NPR News: 11-19-2025 8PM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. U.S. Border Patrol agents have now arrested more than 250 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration. As Nick DeLaCanal of member station WFAE reports, many immigrant families are on lockdown.
Inside one East Charlotte apartment.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
A 14-year-old girl, Paloma, filmed herself hiding with family after spotting Border Patrol agents outside. NPR isn't using her full name because members of her family are undocumented.
My aunt called me and she was like, it's ice here. Tell your dad because my dad is immigrant. So I was very scared. So I ran downstairs and I closed the door. Then I went to my mom's room.
Her dad isn't working this week, and her brother isn't going to school. Officials say 44 people detained in Charlotte have criminal backgrounds. Two are suspected gang members. Others have no criminal history. For NPR News, I'm Nick Delacanel in Charlotte.
Former FBI Director James Comey was back in federal court today to challenge the Justice Department's case against him. Prosecutors are facing new questions about the grand jury process that led to Comey's indictment on false statements and obstruction charges. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
At a hearing in federal court in Virginia, prosecutors acknowledged under questioning from the judge that the full grand jury never reviewed a final copy of the two-count indictment against Comey. The former FBI director's attorney, Michael Dreeben, jumped on that irregularity to argue that that means there is no indictment and the case should be dismissed, an argument the government pushed back on. Much of the hearing focused on a separate legal challenge Comey has filed, arguing that this is a vindictive prosecution fueled by President Trump's animus for Comey, who is a sharp critic of the president. The judge did not issue a ruling on what he called weighty and complex issues. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Food banks and pantries around the nation say they're still experiencing increased demand for food, even though food assistance has been restored since the government's shutdown. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.
Food banks have already seen significant cuts in federal funds that help them buy local food. Now they're bracing for federal SNAP spending to shrink by billions more as new laws begin to take effect. Factor in the holidays and changes to other safety net programs like Medicaid and health insurance subsidies, and food bank executives like Eric Cooper of the San Antonio Food Bank are worried.
I'm not sleeping, but, you know, naively, maybe I hope that the demand will lessen. But I'm still sending out more than what's coming in.
Trump administration officials are downplaying any negative impact of snap cuts, saying they're cracking down on, quote, proven cases of waste, fraud and abuse. Tovia Smith, NPR News.
U.S. stocks made slight gains today. This is NPR News from Washington. The UN General Assembly is urging all nations to observe a truce during the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy. It says a halt to fighting during one of the world's premier sporting events can be a tool to promote peace, dialogue, tolerance, and reconciliation. Many countries in the past have refused to heed the appeal. The Trump administration is proposing to significantly limit protections for wildlife under the Endangered Species Act. NPR's Nate Rott reports that changes are likely to be challenged later.
The rule changes announced by the Trump administration are similar to ones put in place during Trump's first term. And the goal, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement, is to restore the Endangered Species Act to its original intent by protecting species and respecting the livelihoods of Americans who depend on land and natural resources. Wildlife groups say the proposed changes to threaten species protections, to habitat protections, and a proposed cost-benefit analysis of listing a species will harm the country's already at-risk plants and animals and are just another giveaway to fossil fuel companies and other extractive industries.
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