NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-12-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

NPR News: 11-12-2025 6AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corvick Coleman. The House of Representatives is expected to approve legislation later today. It would end the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. NPR's Dear to Walsh reports, few Democrats are expected to back the bill. 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 U.S. Supreme Court is postponing its decision on whether the federal government must fully fund SNAP food assistance. The delay lasts until late Thursday. That could give Congress time to end the shutdown. And P.R.'s Tovia Smith reports, if the shutdown ends, the SNAP issue

would no longer be relevant for the high court. The Trump administration had asked the court to block a lower court order forcing the government to fully fund SNAP benefits, saying that was not the judiciary's call. The administration pressed the case, even as it acknowledged that the deal now advancing to end the shutdown would restore full funding. One lawyer for the administration told a lower court that would happen as soon as 24 hours later. The Supreme Court did not speak to the merits of the case, but in a three-sentence order, it did note that Justice Katanji Brown Jackson, who allowed a previous pause while the case was on appeal, would not have allowed the Trump administration to continue avoiding false snap payments. Tovia Smith,

and P.R. News. The government shutdown continues to slow airline traffic. There are nearly 900 flight cancellations so far today, according to the tracking site, flightaware.com. Yesterday, more than 1,200 flights were canceled. President Trump is defending visas for foreign skilled workers who come to the U.S. The visa program is called H-1B. Speaking to Laura Ingram on the Ingram-Angle show on Fox, Trump said the U.S. had to bring in foreign skilled workers. You can't just say, A country's coming in, going to invest $10 billion to build a plant and going to take people off an unemployment line who haven't worked in five years and they're going to start making missiles.

It doesn't work that way. Despite the support, Trump recently ordered a new fee for some people seeking H-1B visas. The fee is $100,000. The Trump administration says that visa fee will only be paid by new applicants who are living abroad. You're listening to NPR. U.S. Catholic bishops have selected Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley to lead them. Coakley is an advisor to a group of strongly conservative Catholic leaders. In addition, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is now going to focus heavily on immigration issues.

Social media lit up overnight. Thanks to a solar storm, the northern lights were visible across much of the country, as NPR's Giles Snyder reports. The northern lights are typically limited to places like Alaska. northern Canada. But social media users as far south as Alabama and Florida were able to step outside and snap pictures of the colorful displays in the night sky. A severe solar storm brought the auroras much further south than usual. But while the display sparked social media joy, space weather forecasters warned of potential complications. Geomagnetic storms can temporarily disrupt radio and satellite operations. According to experts at NASA and the National Oceanic

atmospheric administration. The sun is in an active phase that's expected to last until at least through the end of the year. Jail Snyder, NPR News. Watchdog Group is calling on artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, to withdraw its new AI video app. The group, Public Citizen, says that SORA2 app is spreading deep fake disinformation, creating digital harassment, and lacks any protections for people who hold copyrights. OpenAI has already reached an agreement with the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is to stop disrespectful and fake videos of the slain civil rights leader. I'm Corfa Coleman, NPR News.