NPR News: 11-21-2025 4AM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens.
What recent controversy is President Trump involved in?
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt is responding to outrage over President Trump's social media posts accusing some Democrats of sedition. At Thursday's daily briefing, Leavitt was asked if Trump is calling for the execution of lawmakers.
No. Let's be clear about what the president is responding to, because many in this room want to talk about the president's response, but not what brought the president to responding in this way.
Trump's response came after Democrats posted a video reminding military service members that they can and must refuse illegal commands. In North Carolina, Charlotte's mayor and local police say federal agents are leaving the city after a week of immigration sweeps. But Homeland Security has not confirmed the departure, as WFAE's Eli Portillo reports.
Mayor Villal said in a statement Thursday it appears Border Patrol's operation has ended. The County Sheriff and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confirmed agents are leaving. Masked agents driving unmarked SUVs arrested more than 370 people against the wishes of Charlotte's leaders. Border Patrol has said it was focusing on those in the country illegally, but has not offered detailed charges against them and has only named a handful of those detained. Federal officials have not answered questions about where they've taken them. For NPR News, I'm Eli Portillo in Charlotte.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is giving new instructions on how U.S. embassies should write annual human rights reports. The changes will downplay the rights of minority groups and focus more on what the Trump administration sees as infringements on free speech in Europe. More from NPR's Michelle Kellerman.
Rubio's State Department rewrote the Biden administration's country reports on human rights, and now embassies have been given instructions on how to keep this year's report brief and focused. A senior State Department official says the department will focus on what the administration describes as natural rights of individuals, rather than on marginalized groups. The new instructions encourage embassies to write about affirmative action policies, which the Trump administration opposes, as well as abortion. Rather than focusing on trans rights, the State Department will report on what it calls the chemical or surgical mutilation of children in operations that attempt to modify their sex. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.
The House has voted to repeal a provision of the funding bill that ended the government shutdown. At issue is a provision that would award a handful of Republican Senators and allow them to collect at least a million dollars each from taxpayers if their electronic data is subpoenaed without proper notice. GOP phone records were seized during the Biden-era probe by former special counsel Jack Smith in two efforts to overturn the 2020 election. It is unclear whether or not the repeal effort will get through the Senate. This is NPR. New York Congresswoman Nadia Velasquez says she will not seek re-election next year. 72-year-old Velasquez is the second veteran New York Democrat to announce retirement after the current term expires.
She has served parts of Brooklyn and Queens since 1993. Walmart is praising its profit forecast for the year, noting that price-sensitive shoppers are searching for value. NPR's Alina Selyuk has more.
Walmart has drawn more higher-income shoppers over the past year and continued to do so in the latest quarter. Executives say they're seeing lower-income shoppers pull back a bit more, while middle-income spending is steady. Overall, Walmart sales grew 4.5% between August and October, with the holiday season described as off to a strong start. Executives say the company has had to raise some prices because of tariffs, especially on electronics, but generally the impact has been less than many expected. Walmart also announced it's moving its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq to reflect its growing digital operations.
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