NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-14-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

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This week on Consider This, an encrypted group chat where members of the National Guard are processing President Trump's actions. This is just not what any of us signed up for. And I just wonder, like, who's going to stand up to this? Plus, what's next for Congressional Democrats after their move this week to release more of Jeffrey Epstein's emails? Listen this week to consider this on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Stocks on Wall Street are trading sharply lower this morning, extending Thursday's massive sell-off. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial average tumbled more than 500 points in early trading.

Investors are rethinking some of their earlier excitement over the artificial intelligence boom. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 index dropped nearly 1 and 3 quarters percent on Thursday, while the tech heavy NASDAQaeda fell 2 and a third percent. There's also less confidence that the Federal Reserve. reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in December. Walmart chairs opened down after the retail giant announced that CEO Doug McMillan will retire early next year. After more than a decade in the job, McMillan will continue to serve as an advisor at Walmart while the head of the company's U.S. business, John Ferner takes over as CEO. Walmart sets report quarterly

earnings next week. Scott Horsley, Empire News, Washington. Now that the government shutdown is over, lawmakers are bracing for the political fallout. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are returning to their jobs after missing paychecks, and agencies are scrambling to restart everything from safety inspections to backlogged benefit claims. One of the six Democrats who voted with House Republicans to fund the government was California Congressman Adam Gray. He says the shutdown went on far too long. It became pretty clear during this government shutdown, the longest U.S. hit. The president and the Republican majority were really comfortable.

putting the most vulnerable Americans at risk with the SNAP program and some of these other important funding programs. So it just felt immoral, frankly, to continue with it. Gray says both parties will have to answer for the uncertainty the shutdown caused, especially for families who couldn't afford to wait for lawmakers to resolve their differences. The Department of Justice is joining a lawsuit seeking to overturn California's new congressional maps which favor Democrats. The lawsuit came after voters approved Proposition 50, to draw new lines ahead of next year's midterm elections. Guy Maserati from Member Station KQED reports.

The Trump administration is teaming up with the California Republican Party to ask a federal judge to block the new congressional map from taking effect. They argue the Proposition 50 district lines were drawn to unfairly benefit Latino voters violating the equal protection and voting rights of other Californians. Governor Gavin Newsom frames Prop 50 as an effort to counter moves by Republicans in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and possibly others. Democrats in Virginia have also countered, and other states are considering it. In a statement, a spokesperson for Newsom says Republicans, quote,

lost at the ballot box, and soon they will also lose in court. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzarati in San Francisco. This is NPR News in Washington. A new survey shows 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. is currently taking the drug, OZempic, Wegovi, or similar weight loss medications. NPR, Cindy Lepkin reports that's according to the nonpartisan research organization, KFF. The number of adults taking GLP1 drugs, which include OZMPI, Wagovi, Zepound, and Majaro, is going up. It went from 6% a year and a half ago to 12% now.

People are taking the drugs for chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, as well as for weight loss. Here's Ashley Kurtzinger, a pollster at KFF. What was really striking to us that there wasn't one demographic group that was kind of driving the increase. It looked like there was a pretty steady increase in use across demographic groups. Although most people taking these drugs say they have some insurance coverage for them, more than half say the drugs are difficult to afford. KFF conducted the poll between October 27th and November 2nd. Sydney Lopkin and PR News.

Johns Hopkins University says it will no longer charge. tuition for undergraduates from families earning up to $200,000 a year. The new program covers students from more than 85% of U.S. households and includes tuition and living expenses for families making up to $100,000. The move follows a $1.8 billion gift from alumnus Michael Bloomberg. Stocks continue to trade sharply lower on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow was down 542 points, the NASDAQ down 113, the S&P 500 also trading lower down 40 points. This is NPR. This week on the NPR Politics podcast, the latest on Democrats in some blue states, redistricting.

A lot is still uncertain, but the picture moving into the midterms for Democrats isn't looking as bad as it once did. Plus, the government shutdown is over. What's Congress focused on next? That and more daily political coverage on the NPR Politics podcast. on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.