NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Luis Skiavone. U.S. military officials tell NPR the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, will arrive in the Northern Caribbean tomorrow amid increasing tensions with Venezuela. The U.S. has conducted multiple strikes on boats in the region saying they were ferrying drugs, traffic from Venezuela. President Trump is cutting ties with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green. The president posting on social media, announcing he's withdrawn support from the Georgia Republican, NPR's Ava Poochatch reports that Green suspects the rift came from her support for the release of the Epstein files.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. 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. Eva Pukatch and PR News, Washington. Border Patrol agents have begun carrying out

an immigration enforcement operation in Charlotte, North Carolina. As Nick Dillacanow from Member Station WFAE reports, agents made arrest this morning in the city's immigrant corridor. 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 and workers. And if my worker are taken, I gotta 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 Delaccanal in Charlotte. A corruption probe in Ukraine says associates of President Zelensky plotted to skim millions from the country's energy sector. NPR's Joanna Kikis has more. This probe is extensive. It took 15 months, used about 1,000 iris of wiretaps.

There were seven alleged participants, including Timur Mindich. He's a close business associate of Zelensky's. Investigators say this group manipulated contracts at Enairjo Adam, which is 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. NPR's Joanna Kikisis.

This is NPR News. In Southern California, an atmospheric river weather system has been inundating coastal areas at a rate of an inch per hour. Land damage by the Los Angeles fires is at high risk of landslides. Flood warnings extended from the Ventura County Coast through Malibu and into Los Angeles. A Native American general who helped end the Civil War has been posthumously admitted to the New York State Bar. Buffalo, Toronto public media's Emily Watkins reports on how he was finally recognized.

Dili Parker, a Seneca chief, was denied admittance to the bar in 1847, despite meeting the requirements because he was not considered a citizen. In the face of discrimination, Parker went on to advocate for native land rights, draft the final terms of surrender for the Civil War, become an Army General. and was then appointed the first Native American commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On Friday, he again made history as the first Native American to be posthumously admitted to the bar, according to the Seneca Nation. Only a few attorneys of color have been posthumously recognized this way.

For NPR News, I'm Emily Watkins in Buffalo. President Trump has announced he scrapped tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits, and other commodities amid inflationary pressures. Brazil's vice president, though, says Brazilian goods like coffee, beef and tropical fruits will still face a 40% tariff. He says some products like orange juice no longer face the tariffs and there should be further changes. I'm Luis Giovanni and PR News, Washington.