NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-18-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The House of Representatives is poised to vote Tuesday on a bill to release government records on late sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump says the bill should be passed and that he would sign it, but doubts that his detractors will be satisfied. Unfortunately, like with the Kennedy situation, with the Martin Luther King situation, not to put Jeffrey Epstein in the same category, but no matter what we give, it's never. enough. You know, with Kennedy, we gave everything and it wasn't enough. With Martin Luther King, we gave everything and it's never enough. We've already given, I believe the number is 50,000 pages. Meanwhile, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summer says he's deeply embarrassed over his email exchanges with Epstein and that he's stepping away from his public duties. Summer

served under the Clinton and Obama administrations. The head of the Federal Emergency Management agency or FEMA is resigning after just six months on the job. David Richardson is the second person to leave the position under the Trump administration. More from NPR's Lawrence 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. One of the nation's largest local TV station owners is making a bid to take over a competitor. Sinclair Broadcasting wants to acquire Cincinnati-based scripts. From member station, WVXU, Tana Wine Gardner, has the story. In a filing, Baltimore Sinclair says it's bought an 8.2% stake in Scripps and that a merger could be done within a year. Cincinnati media reporter John Key Sweeter, however, notes Scripps issued a statement saying it would take steps to protect the company from the opportunistic actions of Sinclair or anyone else. Calling it an opportunistic action doesn't sound like scripts and Sinclair are all that close to coming to a deal, even though Sinclair is saying, you know, they've been talking for months about. combining forces. The FCC is already mulling a multi-billion dollar deal by the nation's largest TV

station owner Next Star to take over its competitor, Tegna. For NPR News, I'm Tanna-Wingartner in Cincinnati. Charlotte, North Carolina Mayor Janet Cowell says the Trump administration will expand its immigration raids to include Raleigh. Federal agents are now operating in Charlotte, where ICE agents have arrested at least 130 people. This is NPR. are. In Bangladesh, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and an aide have been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. The charges stem from a crackdown on protesters that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. The unrest led to Hasina's removal from power in 2024 after 15 years in office. Asina and her aide, Aza Duzamon Khan, fled to India last year. A third suspect was sentenced to five

years in prison after testifying for the prosecution. Ant colonies can sometimes be tricked into murdering their own queens. The trickery comes from a female ant of another species that wants to takes the queen's throne. NPR's Nell Greenfield voice explains. It's hard for a young would-be queen aunt to strike out on her own and try to establish a brand new colony. So some ant species have evolved away for female ants to basically take over existing colonies of another species. In the journal Current Biology, researchers in Japan describe how a female ant will sneak into a colony, creep up to its queen, and spray a chemical onto her. This chemical has a dramatic effect. It makes the colony's worker ants suddenly turn on their queen, who is also their mother. The workers

unwittingly betray her, attacking her until she's dead. Then the female intruder becomes the new queen and uses the workers to raise her own offspring. Nell Greenfield Boyce, NPR News. U.S. Buters are flat and after-hours trading. This is NPR. 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. of customers and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.