7pm ET, November 12 | The latest headlines from NPR

Summary of 7pm ET, November 12 | The latest headlines from NPR

by NPR

4m•November 13, 2026
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NPR’s November 12 hourly headlines cover a proposed $350 billion defense package, record deportations, new Starlink-related restrictions affecting Ukraine, an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital, and updates on prostate cancer screening and kindergarten readiness.

U.S. Politics and Immigration

  • President Trump urged Senate Republicans to pursue a $350 billion defense spending package. Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans were weighing whether to use the expedited reconciliation process to advance a partisan spending plan during the lame-duck session.
  • ICE reported deporting 483,200 people in the fiscal year that ended September 30, a record for the agency and 9% above its previous high.

Ukraine and Gaza

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said new speed restrictions on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, are disrupting Ukrainian operations across the front line and making it harder to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. He described the limits as systematic and said they were contributing to Ukrainian casualties.
  • Gaza’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital’s surgical wing, killing six people, including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy. Israel’s military said it was targeting a Hamas commander and other militants; the commander it named was not among the dead.

Health and Education

  • The American Cancer Society recommended that men at average risk of prostate cancer get a PSA blood test every two years from ages 50 to 69.
  • A Government Accountability Office review of five states found that fewer than half of children were ready for kindergarten. Readiness was more common among white and Asian students, children in lower-poverty areas, and students in districts with more preschool attendance.

Markets and Culture

  • The S&P 500 and Dow each fell by more than a quarter of a percent.
  • Darth Vader’s lightsaber props from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold for nearly $5 million, setting a reported auction record for a Star Wars collectible.