NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-27-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Federal authorities have identified the man who shot two members of the National Guard near the White House on Wednesday. The Trump administration says the suspect is an Afghan national, a man who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. He and his family were allowed to immigrate to the U.S. as part of a resettlement program. NPR's Brian Mann has been following the developments. We know that 20-year-old Sarah Baxter and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe were patrolling a street in Washington, D.C. yesterday afternoon when a man opened fire with a handgun, federal officials said this morning that Bexstrom and Wolf, both from West Virginia, have come through surgery, but they remain in critical condition. Speaking this morning, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Janine Piro, said the two injured were new on duty in the nation's capital. That's NPR's Brian Mann reporting. President Trump is doubling down on his decision to deploy the national.

Guard to the nation's capital. NPR's Kat-Lonsdorf reports in response the president has ordered an additional 500 troops to the city. There have been more than 2,000 National Guard troops in D.C. from several states since August when Trump ordered their deployment over concerns about violent crime. It's part of a pattern of Trump deploying the National Guard to Democratic-led cities around the country, often against the wishes of local governors and authorities. D.C. is uniquely different, as the President has authority over the National Guard. Trump's deployments of the Guard have been controversial and faced a litany of legal battles and blocks. Just last week, a federal judge in D.C. ruled that the use of troops in the city was unlawful and ordered an end to the deployment.

But that has yet to take effect in order to give the Trump administration time to appeal. Kat Lonsdorf and Pear News. At least 65 people are dead and hundreds are missing after a fire broke out at a massive housing complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday. reporter Cherise Pham has more. Firefighters are going through the wreckage of apartment buildings floor-by-floor searching for survivors. The fire department said they rescued an elderly man from the 31st floor of one of the buildings on Thursday afternoon. Later in the evening, more than 24 hours after the fire started, they found another survivor in a staircase, according to local media reports. The public housing complex where the fire broke out is home to about 4,600 people.

The high-rise apartment towers had been under renovation and covered in bamboo scaffolding, which caught fire and collapsed. Police said the construction material found around the buildings did not meet safety standards and may have been the reason the fire spread so quickly. Three people from the company responsible for the renovations have been arrested on suspected manslaughter charges. For NPR News, I'm Sheree Fam in Hong Kong. Stocks across Asia posted gains today. Wall Street is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Trading resumes on the exchange tomorrow. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Northwest is one of the leaders in potato production in the United States.

Northwest Public Broadcastings Anna King reports on what it takes to grow Columbia Basin Spuds. Jordan and Mia Reed are potato growers in Pasco, Washington. They mainly grow potatoes for fast food French fries. Their crops become frozen fries. nearly 24 hours after they come out of the earth. Here's Jordan Reed. And I don't think the average consumer realizes that there's a difference between all the varieties and how much time and research that the growing community has put back into getting that

perfect box of french fries. Reed says the potato varieties he and most Washington growers raise are very different from those on your Thanksgiving table. The modern fry potatoes have higher solid confidence. content than potatoes used for mashers. For NPR News, I'm Anna King. A federal court has cleared North Carolina to use a new congressional map that's expected to give Republicans another U.S. House seat. The redrawn lines target the state's only swing district. A three-judge panel denied request to block the map after a hearing earlier

this month. North Carolina is one of several states where President Trump has pushed for mid-decade map changes ahead of the 2026 elections. It's not clear at the plaintiffs in the case, including the NAACP, plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. I'm Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.