NPR News: 11-16-2025 1AM EST

Speaker 1 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.
Details at capital1.com.

Speaker 2 Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, will arrive in the Northern Caribbean on Sunday.
That's according to a U.S. military official.

Speaker 2 The arrival takes place as tensions with Venezuela grow. Empires Laura Sullivan has more.

Speaker 3 The USS Gerald Ford will be joining some 15,000 soldiers and sailors already in the region. A U.S.
military official told NPR the U.S.

Speaker 3 is gearing up for possible military action, saying, quote, the table is being set.

Speaker 3 High-level meetings with members of Congress and foreign leaders are continuing, along with ongoing military exercises.

Speaker 3 It remains unclear, however, if President Trump will use military force against the country. The U.S.
has conducted multiple strikes on boats in the region.

Speaker 3 President Trump has also repeatedly called on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to resign.

Speaker 3 Officials told NPR the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford could be just another pressure tactic on Maduro, who has put his own forces on high alert. Laura Sullivan, NPR News.

Speaker 2 A major corruption investigation is underway in Ukraine.

Speaker 2 Independent corruption agencies say associates close to President Vlodymir Zelensky plotted to skim around $1 million from the country's energy sector.

Speaker 2 That should be $100 million from the country's energy sector. And Pierre's Geronica Kisses explained.

Speaker 4 This probe is extensive. It took 15 months, used about 1,000 hours of wiretaps.
There were seven alleged participants, including Timmer Mindich. He's a close business associate of Zelensky's.

Speaker 4 Investigators say this group manipulated contracts at Enerho Adam, which is Ukraine's state nuclear energy company, and they got kickbacks laundering roughly $100 million.

Speaker 4 The scandal has forced the resignation of two ministers in Zelensky's government so far, but Zelensky has not been implicated in this probe, and he is calling for the prosecution of those accused of committing crimes.

Speaker 2 NPR's Joanna Kakissis with that report. The season's first heavy rainfall is pounding Gaza this weekend.
It's flooding tents and hampering recovery after two years of war.

Speaker 2 With winter approaching, the United Nations says the needs of refugees are immense. NPR's Lauren Freyer has this report.

Speaker 5 Wind and rain are hampering efforts to stay warm and dry in places like Al-Muwasi, where up to half a million displaced Palestinians are staying, mostly in temporary tents.

Speaker 5 A spokesperson for Gaza's civil defense agency, Mahmoud Basal, says rain has inundated those makeshift shelters.

Speaker 5 In a statement, Hamas decried what it called Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

Speaker 5 Israel says it opened a border crossing this week into northern Gaza, where the UN declared a famine last summer.

Speaker 5 The UN now says, quote, full and sustained opening of existing and additional crossings is required, and that the transport of aid within Gaza remains limited and highly congested.

Speaker 5 Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Speaker 2 And you're listening to NPR News.

Speaker 2 Colombia's human rights ombudswoman says seven children were killed earlier this week in a controversial airstrike against a rebel camp. The attack occurred in the country's southern region.

Speaker 2 The revelation comes as the government steps up its efforts to regain control of rural areas. The strike was aimed at the FARC EMC rebel group.

Speaker 2 The Trump administration has requested that a former Colorado election clerk serve time in a state prison to be moved to a federal prison while she appeals her state conviction.

Speaker 2 From Colorado Public Radio, Bensa Berkeland reports.

Speaker 5 Tina Peters is serving a nine-year sentence for helping an unauthorized person access her county's voting machines in 2021.

Speaker 5 Many prominent Republicans, including President Trump, have alleged she's a political prisoner. Trump cannot pardon Peters because it's a state conviction.

Speaker 5 Her lead attorney, Peter Ticton, says she's at risk in the state prison.

Speaker 6 For somebody who's perhaps a little more genteel, a little bit more educated, a little bit more established, it puts her in a more difficult position. For sure,

Speaker 6 she's been threatened.

Speaker 5 The Colorado Department of Corrections did not say whether she's faced threats, but said it's received the request and will review it. For NPR News, News, I'm Benta Birkland.

Speaker 2 Michaela Schifrin opened the Olympic slalom season in convincing style Saturday. She dominated the World Cup race in Finnish Lapland for her record-extending 102nd career win.

Speaker 2 The American built on her first run of more than a second to beat second-place Laura Coultrie by 1.66 seconds. German's Emma Etcher placed third.
I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.

Speaker 1 Support for NPR and the following message come from Indeed. Hiring, do it the right way with Indeed's sponsored jobs.

Speaker 1 Claim a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com/slash NPR. Terms and conditions apply.