NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-12-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

NPR News: 11-12-2025 1AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. President Trump is backing away from his announced crackdown on the H-1B or foreign worker visa program. In a heated exchange with Fox News's Laura Ingram, Trump suggests that the visas are necessary because not enough Americans are qualified for certain jobs. You also do have to bring in talent when a country... We have plenty of talented people here. No, you don't. We don't have talented people here. No, you don't have certain talents.

and people have to learn. You can't take people off an unemployment line and say, I'm going to put you into a factory who are going to make missiles. Trump disagreed with Ingram on whether H-1B visa crackdowns will be a priority for his administration. In September, ICE agents arrested hundreds of South Korean engineers who came to the United States to build a factory at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. The U.S. houses expected to vote Wednesday on a bipartisan bill

to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, but ramifications for U.S. citizens won't wrap up as quickly. As Cynthia Abrams from Member Station, WPLN reports, many households are struggling due to a pause on federal aid for utility payments. The federal government provides a number of supports to families in need. There's food aid, disability payments, and there's also a program that helps low-income families pay their gas or electric bills. Like SNAP, that's been delayed during the shutdown. The city of Nashville has put around $200,000 toward the gap, but... It does not even make a dent in the amount of families that you usually cover.

Lisa McCready Beverly, with Nashville's Metro Action Commission, says the program usually receives $6 million in federal funding. Earlier this year, the Trump administration laid off the entire staff responsible for administering the energy assistance grants. For NPR News, I'm Cynthia Abrams in Nashville. With the government shutdown likely coming to a close, thousands are still grappling with its effects. Mississippi public broadcastings, Elise Gregg, spoke with one furloughed federal worker who's been using her free time in order to volunteer.

For Joyce Robinson, a veteran and civilian employee with the National Guard, staying busy while she's away from her job isn't an option. We have not been working for the last 40 days, and I just felt like giving my time back doing something that's rewarding to me, made me feel like I was at work. She's been volunteering with Mississippi Food Network, which has helped support those who haven't received SNAP benefits this month. In the meantime, she's trying to make ends meet herself. It's not like I don't have any food in the house. It's just, you know, the unknown, not knowing that I haven't received a check in 40 days. She's optimistic about coming back to

work soon, though. For NPR News, I'm Elise Gregg in Jackson. U.S. Futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. The USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group are now in the Caribbean. The Navy aircraft carrier group arrived from the Mediterranean and is the Pentagon's latest escalation of U.S. military might near South America. The move follows a series of deadly U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September.

NASA says it will try again on Wednesday to launch a pair of spacecrafts to explore the atmosphere and weather conditions on Mars. Details from MPR's Joe Palka. It's taken a while to get the Escapade probes started on their journey. They were supposed to be carried into space a year ago by the new Glenn rocket made by Blue Origin. But a variety of factors led NASA to scrub those plans. For a while, it wasn't clear how or whether Escapade would get to Mars, but ultimately NASA decided to put the probes back on the new Glenn rocket.

Once at Mars, Escapade will make measurements that will help scientists understand how charged particles from the sun affect the thin Martian atmosphere. The twin probes will let scientists create 3D images of how those particles are deflected around Mars by the planet's magnetic field. For NPR News, I'm Joe Palka. China Space Agency says it's enacted emergency plans to ensure the orderly return of three astronauts from its space station. The trio were supposed to hand over operations to another crew on November 5th, but plans were changed amid suspicions that the return vehicle was hit by space debris.

Their return is now postponed indefinitely, pending an impact analysis and a decision on how to bring the astronauts back to Earth. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.