NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. Attorney General Pam Bondi has named a senior federal prosecutor to look into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's ties with prominent Democrats, banks, and institutions. President Trump had publicly called for the investigation, as NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. In a post on social media, President Trump accused Democrats of using the controversy over the Jeffrey Epstein files to deflect from their own actions. in the recent government shutdown. He also called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate former President Bill Clinton and other prominent Democrats

whom Trump alleges were involved with Epstein. In her own social media post, Bondi said she's tapping the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Jay Clayton, to take the lead on the matter. The moves come as Trump continues to face questions about his own ties to Epstein, particularly after House Democrats released a batch of emails this week

that raised questions as to what Trump knew about Epstein's activities with underage girls. Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. President Trump denies knowing anything about the Epstein emails released by House Democrats. Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years, but he also saw strength because I was president. So he dictated a couple of memos to himself. Give me a break.

Trump speaking to reporters there aboard Air Force One on his way to Mar-a-Lago, where he's spending the weekend. On true social last night, Trump publicly cut ties with Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green. She was one of four House Republicans who joined a Democrat signing a petition to force a vote on the Epstein files. She's also been critical of Trump and other Republican leaders on several issues, including affordability. The Israeli military has blocked hundreds of Israeli peace activists from reaching the occupied West Bank this weekend, where they plan to help Palestinians with the olive harvest. The military says it declared the village where they were trying to go a closed military zone.

NPR's Lauren Freyer reports from Tel Aviv. Several busloads of volunteers were trying to reach the Israeli-occupied Palestinian village of Bahrain. Their plan was to act as human shields to protect Palestinian farmers from Israeli settler attacks, which have hit a record high according to the U.N. This week, settlers ransacked the West Bank. bank's biggest dairy farm and also torched a mosque. We will not stay silent while terror is conducting against Palestinians. Lior Amichai, director of peace now and advocacy groups, sent NPR this voice memo from a

checkpoint where Israeli soldiers blocked their passage to Boreen. Despite this peaceful action, the military and the police did not want us to join the Palestinians and prevented us from reaching it. The Israeli military tells NPR it did this for public safety after a week marred by an increase in violent incidents. Lauren Friar, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Rain is expected. This is NPR News. Rain is expected to fall through the weekend in Southern California. Flood watches have been posted and evacuation warnings are in effect in area scarred by recent wildfires. City officials say areas affected to by the January wildfires

are highly susceptible to mud and debris flows. The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, preparing for a federal immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has not publicly announced a move, but the Mecklenburg County Sheriff says he was told by federal officials that the operation could begin as soon as today. Charlotte is North Carolina's largest city and a Democratic stronghold in the state. YouTube television subscribers can now access Disney programming again after a two-week blackout prompted by contract disputes. M.P.R.'s Matt Bloom reports the two media companies settled on a distribution deal late Friday. The company executives said in a statement they were restoring content in time for viewers to watch weekend programming, including college football games on ESPN.

The company pulled its channels from YouTube TV late last month after talks broke down. Disney said the streaming giant had refused to pay fair rates, while YouTube TV said Disney was proposing costly terms that would lead to higher prices. The companies didn't release specific terms, but YouTube said it preserves value. in its service. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that the lockout cost Disney about $30 million a week. Alphabet, which owns YouTube TV and Google, is a financial supporter of NPR. Matt Bloom, NPR News. And I'm Jail Snyder. 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.