NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. President Trump is responding after a Republican-led-led House committee released thousands of pages of documents this week from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump. NPR's Ron Elving reports, now Trump has instigated an investigation into his perceived political enemies. The Attorney General has announced an investigation of several former officials and Democratic donors who Trump alleges have something to hide with regard to Jeffrey Epstein. Now, the obvious way to deal with a lot of this shadow boxing and innuendo would be to release all the Epstein files.

That's what candidate Trump promised a year ago, but President Trump has resisted that and driven other leaders in the Republican Party to do the same. Despite Trump's opposition, Republicans are increasingly calling for the release of Justice Department Epstein files. A vote is expected next week. Border Patrol agents have begun carrying out an immigration enforcement operation in Charlotte, North Carolina. As Nick De La Canal from Member Station WFAE reports, agents made arrests this morning in the city's immigrant corridors. Agents were filmed smashing a man's car window and pulling him from a vehicle in South Charlotte. On the city's east side, restaurants locked their doors as agents chased a man into a laundromat and tackled an employee at a nearby car repair shop.

The shop's owner, who didn't want her name used for fear of retribution, said the man was her lead mechanic. The business depends on clients. If my worker are taken, I've got to close my business today. Just blocks away, a woman filmed agents who stopped her landscaping crew as they were putting up Christmas lights, then let them go after questioning. For NPR news, I'm Nick Della Canal in Charlotte. U.S. military officials tell NPR the aircraft carrier, USS Gerald Ford, will be in the Northern Caribbean by tomorrow. joining some 15,000 soldiers and sailors already there. The U.S. has announced military drills and multiple deadly military strikes on vessels carrying people

the Trump administration calls narco-terrorists. It is seen as a possible pressure tactic on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is readying its own military in response. Ukraine's independent anti-corruption agencies say associates close to President Volodymyr Zelensky plotted to skim millions from the country's energy sector. This, as Ukrainians face a fourth brutal winter with widespread power cuts amid Russia's full-scale invasion. NPR's Joanna Kikisis reports from Kiv. Investigators say this group manipulated contracts at Anerho-Adom, which is a Ukraine's state nuclear energy company, and they got kickbacks laundering roughly $100 million. The scandal has

forced the resignation of two ministers in Zelensky's government so far, but Zelensky has not been implicated in this probe, and he is calling for the prosecution of those accused of committing crimes. It's NPR News. Alice Wong, who fought for equal access for those with disabilities, has died at the age of 51. A friend announced the news on Wang's social media. Wang, a writer and activist born with muscular dystrophy, founded the Disability Visibility Project, giving Americans with disabilities a platform to tell their stories. Wong wrote that even when her body was at its lowest. She was at the height of her power. The British government says it has plans to phase out animal testing faster using AI and 3D bioprinted human tissues. NPR's Fatma al-Kasab has more from

London. Animal testing is still used in major medical safety tests, including tests on the safety of vaccines and pesticides. Britain's government now has a roadmap for how to replace some animal testing by the end of this year and cut the use of dogs and other animals in testing by at least 35% by 2030. They say they will do this by funding new methods, such as AI analysis of human molecules and what's known as organ-honour chip systems, which are tiny devices that mimic how human organs work. Britain's science minister said he could imagine a day with no animal testing, but acknowledged this would take time. Fatima al-Kasab, NPR News, London. As the NFL seeks to tackle an international fan base, the game plan is Madrid.

Tomorrow, the league's first ever game in Spain will see the Washington commanders take on the Miami Dolphins at Real Madrid's home field. Spain is the sixth country outside of the U.S. to host an NFL game. This is NPR News.