NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. The world's biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, will arrive in the Northern Caribbean tomorrow, according to U.S. military official. This as tensions rise with Venezuela. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports. The USS Gerald Ford will be joining some 15,000 soldiers and sailors already in the region. A U.S. military official told NPR the U.S. is gearing up for possible military action, saying, quote, the table is being set. High-level meetings with members of Congress and foreign leaders are continuing, along with ongoing military exercises. It remains unclear, however, if President Trump will use military force against the country. The U.S. has conducted multiple strikes on boats

in the region. President Trump has also repeatedly called on Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro to resign. Officials told NPR the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford could be just another pressure tactic on Maduro, who has put his own forces on high alert. Laura Sullivan, NPR News. President Trump is cutting ties with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green. The president made a series of social media posts announcing he's withdrawn his support of the Georgia Republican. NPR's Ava Pukatch reports Green, a one-time staunch ally is hitting back and says

she suspects the rift came from her support for the release of the Epstein files. In his post, Trump called for conservatives to primary Green, saying, quote, if the right person runs, they will have my complete and unyielding support. Green said in a post of her own that she had sent the president a text regarding the Epstein files, which she said, quote, sent him over the edge. She said Trump is trying to make an example of her to scare other Republicans ahead of the House's vote to force the release of the Epstein files. Green has been a long-time Trump ally in prominent maga figure, but she's been at odds of the president, notably in calling for the Justice Department to release the files about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ava Pukatch and PR News, Washington.

U.S. air travel is slowly getting back to normal after the record-long government shutdown ended Wednesday. The FAA says airlines must still cut flights by 3% at dozens of major airports as staffing levels bounce back. Regulators say they'll see how it goes this weekend before doing away with the reductions. NPR's Joel Rose reports. The FAA said the restrictions were necessary to keep the airspace safe as the agency grappled with widespread staffing shortages of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown. But with the shutdown over, air traffic controllers have finally received some of the back pay they earned, and most are now back to work.

Airlines say they're confident they can ramp up quickly and should be able to return to their full schedules before Thanksgiving holiday travel begins. Flight Aware lists several hundred delays and cancellations today, not unusual for the U.S. This is NPR News. Several inches of rain have drenched parts of Southern California, and more is forecast to fall from a stalled atmospheric river. Debris flow from burned scars is a big concern. In some parts of Los Angeles County, officials have gone door-to-door to tell people to evacuate. The season's first heavy rainfall in Gaza is flooding tents,

making it hard for some of the millions of displaced Palestinians to keep warm and dry. The Israeli defense body in charge of Gaza's borders says it's facilitated the entry of nearly 90,000 tents and tarps, but the UN says with winter coming, they need more. The Vatican today announced the return of more than 60 indigenous artifacts to Canada. As Dan Carpenchuk reports, the return is part of the reconciliation process in acknowledging the Catholic Church's historic role suppressing indigenous culture. The 62 artifacts include a 100-year-old Inuit kayak, Wampum belts, war clubs, masks, and beaded moccasins. Pope Leo turned them over to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience at the Vatican.

A statement by the church said the pieces were a sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity. They were part of a controversial collection that sparked a debate over cultural items taken from indigenous peoples during colonial period. and the church's role in helping the Canadian governments force dissimulation policy, which some historians have called cultural genocide. The items will first go to the Canadian Museum of History, where they will be identified, and then a decision will be made about where they should ultimately go.

For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. This is NPR News.