NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-12-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

NPR News: 11-12-2025 7PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's a battle playing out over who should control American universities. We're going to bankrupt these universities. In season one, we were guessing what was to come. Now we know. We want $500 million from Harvard. It's season two of The Harvard Plan. This time, it really is personal. Listen to On the Media, wherever you get your podcasts.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The House is debating a bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Most Democrats are expected to vote against it. Connecticut Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro criticized Republican leaders for not further extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expire at the end of the year. Speaker Johnson has indicated that he will not deal with it. He has shown no interest in holding a vote on extending the health care subsidies, which would prevent monthly costs from soaring. Republicans have tried to say they will deal with this problem their own way. But they have no plan. The bill would temporarily fund the government through January, with longer funding for some programs like SNAP food assistance.

It would also reverse the firings of workers who were let go during the shutdown. A vote will likely take place later tonight. House Democrats released emails between Jeffrey Epstein and his confidants, suggesting President Trump may have known about Epstein's sexual abuse of underage girls. In one email, Epstein wrote that Trump spent hours with one of the victims at Epstein's house, And in another, he wrote that Trump, quote, knew about the girls. Democrat Robert Garcia of California tells NPR the public has a right to know what the president knows. I think that the emails today show clearly that there is a relationship between Donald Trump and Epstein.

As far as what Donald Trump knew, what he participated in, I think are real questions. And I think the thing on everyone's mind, certainly those of us on the committee, is why the cover up? Why won't the White House release the full Epsine files? A bipartisan group of lawmakers has signed a petition to allow a vote on a bill that would force the Justice Department to release files relating to Epstein. That vote could take place in early December. Six months after the Justice Department canceled millions of dollars in federal grant money geared toward public safety, many affected groups are still reeling.

NPR's Meg Anderson checked in with some of them. The grant cancellations affected initiatives like school violence programs, training for police officers, and resources for domestic violence victims. Amy Solomon, a former DOJ official, says the cuts were unprecedented. When an administration gives a grant to an organization, that is a promise for the full amount. And so organizations plan, they budget, they hire. Most of the groups NPR spoke with have had to lay off employees, dip into reserve funds, or shrink the services they offer.

They also said the DOJ has not reimbursed them for money already spent or made a decision on appeals. In a statement, the DOJ told NPR the ongoing government shutdown is hindering its ability to do so. Meg Anderson, NPR News. The S&P 500 added a tenth of a percent today, nearing its all-time high, said a couple weeks ago, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed seven-tenths of a percent. This is NPR News. West Virginia's governor says the search for a trapped worker, inside a flooded coal mine is still a rescue operation. The search is now in its fifth day.

Governor Patrick Morrissey says machines are pumping about 6,000 gallons of water per minute. A mining crew hid an unknown pocket of water Saturday about three quarters of a mile into the mine east of Charleston. The mine is next to an abandoned one that operated 80 years ago. Foreign ministers in the group of seven have condemned the escalating violence in Sudan that was one of many topics discussed at a two-day meeting in Canada, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says over the past couple of days he's heard a lot of concerns about the paramilitary force known as the RSF, which is carrying out sexual violence and other atrocities in areas they control in Sudan.

The fundamental problem we have is that the RSF agrees to things and then never follows through with it. So now what you have is a calamity on your hands. He says countries need to stop arming the RSF, though he didn't specifically say, single out the United Arab Emirates. He says the UAE is part of a diplomatic group called the quad, and the U.S. is working with everyone there to pressure the RSF to stop. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. MSNBC is changing its name to MS now this weekend. It's all part of the corporate divorce from NBC News. NBC's parent company Comcast spun most of its cable networks off

into a new company. The network's lineup remains the same, but it has a new studio and hired a new reporting staff to make up for losing its partnership with NBC. 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. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs Apply.