NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-27-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump has ordered another 500 National Guard troops to deploy to Washington, D.C. NPR's Kat-Lonsdorf reports the move follows yesterday's shooting of two guard members near the White House. 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 troops. 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, Empire News. More than 20 million Americans. get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, they now have just three weeks to sign up for coverage for 2026, and this open enrollment window is often financially stressful. Premiums could spike next month when federal subsidies expire unless Congress votes to extend them. President Trump said this week that renewing those subsidies may be necessary. Dan Diamond is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. This is a conservative hobby horse, the idea that

If you give people more control over their health spending, there will be less health spending and more accountability. But we know from in the past, these are not sufficient replacements for health insurance. And you don't have to take the word of a Washington Post reporter. We talked to Doug Holts-Aken, who is an economist who advised John McCain's campaign. He says giving people money just doesn't work the same way that health insurance would. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post reporting. For some families, the holiday. may be harder to afford this year. MPR's Tovia Smith reports increase food and travel costs

and cuts in government assistance could mean changes in some holiday traditions. To many, this Thanksgiving will include a little less of what the holiday is usually all about, family and food. Rosetta Savannah from Queens, New York is one of many who saw their snap federal food assistance disrupted during the government shutdown. She's still waiting for half the payments she missed. So Thanksgiving dinner, she says, will be lighter than usual. We're doing mostly like chicken because chicken is cheaper. I usually bake cakes and pies.

I'm not doing that this year. Others say they'll be celebrating without family members who usually come for the holiday but are staying home this year. As one put it, it's not just the cost of travel, but also that she needs the income from working an extra shift. Tovia Smith and Pier News. This is NPR News in Washington. A U.S. Russian crew is on a mission to the International Space Station following a successful launch. The rocket lifted off today from Kazakhstan. NPR's Nell Greenfield Voice reports they've arrived in time for a festive holiday meal.

Thanksgiving in space has long meant pouches of freeze-dried, irradiated, and thermostabilized foods, everything from smoked turkey to yams. But this fall on a resupply mission, NASA workers sent up some extra treats. In a video, astronaut Zena Cardman showed off a bag full of packaged items like crab meat and salmon. We've even got some lobster, which is amazing. So I think it's going to be a really, really delicious meal. And I can't wait to share it with everyone, including our new crewmates. NASA says that Thanksgiving is an off-duty day for the crew so they can relax and talk with family members on the ground.

Nell Greenfield, Boyce, NPR News. 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. The 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 push for mid-decade map changes ahead of the 2026 midterms. It's not clear if the plaintiffs in the case, including the NACP, plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is NPR News.