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

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The election interference criminal case in Georgia against President Trump and several others will move ahead after a new prosecutor was appointed before today's deadline. Alex Helmick from member station WABE reports. Fulton County District Attorney Fawney Willis originally brought the massive RICO case but was removed by a Georgia court for her personal relationship with a special prosecutor. The prosecuting attorney's counsel of Georgia executive director, Pete Scandalakis, was ordered to appoint a new prosecutor, but each one he approached respectfully declined. Scandalakis said that dismissal at this point was not the right course of action and has named himself to lead the case and perform what he called a comprehensive review to determine how to proceed. In a statement, the president's lead defense counsel, Steve Sadeau, calls the case a politically charged prosecution and says that a review of the facts, will lead to dismissal. For NPR news, I'm Alex Holmick in Atlanta.

President Trump says he's asking the Justice Department to investigate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's connection with several people and entities. That includes former President Bill Clinton as well as J.P. Morgan and Chase Banks. His post on social media today comes ahead of a House vote to release all files from the Epstein investigation. Republican leaders have agreed to bring it to the floor next week. The Trump administration is is planning a special immigration enforcement operation in Charlotte, North Carolina. State Representative Ayesha Duh is pushing back against the move. This is a safe city.

Our crime rates have gone down since the previous year. This is just another something out of the playbook. When you look at Washington, D.C., the National Guard was picking up litter. So if they want people here to help us pick up litter, I think we've got that covered as well. Officials say customs and border protection agents may be deployed as early as this weekend. Two classic snacks will look different in a couple of weeks. Some Doritos and Cheetos are losing their bright orange color. NPR's Kristen Wright reports their maker says is going to stop using artificial dyes.

The new Doritos and Cheetos are called simply naked. PepsiCo, which makes the snacks, says they're made with no dyes or artificial flavors. And so they're lighter in color instead of bright orange. Synthetic food dyes have been under extra scrutiny as the federal governments Make America Healthy Again initiative urges companies to get rid of them. Craft Hines and General Mills announced earlier this year they're planning to remove artificial dyes from U.S. products. In April, PepsiCo said it would speed up its plan to shift to natural ingredients. The new Cheetos and Doritos roll out December 1st, although PepsiCo says you'll still be able to buy the original snacks for the time being.

Kristen Wright, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow was down 306 points. This is NPR News in Washington. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny dominated the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas last night. The singer took home five trophies, including Best Album and Best Urban Song. It's the latest milestone for the global star who's led the Latin music charts all year. A new study reveals which genes were active inside a mammoth around the moment of its death some 39,000 years ago. R.A. Daniel reports.

Researchers sampled 10 mammoths. They then painstakingly extracted and analyzed RNA, the molecule that translates DNA into the building of an actual organism. Most of it was too fragmented, but three of the mammoths had sufficient material to analyze. In one of the best preserved animals, Stockholm University Paleo-Diote, geneticist Louva Dallene and his colleagues found RNA related to muscle function and stress. You're actually seeing processes going on inside the cells right around the time it died, and these processes have them been frozen in time for 40,000 years. Delenn says the results point the way to the potential study of ancient RNA viruses

that have infected humans over millennia. For NPR news, I'm Ari Daniel. Wildlife officials in Boston say a small alligator spotted cruising along the Charles River this week has finally been scooped up and brought to safety. A local wildlife educator caught the little gator on Wednesday night. They think it was most likely someone's pet, even though keeping alligators in Massachusetts is illegal. This is NPR.