NPR News: 11-18-2025 10AM EST

Summary

NPR News Now – November 18, 2025, 10AM EST

Host: Korva Coleman
Episode Theme: This 5-minute newscast delivers breaking stories and developments on Capitol Hill, federal labor rights, Planned Parenthood funding, tech outages, legal news, and scientific discovery.

---

Key News Stories and Discussion Points

1. Epstein Victims Demand Transparency on Capitol Hill

[00:11 – 01:01]

• Several women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse gathered in Washington, D.C., pressing for the release of all Justice Department files linked to Epstein.
• A House bill requiring the DOJ to release these files is up for a vote.
• President Trump initially opposed but now supports the bill, encouraging Republicans to back it.
• Notable quote:

  “If you want to add some additional protections for these survivors, go for it. But if you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people and you are not part of this effort. Do not muck it up.”
  — Congressman Thomas Massie, [00:48]

• The women are also forming a group in the Senate to further protect women and children from abuse.

---

2. House Set to Vote on Federal Workers’ Collective Bargaining Rights

[01:01 – 02:05]

• A bipartisan bill seeks to restore collective bargaining rights to approximately one million federal workers, rights that were removed by a Trump executive order citing national security.
• The “Protect America’s Workforce Act,” introduced by Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), would nullify the executive order.
• The bill gained enough support for a forced vote after two Republicans joined a discharge petition.
• Notable quote:

  “Every American deserves the right to have a voice in the workplace.”
  — Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), cited by Andrea Hsu, [01:41]

• Despite lawsuits, some agencies have already canceled or ignored bargaining agreements.

---

3. Congressional Bill Cuts Planned Parenthood from Medicaid

[02:05 – 02:50]

• Recent legislation included a provision to defund Planned Parenthood by removing it from Medicaid eligibility.
• This move impacts not only abortion (already not covered by Medicaid) but also other crucial healthcare services at clinics in Maine.
• Notable quote:

  “We've been seeing all of those patients for free.”
  — Vanessa Shields Haas, Thomaston Clinic, as reported by Selena Simmons Duffin, [02:48]

• Half of Maine Family Planning’s patients are on Medicaid, causing a 20% revenue cut and leading to closure of primary care at three clinics.

---

4. Financial and Tech Updates

[03:04 – 03:36]

• The Dow Jones is down over 500 points (more than 1%), NASDAQ down nearly 2%.
• Major services like Spotify and ChatGPT experienced interruptions due to a spike in traffic handled by Cloudflare, which says issues are resolved and systems are being monitored.

---

5. No Prison for Former Alaska Airlines Pilot

[03:36 – 04:00]

• A federal judge declined to sentence former pilot Joseph Emerson to prison after he pleaded guilty to trying to shut down engines mid-flight over Oregon.
• The plane landed safely. Emerson expressed remorse and responsibility.

---

6. Ants’ Surprising Method for Queen Takeover

[04:00 – 04:51]

• New research in Current Biology explains how some female ants infiltrate other colonies, chemically manipulate worker ants to attack their own queen, and then take over.
• Notable quote:

  “The workers unwittingly betray her, attacking her until she's dead. Then the female intruder becomes the new queen and uses the workers to raise her own offspring.”
  — Nell Greenfield Boyce, [04:32]

---

Notable Quotes & Key Moments (with Timestamps)

• “If you want to add some additional protections … do not muck it up.”
  — Congressman Thomas Massie, [00:48]

• “Every American deserves the right to have a voice in the workplace.”
  — Rep. Mike Lawler, via Andrea Hsu, [01:41]

• “We've been seeing all of those patients for free.”
  — Vanessa Shields Haas, [02:48]

• “The workers unwittingly betray her, attacking her until she's dead. Then the female intruder becomes the new queen and uses the workers to raise her own offspring.”
  — Nell Greenfield Boyce, [04:32]

---

Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Broadcast

• Up-to-date overview of major national stories: legislative battles on Capitol Hill, healthcare funding changes, labor rights restoration, cyber disruptions, legal decisions, and scientific discovery.
• Direct, concise quotes from lawmakers and experts frame the urgency and stakes of the issues.
• Science surprise: drama in the ant world echoes themes of power and takeover found in the political realm.

---

Original reporting style and NPR’s measured, factual tone maintained throughout.
Adverts, introductory, and outro content omitted per guidelines.

Transcript

[Capital One Advertiser]

This message comes from Capital One with the Capital One Saver card. Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment Capital One what's in your wallet? Terms apply.

[Korva Coleman]

[e-mail] Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Several women who've accused late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse have gathered on Capitol Hill. They're speaking out ahead of a planned vote by the House that requires that the Justice Department release all files linked to Epstein, the president. Trump had tried to block the measure but did an about face this week. He told Republican lawmakers in the House and the Senate to support it. The effort in the House is co sponsored by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. He says if Republican senators want to change the House bill in any way, they need to focus on releasing the information.

[Congressman Thomas Massie]

If you want to add some additional protections for these survivors, go for it. But if you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people and you are not part of this effort. Do not muck it up.

[Korva Coleman]

In the Senate, the women say they are forming a group to demand action to protect women and children against sexual abuse. The House is set to vote today on a bipartisan bill to restore collective bargaining rights for most federal workers. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports. A majority of House lawmakers signed a petition to force a vote.

[Andrea Hsu]

The bill was first introduced by Democratic Congressman Jared golden of Maine in April after President Trump issued an executive order order terminating collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million federal workers, citing national security concerns. The bill, called the Protect America's Workforce act, would nullify that executive order. On Monday, two Republicans signed on to a discharge petition reaching the necessary threshold to force a vote. One of them, Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, said in a statement, every American deserves the right to have a voice in the workplace. Despite multiple lawsuits challenging Trump's executive order, some federal agencies have already canceled collective bargaining agreements, while others are simply ignoring them. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

The one big beautiful bill passed by Congress included a provision designed to defund Planned Parenthood. This was done by cutting it out of Medicaid. As NPR's Selena Simmons Duffin reports. The law also affects a network of sexual health clinics in Maine where abortion is legal.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

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, sexually transmitted infection treatment, primary care and more. Vanessa Shields Haas, the nurse practitioner at the Thomaston Clinic, says half of Maine Family Planning's patients are on Medicaid.

[Korva Coleman]

We've been seeing all of those patients for free.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

We haven't been turning them away. That has meant a 20% cut to main Family Planning's annual budget, and three clinics have had to end their primary care services. Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Thomaston, Main.

[Korva Coleman]

On Wall street, the Dow is down more than 500 points or down more than 1%. The NASDAQ is down nearly 2%. This is NPR. An infrastructure provider for Internet services says it's resolved problems. Cloudflare reported that it detected an unusual spike in traffic today. The problem led to service interruptions with online platforms such as Spotify, ChatGPT and others. Cloudflare says it's watching now to make sure everything gets back to normal. A federal judge has decided not to sentence a former Alaska Airlines pilot to prison. Joseph Emerson had pleaded guilty to trying to turn off the engines of a passenger jet in flight over Oregon. The plane landed safely. Emerson says he wanted to take responsibility for his actions. There's new research into ant colonies and why some ants can kill their queen. NPR's Nell Greenfield Boyce explains it's hard.

[Nell Greenfield Boyce]

For a young would be queen ant to strike out on her own and try to establish a brand new colony. So some ant species have evolved a way for female ants to basically take over existing colonies of another species. In the journal Current Biology, researchers in Japan describe how a female ant will sneak into a colony, creep up to its queen and spray a chemical onto her. This chemical has a dramatic effect. It makes the colony's worker ants suddenly turn on their queen, who is also their mother. The workers unwittingly betray her, attacking her until she's dead. Then the female intruder becomes the new queen and uses the workers to raise her own offspring. Nell Greenfield Boyce, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

You're listening to npr.

[Carvana Advertiser]

This message comes from Carvana. Selling doesn't need to be stressful. With Carvana, it's quick, easy and all online. Enter your license plate, get a real offer and get paid. Visit Carvana.com to sell your car today.