NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-17-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: November 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Seng. The GOP-led House is poised to hold a vote this week that calls on the Justice Department to release all files related to the investigation on the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After months of resisting and clashes with members of his own party, President Trump reiterated a short time ago that he supports the vote and has nothing to hide. We've done a great job, and I hate to see that, deflect from the great job we've done.

So I'm all for it. You know, we've already given 50,000 pages. You do know that. Annie Farmer is one of the many people who testified against Epstein and his now in prison accomplice, Gillen Maxwell. She spoke to NPR about Trump's sudden shift. I think there's a healthy amount of skepticism amongst those of us who have been involved in this fight for a long time.

You know, there have been so many efforts to, I think, I'd say, you politicize this and obfuscate the truth that I, you know, I hope that that is the case and that everyone's on the same page that this would be the best thing for the American people. But, you know, I think that remains to be seen. President Trump maintains he never had any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. The head of the federal emergency management agencies resigning after six months on the job. He's a second person to leave the job under the Trump administration. Here's NPR as Lauren Summer. David Richardson took over FEMA at a time of turmoil for the agency.

President Trump has said he wants FEMA to be eliminated as it exists today and wants states to take over preparation for disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. Richardson was criticized by lawmakers after the deadly floods in Texas this summer for not being more available as a disaster unfolded. In a statement, FEMA thanked Richardson for his service and says the agency is anticipating a report from a FEMA review council soon, which will recommend how the agency should be restructured. Lauren Summer, NPR News.

An investment company owned by billionaire Peter Thiel has sold its $100 million stake in chipmaker NVIDIA. NPR, as Bobby Allen reports, it's adding to investor fears that the artificial intelligence industry is in a financial bubble. Peter Thiel's hedge fund selling off a massive investment in NVIDIA came after SoftBank did the same last week. Together, the moves are stoking investor concern that the AI industry is in a speculative bubble that could soon pop.

Tech firms are pouring billions into AI data centers and infrastructure. The payoff is uncertain. Wall Street trader Michael Burry has become a prominent voice in the AI bubble discourse. Burry made hundreds of millions of dollars by betting against the housing market before the subprime mortgage crash and was a central figure in the book The Big Short. Burry recently revealed that his asset management company is betting against Nvidia. He wrote on X, sometimes we see bubbles. Bobby Allen and PR News.

The Dow's closed down 557 points. It's NPR News. The Supreme Court plans to review the legality of a now rescinded policy by which border patrol agents were allowed to limit the number of asylum seekers who crossed into the U.S. at designated points of entry. The Trump administration is appealing lower court rulings that struck down the metering. High court is expected to hear the immigration case by early spring. Airlines of the nation's 40 busiest airports are getting back to operating as usual. under the Federal Aviation Administration's latest orders. The FAA said it would lift the air traffic restrictions

it imposed to protect aviation safety during the federal government shutdown. Even with federal food assistance benefits reinstated, more people are turning to food banks to prepare meals. As New England public media's Jill Kaufman reports, one source of produce is coming from the harvesting of excess crops. On a recent morning in western Massachusetts, a dozen volunteers are in a field picking gorgeous heads of romaine lettuce. They are gleaning or clearing the field of what farmers don't need.

Organizations like Rachel's table get tens of thousands of pounds of produce a year over to food banks. They have a van, but also depend on volunteers like Jean Gordon to make deliveries. In the last few weeks, she was picking cabbages and apples. You know, with everybody, like, tight up on food, I can take stuff. I know people. Other organizations that glean farm fields say they've heard a lot of anxiety from food pantries. about having enough items to distribute over the last few weeks and whether they'll have enough going forward.

For NPR News, I'm Jill Kaufman. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.