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

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Before the days over, the U.S. House is expected to approve legislation to end the government shutdown. Now in its 43rd day, it was on Monday night the legislation cleared the Senate. NPR's Deirdre Walsh has the latest. The Senate approved a bill that would fund most agencies through the end of January and include full-year funding for veterans programs and food assistance. Most Democrats criticized the deal for failing to address expiring health care subsidies. The top Senate Republican did pledge to hold a vote in December on a health care bill,

but House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won't guarantee a House vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is urging fellow Democrats to vote no. We're not going to support partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people. If the House approves the measure, it will head to the White House for the President's signature, ending the shutdown. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, the Capitol. The record-long government shutdown has left investors with delayed economic information. NPR, Scott Horsley, has more on that.

The six-week shutdown has been a drag on the U.S. economy. Congressional forecasters estimate it will shave about one and a half percentage points off the annual growth rate in fourth-quarter GDP. The government economists who tally GDP growth are among those furloughed by, the shutdown. We're still waiting for a readout on third quarter economic growth that was supposed to come out two weeks ago. One of the first economic reports we are likely to see once the shutdown ends is the September jobs report. That was nearly finished when government number crunchers were told to stop working. Stock and computer chipmaker AMD opened higher after the company offered a rosy sales forecast driven by the growth of AI data centers. Scott Horsley and

Pair News, Washington. The Israeli president's office says it's received a letter from President Trump urging a pardon for Benjamin Netanyahu in the Prime Minister's corruption trial. Netanyahu was indicted for allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from businessmen. He denies any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty. NPR's Lauren Fraire reports. Here's part of what President Trump said in a speech to Israel's Knesset last month. Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon? Now in a letter released by the Israeli president's office, Trump repeats that, writing, quote, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu.

He calls Netanyahu's prosecution political and unjustified. Israel's mostly ceremonial president does have the authority to pardon some criminals. But an official close to his office who isn't authorized to speak on the matter tells NPR you can't pardon someone who hasn't been convicted. And notes the Israeli president has urged Netanyahu and prosecutors to halt the trial and strike a deal. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Tel Aviv. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 400 points. This is NPR News.

A new study reveals who's doing most of the talking on podcasts. Researchers at the University of Southern California say it's mostly men. NPR's Anastasias Yulkas with details. Nearly a third of all Americans now listen to or watch podcasts every week. But more often than not, it's men's voices that they're hearing. Researchers at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have found that in the 100 most popular podcasts of 2024, nearly two-thirds were hosted by men, and nearly three-quarters of all guests were male, too. The researchers say that's a far greater gender inequity than in similar research they've done in the movie, TV, and music industries. Women are particularly underrepresented in business, tech, sports, fitness, and comedy podcasts.

The researchers also found that over 77% of the top 100 hosts were white, leaving a lot of communities out of the conversation. Anastasi Aze Lucas and Pierre News, New York. The World Health Organization says a number of people diagnosed with tuberculosis around the globe rose again last year, surpassing 2023's record total, about 8.3 million people around the world reported as newly diagnosed with TB in 2020. The WHO notes that not all infections are diagnosed and that the new numbers represent 78% of the estimated number of actual new cases. The Dow is up 391 points. SMPs gain 9. The NASDAQ is down 65. This is NPR News.