NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-17-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: November 17, 2025

NPR News: 11-17-2025 6PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered, NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well-deserved escape with friends, and yeah, some serious music insight. I'm going to keep it real. I have no idea what the story is about it. Your new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. A federal judge says the Justice Department may have engaged in profound investigative missteps in its prosecution of former FBI director James Comey. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports the judge has ordered prosecutors to turn over all grand jury materials to Comey's lawyers. Comy was indicted by a grand jury in September on false

statements and obstruction charges tied to his congressional testimony in 2020. His attorneys have requested the grand jury materials arguing that irregularities may have tainted the prosecution. Now, magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick has granted that request. In an opinion, Fitzpatrick says the record, quote, points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceedings. This is one of several ways Comey is challenging the Trump Justice Department's case against him. Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. President Trump says he would sign a bill to force the Justice Department to release files in the case of convicted

sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports the House is expected to vote on it tomorrow. President Trump says the case has turned into a distraction from his administration's work. Let the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it. But don't talk about it too much because, honestly, I don't want to take it away from us. It's really a Democrat problem. The Democrats were Epstein's friends, all of them, and it's a hoax. Trump and Epstein were friends until they had a falling out, years before Epstein's first conviction. For months, Trump and his supporters fought to block the vote on releasing the Epstein materials, but it became increasingly clear that it would pass anyway. And this weekend, in a dramatic change of course, Trump called on House Republicans to support the measure. Franco, Ordonez, NPR News, the White House. Overdue economic data are expected this week. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that includes late summer tallies of exports and imports and a snapshot of of the job market in early fall. Now that the federal shutdown is over,

government statisticians will start to release those economic report cards we've been missing for the last six weeks. The Commerce Department says it will provide an update on the August trade deficit on Wednesday. The Labor Department will deliver the September jobs report the following day. Both of those reports were supposed to come out

in early October. No word yet on when, or even if we'll see data on inflation or unemployment for last month, which could help to shape the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates in December. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. The UN Security Council has approved a U.S. authored plan creating an international stabilization force for security in Gaza. It also envisions a possible path to an independent

Palestinian state. The vote was a crucial next step for the ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza's future after two years of war between Israel and Hamas. You are listening to NPR news from Washington. The acting chief of the federal emergency management Agency, David Richardson has left his post just six months into the job. It's the latest development in a year of departures and policy changes at the agency. His leadership was questioned after he delayed responding to deadly floods this summer in Texas. The U.S. got a D-plus grade for maternal and infant health, according to a new report card from the March of Dimes. As NPR's Maria Godoy reports, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of premature births among developed nations.

About one in ten babies born across the U.S. last year was premature, and those rates were much higher in some U.S. states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, and for certain racial and ethnic minorities, especially black women and infants. The March of Dimes report also found about one in four pregnant women didn't receive prenatal care in their first trimester, a decline from previous years. Meanwhile, the prevalence of pre-existing chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes increased. Both are known risk factors for preterm birth. The March of Dime says the findings should be a call to improve systemic inequities and access to care across the country. Maria Godoy and PR News. Brazil's vice president says Brazilian goods like coffee, beef, and tropical fruits still face a 40% tariff in the U.S. That's despite President Trump's decision to remove some import taxes on country.

and in an effort to boost the U.S. economy, Trump imposed additional tariffs on Brazil due to the trial of former president, Jaire Bolsonaro. I'm Rylan Barton. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. You care about what's happening in the world. Stay informed with NPR's State of the World podcast. In just a few minutes, we take you to stories around the globe. You might hear the latest developments in world conflicts or about what global events mean for the price of your world. coffee. Listen to the state of the world podcast from NPR.