NPR News: 11-18-2025 1PM EST
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What is the significance of Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting the White House for the first time since the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. While taking questions from journalists a short time ago, an ABC News reporter asked President Trump if this visit to the White House, that's expected to include announcements of defense, energy and AI deals, is a conflict of interest due to the Trump family's business with Saudi Arabia.
I have nothing to do with the family business. I have left and I've devoted 100% of my energy. What my family does is fine. They do business all over. They've done very little with Saudi Arabia, actually. I'm sure they could do a lot. And anything they've done has been very good. That's what we've done. We've built a tremendous business for a long time. I've been very successful. I decided to leave that success behind and make America very successful.
The same reporter asked the Crown Prince his thoughts after U.S.
How does President Trump respond to questions about his family's business ties with Saudi Arabia?
intelligence concluded he had approved Khashoggi's murder in 2018.
It's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We've done all the right steps of... investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia. And we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful and it's a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again.
Prince Mohammed has denied involvement in Khashoggi's killing. President Trump railed against the reporter for the question, describing it as disrespectful to his guest. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking network spoke out on Capitol Hill today with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports this comes as the U.S. House is on track to take up a bill today to force the release of government files tied to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
Survivor after survivor told harrowing stories of the abuse they suffered, and many asked President Trump to stop injecting politics into their fight. Jenna Lisa Jones said pushing for the release of the Epstein files has been distressing, as Trump has gone back and forth on supporting it.
I voted for you, but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment.
Trump had fought the House vote to release the records, but reversed course this past weekend to say Republicans should vote for it. Now the GOP-led House is on track to approve the plan with near unanimous support, sending it to the Senate. Claudia De Celis, NPR News, the Capitol.
A judge has approved a settlement of thousands of opioid-related lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. And under the agreement, members of the Sackler family who own the company will contribute up to $7 billion over time and give up ownership. The opioid epidemic has been linked to more than 900,000 deaths in the United States since 1999. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 538 points. This is NPR News. The one big beautiful bill passed by Congress included a provision designed to defund Planned Parenthood, done by cutting it out of Medicaid. NPR's Selena Simmons-Stefan reports on the impact on sexual health clinics in Maine where abortion is legal.
Medicaid already does not pay for abortions in Maine or anywhere else in the country. Now, Maine Family Planning's network of 18 clinics cannot bill Medicaid for any services. including fertility treatment, birth control, and more. Vanessa Shields-Haas, the nurse practitioner at the Thomaston Clinic, says half of Maine Family Planning's patients are on Medicaid.
We've been seeing all of those patients for free. We haven't been turning them away.
That has meant a 20 percent cut to Maine Family Planning's annual budget, and three clinics have had to end their primary care services.
Selina Simmons-Duffin reporting. Well, with Thanksgiving around the corner, shoppers are bracing for higher grocery prices. Here's NPR's Lydia Kalitri.
Wholesale turkey prices jumped 40 percent from last year, largely due to outbreaks of bird flu hurting the country's supply.
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