NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-18-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Federal Immigration authorities say they've arrested nearly 200 people in a sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now, the mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, says immigration officials will launch operations in her city. From member station WUNC, Bradley George, reports. Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell says she doesn't know how long the operation will last or when agents would be present. She says crime is down in North Carolina's capital city and a federal presence is not. needed. In a statement, Cowell asks Raleigh residents to, quote, remember our values and maintain peace and respect through any upcoming challenges. Border Patrol and ICE agents began

a sweep through Charlotte over the weekend. Many businesses in immigrant communities have closed, and the city school system reported nearly 21,000 absences on Monday. The Department of Homeland Security has said it's focusing on North Carolina because of what it calls sanctuary policies that it says limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents. For NPR news, I'm Bradley George in Chapel Hill. The House of Representatives is expected to vote today to require the Justice Department to publish all documents related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Last night, women who have accused Epstein of sexual abuse gathered in Washington to urge more lawmakers to vote in favor of the measure. That includes Danielle Bensky. She says she is working with young people as a dance instructor. I work with a lot of younger kids. I work with a lot of teenagers that were the same age that I was at that time. And I just, I look at their faces, and I look at how young they are.

And I just want to be an advocate for change for them. I want to make the world safer for them. President Trump told Republicans this week to vote for the measure. But President Trump already has the authority to tell the Justice Department to release all the documents now. The UN Security Council has backed a peace plan for Gaza. The resolution authorizes an international force there for the next two years. NPS Michelle Kellerman reports the U.S. is calling this a significant step for the Middle East. U.S. Ambassador Mike Walt says the world has the power to, quote, douse the flames and light the path to peace. He praised

the Security Council for backing a plan to set up a board of peace led by President Trump and to authorize an international force to coordinate with Egypt and Israel. The resolution today provides troop contributing countries with the framework they need for moving forward with the international stabilization force and global financial institutions the mechanisms they need for channeling investment. The U.S. ambassador calls this resolution just the beginning. Russia, which proposed a different draft, abstained from the vote. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, the state.

State Department. You're listening to NPR. President Trump is set to welcome Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House today. It's the Crown Prince's first visit in seven years. U.S. intelligence found that he approved the operation that killed and dismembered Washington Post Journal at Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. Meanwhile, Trump has announced the U.S. will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration is proposing to scale back federal protection of some U.S. waterways. NPR's Nate Rot has more. For decades, courts, presidential administrations and interest groups have argued about what specific waterways qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act.

Industry or individuals need federal permits to pollute a federally protected waterway, and many farming, ranching, and developer groups argue that the 1972 law has been too widely applied. The Environmental Protection Agency says its new proposed definition, of what waterways qualify should give those groups relief. An analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council finds that 85% of the country's wetlands will no longer be protected under the new proposal. And wetlands, the environmental group points out, provide drinking water, flood protection, and wildlife habitat. Nate Roth, NPR News. A federal judge has decided not to sentence a former Alaska Airlines pilot to prison. Joseph Emerson had pleaded guilty to trying to turn

off the engines of a passenger jetting flight over Oregon two years ago. It landed safely. Emerson says he wanted to take responsibility for his actions. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.