NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-18-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Congress has approved a bill demanding the release of government records on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Green says the effort is meant to help the victims get justice. These victims and these survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and the cabal of rich, powerful elites that expands not just here in the United States of America, but to other countries as well. We're putting them last. And that is exactly what Americans want. Marilyn Congressman Jamie Raskin says that House Speaker Mike Johnson cannot blame Democrats for the delay in getting the Epstein documents released. The speaker says, why now? Why now? Well, Mr. Speaker, you are the one who refused to swear in Adelita Grohava for 50 days.

We would have done it 50 days ago, but she provided the 218th signature on the discharge petition. Speaker Mike Johnson voted to release the Epstein files after President Trump endorsed the idea. President Trump praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during their White House meeting earlier today. As NPR Sage Miller reports, Trump shrugged off Saudi Arabia's human rights record and the prince's role in the killing of a prominent journalist. Trump defended Prince Mohammed when asked about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was often critical of Saudi Arabia. Trump called Khashoggi extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about, whether you like him or didn't like him. Things happened.

What happened was Saudi agents killed and dismembered the journalist. Trump said that Prince Mohammed had nothing to do with that. Prince Mohammed says he had no knowledge of the killing, but the CIA concluded that he approved the operation. The Saudi government denies Prince Mohammed's role. The Crown Prince called the loss of Khashoggi painful and a huge mistake. Sage Miller, NPR News. A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration's claims that META violated competition laws when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. NPR's Bobby Allen has details.

Federal regulators sued META in 2020, alleging it was an illegal monopoly that broke competition laws when it purchased Instagram and WhatsApp. But since then, one major force has changed the source. social media landscape, TikTok. And this became a major part of META's defense over a seven-week trial in April, that it does not monopolize social media apps because of TikTok's dominance. The court has now agreed, dismissing the government's push that META should be broken up. It's one of five government antitrust cases against Big Tech. Results have been mixed.

Meta's victory follows Google losing two cases, and cases against Amazon and Apple are still pending. Bobby Allen and PR News. On Wall Street, stocks closed lower, U.S. futures are virtually unchanged. This is NPR. A federal court panel in El Paso has blocked Texas from using a newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 midterms. The judges agreed with opponents who argued that the rare summer redistricting effort would harm black and Latino voters. The state is appealing the two-to-one ruling. The Texas legislature created a new congressional map after press, President Trump requested five additional House seats to protect the Republican majority. Warner Brothers' discovery is now up for sale. The legendary conglomerate with film, TV studios, streaming

services, and cable channels is accepting bids until Thursday. NPR's Mandelaide Del Barco reports on what theater owners want in a new owner. Warner Brothers has been making movies since 1923. The studio is responsible for the first talkie feature, the jazz singer. Wait a minute. You ain't heard nothing yet. Warner Brothers made Casablanca. He's looking at you, kid. And other classics from 2001 of Space Odyssey to Barbie and all those Looney Tunes cartoons. What's up, Jack? Three years ago, Warner Brothers merged with Discovery. Now there's speculation that Paramount Skydance could take over. Or Netflix, Amazon, Comcast, or an entirely new investor.

Daniel Luhria of box office media says theater owners hope the buyer continues to release films in the cinemas. As long as we have more movies, folks in the movie theater industry, support any business decision that gets us there. Cinefiles want that too. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. On Asia-Pacific market, shares are mostly lower. 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 minimum. mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.