NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-19-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: November 20, 2025

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This message comes from Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward. Innovations that save lives and feed the world. Science Delivers.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump has signed the bill forcing the Justice Department to release its files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Congress overwhelmingly passed the legislation yesterday, which requires the Justice Department to publish all of its files within 30 days, with some exceptions. Liz Stein is an Epstein survivor and an anti-trafficking advocate. She says this shouldn't be a political issue. This has been ongoing throughout five administrations of both political parties.

What we're looking at, but what we're not seeing clearly is that this is a crime, and it's a crime of sex trafficking. We are victims of a crime. The bill includes provisions to protect ongoing investigations. Just last week, the DOJ launched an investigation into prominent Democrats connected to Epstein. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. is resuming an investigation into who in the Trump administration ignored an order to turn back planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to Central America. As NPR's Adrian Florido reports, Judge James Boseberg's contempt inquiry could lead to criminal prosecution. Boasberg of the Federal District Court for D.C. had put his criminal contempt inquiry on hold while the Trump administration filed appeals. After an appeals court gave him the green light, he says he could start calling government officials to testify as soon as December 1st. Earlier this year, Bozberg ruled that the Trump administration had purposely defied an order he issued during an emergency hearing in March that it turned back planes carrying Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador. He said he would find out who had ignored that order and hold them accountable. He has said he could go as far as appointing a special prosecutor to pursue criminal charges.

Adrian Fletido, NPR News. Florida Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Sheriffillus McCormick has been indicted for allegedly stealing federal disaster funds. The Justice Department says she stole FEMA funds that her family's health care company had received through a COVID vaccination contract. Some of the money was then used to fund her 2021 campaign. Several North Carolina school districts are seeing an increase in absences as Border Patrol continue an immigration crackdown in the state. Cherise Piggott of Member Station WUNC has more. Amid the Immigration Enforcement Operations, several districts in North Carolina reported high student absences. Wake County Public Schools, which includes Raleigh, reported more than

19,000 absent students Tuesday, with 110 schools reporting an absent rate above 10%. Elsewhere, Chapel Hill, Carborough City Schools, says they saw 883 absences on Tuesday. That's 366 more absences compared to last Thursday. And roughly 30,000 students were absent on Monday in Charlotte Mecklenburg schools, the second larger school district after Wake. Wake County district leaders say they are, quote, actively reaching out to families to ensure students stay connected to their classrooms. For NPR News, I'm Cheriece Piggott. This is NPR News from Washington. Elon Musk made his public return to President Trump's orbit at the Saudi Investment Forum in Washington today. As a featured guest, he talked about the future of artificial intelligence.

He made a prediction that in 10 or 20 years, work will be optional, saying it would be like playing sports or a video game. Musk left the White House in May shortly before a public spat with Trump. Tensions are escalating in Lebanon after Israel attacked two villages in the south one day after launching a drone strike on a Palestinian refugee camp. NPR's Jane Arraf has more. The Israeli military bombed the two villages after warning residents to leave. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel killed one person and wounded several others, including students on a bus, and a separate drone strike, according to Lebanese authorities. That's despite a ceasefire signed with Lebanon a year ago, halting its war with the militant group, Hezbollah.

While Hezbollah has not attacked Israel, the Israeli military has launched almost daily strikes. It says it's targeting Hezbollah and the Palestinian military. group Hamas. And Israeli attack Tuesday killed at least to 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp near the city of Tyre, according to Lebanese authorities. Palestinian officials said it hit a sports field. For NPR News, I'm Jane Araf in Amman. Haiti is celebrating its first World Cup qualification since 1974, briefly setting aside recent gang violence and political instability, and the tiny Caribbean nation of Curacao has become the smallest country by population to qualify for the event. Curacao is about 156,000 people. This is NPR.

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