liver in their mouth,” said Higuera Rivas, who coauthored the study. “I was surprised that it could be a great white. I was not believing it.”Heather Bowlby, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada who was not involved in the research, said the footage offered a compelling reminder that even top predators must watch their backs. “We’re so conditioned to thinking of white sharks as the top of the food chain,” she said. “It is always amazing to be reminded they are prey.” Higuera-Rivas and his fellow researchers said the hunts appear to be the work of the same group of orcas, which they’ve named the “Moctezuma pod.” The pod frequents the waters off of Baja California and only hunt elasmobranchs — sharks and whales. Higuera-Rivas has been following the pod for more than a decade and filming their behavior, and he’s observed how the whiles adapt their behavior to whatever species the group is targeting. The only prior evidence that orcas hunt great white sharks comes from South Africa, where they have been preying on the sharks for years and extracting their livers, leaving shark carcasses to wash up on the beach. Alison Towner, a marine biologist at Rhodes University who has studied the phenomenon in South Africa, said the behavior in Mexico is similar but not identical. The orcas in Mexico have been preying upon young sharks, whereas those in South Africa have primarily targeted adults. The orca groups likely learned the behavior independently, Towner said. “Seeing this behaviour in Mexico suggests that specific orca groups have developed their own strategies for hunting sharks,” she said via email. “The same organ is targeted, but the handling technique differs slightly from what we’ve documented in South Africa, which points to group-specific learning.” The new study shows that the orcas in Mexico have identified a weakness that makes great white sharks vulnerable. “When it flips the shark upside down, it forces the shark to get into the state that is called tonic immobility,” said Francesca Pancaldi, a coauthor of the study and a shark researcher at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas. “They freeze. It’s like a catatonic state. They just don’t do anything.” The liver is a fatty and nutritious organ that takes up about one-fourth of a sharks’ body, she added, which provides “a lot of energy.”Researchers in both South Africa and Mexico agreed that the behavior is not likely new for orcas. Rather, it’s new to scientists, who can now witness and document these hunts more easily because of improvements in drone technology. “I think it’s been going on for centuries. It’s just that it’s not easy to observe something like this,” Pancaldi said.It’s possible, though, that changes to the climate have increased the interaction between great white sharks and the Moctezuma pod, she added. “We actually are seeing more presence of great white sharks in the Gulf of California in the last 10 years,” Pancaldi said, adding that the species is responsive to changes in ocean temperatures during climate patterns like El Niño. In South Africa, scientists took notice of orca attacks on great white sharks about a decade ago, Towner said. The attacks sent the sharks fleeing from the normal spots where they feed, rest and reproduce, called aggregation grounds. “IRepeated predation has caused white sharks to abandon former core aggregation sites entirely,” Towner said. “Many sharks have likely moved offshore or into less monitored regions, which reshapes the coastal ecosystem.” After the sharks left their hangouts, populations of cape fur seal and sevengill sharks climbed. That subsequently caused a crash in those species’ main prey — like small fish and small sharks — according to research published in Frontiers in Marine Science earlier this year.Towner said just two adult male orcas, named Port and Starboard, have been behind repeated attacks on the white sharks in South Africa. The attacks have put pressure on great white sharks, which are slow to grow and reproduce, and it’s possible that could happen in Mexico, too, if the behavior becomes more frequent, she said. Evan BushEvan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

A pod of orcas off the coast of Mexico have attacked great white sharks by flipping them on their backs to stun them, then slicing them open to eat their.

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Nov. 2, 2025, 7:28 PM ESTBy Andrew GreifOne of the seemingly few bankable results early in this NFL season was the Detroit Lions scoring at least 30 points. They did it in four straight wins to start 4-1 and place themselves in the conversation of Super Bowl contenders.Yet the Lions have failed to exceed that total in each of their last three games, including Sunday’s 27-24 loss to Minnesota. The NFL’s best offense propelled the Indianapolis Colts to a 7-1 start. Then, on Sunday, they turned the ball over six times — more than their total from the previous eight games combined — in a stunning loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.And the Green Bay Packers, who had re-asserted themselves as Super Bowl contenders during a 5-1-1 start? Naturally, they suffered their season’s first home loss on Sunday to a middling Carolina Panthers team.What connects those three results is the notion that at the season’s halfway mark, there appears to be a paucity of pigskin dominance across a league where teams toggle between looking superb and sliding, varying on the week.Entering this week, ESPN’s Football Power Index projected the Indianapolis Colts to finish with the highest win total in the league, at 12.2. How low is that? The last time 12 wins was enough to lead the league was 2014.In another sign of the parity that has led to many good teams, but no dominant leader, 12 teams entered Week 9 with positive expected-points-added ratings on both offense and defense. Through the same point last year, there were nine such teams; the season before, seven.One potential factor is the 2024 introduction of the “dynamic kickoff” that became permanent before this season. The rule change incentivizes the kicking team to kick a playable ball. Balls kicked into the end zone result in the offensive team taking over at their own 35-yard line, a yardage that gives offenses a sizable head start on their ensuing drive. Field-goal range is now only a few passes away. Facing often shorter fields, offenses in 2025 are averaging 328.9 yards per game, the lowest league average since 2008, yet are scoring 2.14 points per drive, the second-highest in NFL history. In Green Bay’s case, Sunday’s loss — to a Panthers team coming off a 31-point loss — wasn’t one to simply shrug off as a bad day. Star tight end Tucker Kraft was carted off with what was called a knee injury that Packers coach Matt LaFleur said “doesn’t look good.” In Detroit, the Lions gained more yards, completed all three four-down conversions and held the ball three minutes longer yet lost to the Vikings by committing more turnovers and converting fewer red-zone opportunities into points.”It’s probably one of the worst games we’ve played in a really long time,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.More from SportsDodgers win Game 7 in extra-inning thriller to claim second straight World Series titleAn NFL kicker just hit a 68-yard field goal. Yes, you read that right.The Bears and Bengals traded collapses and comebacks in the wildest game of the NFL seasonBut the most baffling performance by a team previously sitting at or near the top of a conference was Indianapolis. Quarterback Daniel Jones had resurrected his career with the Colts by leading the team to its most points through eight games since 1964. The Colts had turned the ball over just four times in eight games, only for Jones to personally throw three interceptions and lose two fumbles against the Steelers alone. Their record, to this point, had largely been built on beating teams with losing records. The season’s final half, then, will be spent learning whether the Colts are the rare, dominant team they appeared for two months, or simply one of several good ones.Andrew GreifAndrew Greif is a sports reporter for NBC News Digital. 

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

At the NFL season’s halfway mark, there appears to be a paucity of pigskin dominance across a league where teams toggle between looking superb and sliding, varying on the week.

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Nov. 2, 2025, 6:53 PM ESTBy Rohan NadkarniThe Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals played one of the most thrilling games of the NFL season Sunday, a rollercoaster ride that ended with a 47-42 win for the Bears. Joe Flacco threw for 470 yards and four touchdowns in the loss, while Caleb Williams threw for 280 yards and three scores. The teams combined for 31 points in a thrilling fourth quarter — including 28 in the final five minutes. The chaos began with less than six minutes to go. The Bears were leading 34-27 when the Bengals lined up for a 54-yard field goal, only for Evan McPherson to miss the kick short.Two plays later, Chicago wide receiver D.J. Moore was ruled out at the 1-yard line on a running play, but Cincinnati challenged to see if Moore fumbled out of the endzone for a touchback. The Bengals technically won the challenge, but it backfired: The play was overturned to a touchdown, giving the Bears a 41-27 lead.On Cincinnati’s next drive, Flacco brought the offense all the way to the way to the 5-yard line before he was picked off by a diving Tremaine Edmunds, who ran the ball all the way back for a pick-six. Upon review however, Edmunds was ruled down by contact, taking the touchdown off the board.Following the interception, the Bears had a two-score lead with two minutes and 42 seconds to go — a 99.6% win probability, per ESPN. But Chicago went three-and-out in only 27 seconds, giving the Bengals the ball back quickly. Flacco needed only four plays to go 55 yards and find Noah Fant for a 23-yard touchdown. After the Fant score, Cincinnati also converted a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 41-35. After the 2-pointer, the Bengals miraculously recovered an onside kick. The ball didn’t travel 10 yards, but it touched the foot of a Bears player, allowing Cincinnati to pounce on the kick.This time, Flacco drove down the field in six plays, finding Andrei Iosavas for the go-ahead touchdown with only 54 seconds to go.Chicago’s next drive started poorly. Williams threw back-to-back incompletions before finally scrambling for a first on 3rd-and-10, causing the Bears to use their final timeout.That set up a 1st-and-10 for Chicago on its own 42 with 25 seconds to go. On that play, Williams fired a strike to tight end Colston Loveland over the middle of the field. Loveland somehow escaped the grasp of two Bengals, and then outran the rest of the defense for a 58-yard touchdown.Cincinnati had one last possession, but its magic finally ran out when Flacco was intercepted on a Hail Mary attempt on the game’s final play. It was a true up-and-down fourth quarter for the Bears. Their win probability peaked at 99.7% and valleyed at 14.1% — an 85.6% swing. Ultimately, Chicago hung on to improve to 5-3, while the Bengals fell to 3-6. Rohan NadkarniRohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News. 

- Latest News - November 3, 2025

The Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals played one of the most thrilling games of the NFL season Sunday, a rollercoaster ride that ended with a 47-42 win for the Bears.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 2, 2025, 2:54 PM ESTBy Megan Lebowitz and Gary GrumbachThe Trump administration is staring down a noon deadline on Monday to update a federal judge who ruled late last week that the Agriculture Department must disburse Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds.The deadline comes as tens of millions of Americans continue to go without their November SNAP benefits due to the shutdown, which is just days away from becoming the longest in U.S. history.Across the country, the shutdown’s impact was visible in long lines at food banks. This weekend in Texas and California, stadium parking lots were converted into mass distribution sites where families picked up boxes of produce, frozen meat and other household staples.In the days before the November SNAP funding was expected to run dry, many state governments tried to help fill the gap. Last week, Democratic leaders from 25 states also sued the Agriculture Department, trying to force the department to use contingency funds to keep the program operating as the shutdown continues.The department had previously argued that contingency funds were “not legally available to cover regular benefits,” but were instead supposed to be reserved for situations like natural disasters.On Friday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to make a full SNAP payment by the end of the day Monday or a partial payment by Wednesday. In order to make the full SNAP payment, the administration would have to draw on additional funding sources beyond the contingency reserves.“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown; in fact, the President during his first term issued guidance indicating that these contingency funds are available if SNAP funds lapse due to a government shutdown,” McConnell wrote in his order, pointing to a 2019 Q&A email written by a SNAP administrator.He ordered the administration to report by noon on Monday “what it will do to comply with this Court’s Order.”McConnell’s ruling came after another federal judge said in a separate case that those suing the administration were “likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants’ suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful.”U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts said last week that she will “allow Defendants to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.”More than 40 million people across the country use SNAP benefits to buy food, raising concerns about how low-income people will put food on the table if the program grinds to a halt.Reached for comment, the White House deferred to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in an interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that the contingency fund “won’t even cover about half of what November would cost.”“We are working and looking at all angles right now. The president has been very clear. He wants us to do everything we can to make sure that we can keep these benefits going,” she said.Megan LebowitzMegan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.Gary GrumbachGary Grumbach is an NBC News legal affairs reporter, based in Washington, D.C.Aria Bendix , Fiona Glisson and Julie Tsirkin contributed.

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

The Trump administration is staring down a noon deadline on Monday to update a federal judge who ruled late last week that the Agriculture Department must disburse Supplemental Nutrition Assistance.

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