NPR News: 11-20-2025 5PM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. In social media posts today, President Trump suggested some Democratic veterans in Congress be put to death for a video they released urging active military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The White House has now clarified that Trump does not want those members executed. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more.
What controversial statement did President Trump make regarding Democratic veterans?
One of Trump's posts read, At the White House press briefing, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt denied he was calling for executions. but did not clarify what the president meant by that post. Levitt also twice said the video told service members to defy lawful orders. When a reporter corrected her, Levitt responded. They're suggesting that the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. In the video, the Congress members do not single out any military orders, instead saying that the Trump administration has, quote, pitted our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.
Ukraine's government says it has received a proposal by the Trump administration that would end Russia's war in Ukraine by meeting Russia's demands. NPR's Joanna Kikisis reports Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky says he hopes to discuss the proposal with President Trump in the coming days.
News media say the proposal, drafted by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, would amount to a capitulation by Ukraine if adopted. Media reports say the plan includes demands that Ukraine surrender territory, cut its military, give up some weapons... and drop its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. These demands give Russia far more than was discussed in earlier rounds of negotiations. Writing on social media, Zelensky's office confirmed receiving a, quote, draft plan that, according to the American side, could activate diplomacy, but did not comment on the details of the plan. Joanna Kekisis, NPR News.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a dramatic shift in the agency's position on the relationship between vaccines and autism. NPR's Rob Stein reports.
The CDC's website now says a link between vaccines and autism cannot be ruled out. That's a sharp reversal from the CDC's stance that there is no link. The change comes even though a connection between vaccines and autism has long been debunked by a large body of high-quality research. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long promoted the discredited claim. The CDC's change is alarming public health experts. They are already worried about a drop in childhood vaccination, which has led to a resurgence of dangerous childhood diseases like measles and whooping cough. Rob Stein, NPR News.
Stocks fell after an early surge today. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%. This is NPR News. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to end its deployment of National Guard troops to police the nation's capital. U.S. District Judge Gia Cobb ruled the military takeover of Washington, D.C. violates the Constitution and illegally intrudes on local officials' authority to direct law enforcement in the district. But she put her order on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal. Novelist Rabia Lamadine is this year's winner of the National Book Award for Fiction. NPR's Andrew Limbaugh says the award is one of the most prestigious in American literature and was given out at a ceremony in New York City last night.
During his acceptance speech, Lamadine took the time to thank his agent, his editor, and a few other people, including his psychiatrist, his drug dealers, and... Thank all gastrointestinal doctors.
I guarantee you that I wouldn't have been able to write a single word in the last 10 years without their help. There would have been no movement.
Al-Madin's novel, The True, True Story of Raja the Gullible and His Mother, is a funny and sad novel about a philosophy teacher who lives with his aging mother. In nonfiction, Omar El-Akkad won for his book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, and in poetry, Patricia Smith won for her collection The Intentions of Thunder.
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