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- Reporter's Notebook: Living and reporting from Minneapolis in crisis: 2026 Jan 27

- Trump to hold de facto midterm kickoff in Iowa focused on the economy, energy prices: 2026 Jan 27

- Meta, TikTok and YouTube are on trial over whether their apps hurt children: 2026 Jan 27

- Minneapolis killings put a focus on use of body cameras: 2026 Jan 27

- Border Patrol has a history of excessive force. Critics say they're out of their depth: 2026 Jan 26

- A year after the DCA midair collision, families of those killed push for changes: 2026 Jan 26

MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS AND PROTESTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Reporter's Notebook: Living and reporting from Minneapolis in crisis

By Meg Anderson

Last Thursday, I sat idling in my car, waiting for a photographer colleague to finish an assignment. An SUV pulled up in front of me. A middle-aged white woman, with a no-nonsense haircut, dressed in a puffy coat and big sunglasses, opened the car door. She leaned out of the driver's seat and stared at me for a while. I realized she was trying to decide if I was an ICE officer.

I took the large press badge sitting on my dashboard and raised it for her to see. She waved and got back inside her car. A moment later, a woman who looked Latina stepped out of the passenger side, and walked to the house across the street.

I saw my first ICE vehicle in Minneapolis at the very start of the new year. It passed in front of the car I was in with my husband, and entered an alley a few blocks from my home, the slogan Defend The Homeland written on its side. Later, the vehicles would rarely be marked.

I ate arepas that night with friends at a restaurant where, a month earlier, immigration agents without a signed judicial warrant were turned away. The restaurant's owner was praised for knowing her rights as a business owner.

Over the course of the last three weeks, I have had the experience of being a member of this community while also reporting on it, alongside local reporters: Minnesota Public Radio, Sahan Journal, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Minnesota Reformer, and others.

I cover criminal justice nationally for NPR, and I live in Minneapolis. For the last year, I have been reporting occasionally on the massive immigration enforcement campaign across the country, sticking mostly to the moments it intersected clearly with my beat. Late last year, for instance, I reported a story on shuttered prisons — almost all owned by private prison companies — reopening as immigration detention centers across a dozen states. But in early December, the Trump administration announced a surge in immigration enforcement in my city.

On Jan. 7, news began to circulate that an ICE agent had shot a woman a short drive from my house. I quickly interviewed two witnesses by phone. One told me she watched as Renee Good received conflicting orders from multiple officers before she tried to leave. Another said she saw people eventually pull Good from her car and carry her by her limbs to a snowbank. "She had red on her," the witness told me.

When I arrived at the intersection a few hours after the shooting, I was surprised to see Good's car was still there, smashed into another vehicle, a bullet hole clearly visible through the windshield. A protester showed me a photo on his phone of a bright splash of blood on the white snow. You could feel the weight of the crowd's growing anger, like ice cracking underneath a boot.

The next Saturday, observers stopped a group of ICE agents outside my home. I filmed from my front porch, as one observer yelled, "murderer, murderer, murderer." He asked if the agents would shoot him too. In the video, my dog Leo whimpers at the sound of whistles.

Five days after Good was shot, I arrived at a volatile scene a few blocks from where she was killed. Immigration officers had rear-ended a man's car. The driver and his wife, both U.S. citizens, told me and my colleague, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, that they were on their way to a mechanic. The man said he made eye contact with the immigration agents. Then, he said, they started chasing him, rammed into his vehicle, and asked about his immigration status.

A crowd formed. First, more protesters. Then, more immigration agents. Honking. Whistling. Yelling. Eventually, tear gas. I was standing pretty far back, but close enough for it to burn my eyes and throat. I drove the five minutes to my home. I took a shower and washed residue off my glasses. I wrote a story about what I had seen. My husband and I made miso salmon (very good, by the way) and watched the new Naked Gun (very funny, by the way).

A few days later, I described the day – the juxtaposition of the very normal and the very not normal – to my colleague Kat Lonsdorf, who has covered the war in Ukraine. She told me that sounded like Kyiv to her. Some days, you're interviewing people about the horrors they've seen. Other days, you're eating arepas at a restaurant. Life more or less continues, until it doesn't.

Many of my own national colleagues are here now, reporting on the city. Kat traced the throughline of neighborhood support all the way from the 2020 murder of George Floyd to the present moment. Jasmine Garsd told the story of a 12-year-old girl who got her first period while afraid to leave her home, and the network of volunteers who worked together to provide her with her first menstrual pad.

My own experience has been one of blurred lines between the professional and the personal. When my colleagues arrived from Texas and Washington and New York, I wanted to tell them about all the great things in Minneapolis: Here are the restaurants I love. Here are the parks and museums. I love this place. Please love it too.

The lives of nearly everyone I know have been disrupted: They're raising money to cover rent, medical bills and legal fees for immigrant families, buying and delivering groceries to people afraid to leave their homes, organizing and giving rides to people afraid to go out alone, standing guard outside schools, daycares and immigrant-owned businesses, adding whistles to their key chains. One family told a friend that, in their native country, they had helped neighbors during COVID when they didn't have food. They never imagined they would be in a place of needing the same.

As I drove around the city, interviewing parents patrolling outside of schools and watching as observers whistled at immigration officers, I wondered if those officers were making note of my license plate when I showed up to report on their actions.

My dog still demanded his daily walks. Our neighborhood is filled with dog treat bins set on stoops and outside stores, and he knows where every single one is within a mile radius. Every walk is a negotiation for which we will visit. Now, many stores are keeping their doors locked. Outside the door of our local butcher shop, he sat looking up at me, wondering why he couldn't get a treat anymore.

I filed a news spot on a press conference where state officials said the FBI took over the investigation of Good's killing, and state authorities no longer had access to evidence in the case.

A friend who lives in the suburbs called to say immigration officers blocked her car and approached her vehicle from both sides. They told her they were "out doing checks" and she was free to go. It left her feeling terrified.

Another friend, a pediatrician who has known my husband since high school, told me about a fifth grader he saw, who is now anxiously picking his skin until it bleeds.

I wrote a story explaining the Insurrection Act, which President Trump has threatened to invoke. It would give him sweeping powers to deploy the military here without the state's consent.

A friend who works for a local labor union texted me to say several of their members were detained. They're good people, he said. But my journalist brain is now calibrated differently: Were the officers violent? Is being detained by federal authorities enough to make the news?

My husband and I have seven nieces and nephews in the Twin Cities. For their birthdays, our tradition is to take them somewhere fun. We took our 9-year-old nephew to an indoor mini golf place, which was surprisingly crowded. I gave him my phone to see the photo of himself posing after his hole-in-one. He scrolled backward, and saw a photo I had taken while interviewing people at a protest — a person holding a sign that said "F*** ICE." That's a bad word, he said. Yes, I told him, people are upset and sad. I didn't tell him they are also afraid.

I interviewed a woman and her 8-year-old daughter inside their apartment, with the blinds drawn. They haven't been outside in a month.

My best friend, a woman I lived with in my early 20s, told me about an exchange with a Native American man she knows who works at a nearby shop: He told her he now carries his federal tribal license around. My friend, an Asian woman, flashed her passport. They agreed to look out for one another.

On Friday, my colleagues went to cover a protest and sent me quotes from people there, for a story on the rally's massive turnout in downtown Minneapolis, despite the subzero temperatures.

On Saturday, I was putting on my winter coat to head to the gym, when a text came from a friend: They shot another person outside Glam Doll Donuts.

Then a barrage of other texts:

Everyone doing ok?

Do you need help?

When will this end?

I love you.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688943

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POLITICS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Trump to hold de facto midterm kickoff in Iowa focused on the economy, energy prices

By Stephen Fowler

President Trump will hold a rally in Iowa on Tuesday to preview the administration's campaign message ahead of the midterm elections. It comes as polls show that voters are unhappy with many elements of his messaging so far.

Tuesday's speech in Clive, Iowa, is expected to focus on energy and the economy — two areas where Trump's policy changes in the last year have negatively impacted the state.

Trump was last in Iowa on the eve of July 4, 2025, where he kicked off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th birthday and touted Congress' passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which enacted sweeping cuts to taxes and social safety net programs.

As the tax season starts, voters will begin to see the impact of the law's signature policies, like no tax on tips and overtime and an expanded child tax credit. Later this week, the Treasury Department will hold a summit to release more details about the "Trump Accounts" created by the law, which will be seeded with a $1,000 government contribution for babies born between 2025 and 2028 and which will serve as investment accounts for newborns.

Much has changed in those six months, though, as polling data suggests the American public has soured on the Trump administration's overhaul of the country's foreign and domestic agenda. That includes an aggressive immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota where federal agents shot and killed two people in two different incidents this month.

Last week, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that his message for Iowa was "straight to the farmers," touting the billions of dollars the administration made available as bridge payments to farmers negatively affected by the president's tariff policies.

"You know, the farmers like Trump, and I like the farmers," Trump said. "The farmers have been very special to me. Very successful."

The speech also comes as farming industry groups have expressed frustration that the Republican-led House failed to include a measure allowing higher-ethanol E15 fuel to be sold year-round in its spending plan that passed last week.

Ahead of Friday's deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, Senate Democrats say they will not vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security without additional guardrails for immigration enforcement after the latest shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration agents.

Trump's visit to Iowa also highlights the political gravity that Republicans must overcome in an environment where voters are already primed to express displeasure with the party in power. The president earned 55% of the vote statewide in 2024 and Democrats hold only one statewide office, but that Democrat, auditor Rob Sand, has drastically outraised his opponents in the race for governor.

Control of Congress could hinge on Iowa, too: Three of its four House districts could be competitive, and national Democrats see the retirement of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst as an opportunity as Trump's popularity continues to plummet.

Recent surveys of Trump's approval rating find the president struggling with key demographics that swung toward Republicans in 2024 and also losing support on issues like immigration and the economy. At the state level, Iowa often gives Trump a lower approval rating than any other Republican-led state.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688705

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TECHNOLOGY | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Meta, TikTok and YouTube are on trial over whether their apps hurt children

By Shannon Bond

Heard on Morning Edition

Social media apps have long been accused of being harmful to children. Now those claims will come before a jury for the first time in a trial kicking off Tuesday in a Los Angeles courtroom.

A key question will be whether tech companies deliberately built their platforms to hook young users, contributing to a youth mental health crisis. The jury's decision could have big consequences for the tech industry and how children use social media.

The case in California state court is the first of a wave of lawsuits headed for trial this year that have been brought against social media companies by more than 1,000 individual plaintiffs, hundreds of school districts and dozens of state attorneys general. It's drawing comparisons to the legal campaign against Big Tobacco in the 1990s, which accused cigarette makers of covering up what they knew about the harms of their products.

The suits accuse Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok of engineering features that make their apps nearly impossible for kids to put down, like infinite scroll, auto-play videos, frequent notifications and recommendation algorithms, leading in some cases to depression, eating disorders, self-harm and even suicide. (Snapchat is also named as a defendant in these lawsuits, but it settled with the plaintiff in the case going to trial on Tuesday.)

The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages as well as changes to the way social media apps are designed.

The trial starting on Tuesday in LA will give a rare look inside how the most popular and powerful social media platforms operate. Jurors will be presented with thousands of pages of internal documents, including research on children conducted by the companies; expert witnesses; and the testimony of the teenage plaintiff, identified as K.G.M., who says her excessive use of social media led to mental health problems.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Instagram and Facebook owner Meta, and Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, are also set to take the stand in the trial, which is expected to last several weeks.

"The public is going to know for the first time what social media companies have done to prioritize their profits over the safety of our kids," said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, who represents K.G.M. and other plaintiffs.

The tech companies argue that there's no clinical diagnosis of addiction to social media and that no direct link between using social media and mental health problems has been proved. They say they've rolled out safety features for kids in recent years, including parental controls, guardrails on who can contact teen accounts and time limits.

They also cite the First Amendment, saying that just as people's speech is protected from government censorship, the decisions that social media companies make about content are also a type of "protected speech" — an argument the Supreme Court has affirmed.

Both Meta and YouTube parent Google said in statements that the allegations in the lawsuits are baseless.

"These lawsuits misportray our company and the work we do every day to provide young people with safe, valuable experiences online," Meta said in a statement. "Despite the snippets of conversations or cherry-picked quotes that plaintiffs' counsel may use to paint an intentionally misleading picture of the company, we're proud of the progress we've made, we stand by our record of putting teen safety first, and we'll keep making improvements."

"The allegations in these complaints are simply not true," said Google spokesperson José Castañeda. He added that YouTube works with experts to provide "age-appropriate experiences" and "robust" parental controls.

YouTube will also argue that its video platform works differently from apps such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

TikTok declined to comment.

Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who studies internet law, is skeptical of the plaintiffs' argument that the companies should be held liable for the features they've designed.

"Essentially what the plaintiffs are trying to do is argue that social media is the virtual equivalent to a soda bottle, like a Coca-Cola bottle, that explodes and sends shards of glass to anyone in the nearby area," he said. "And if that doesn't make any sense to you, it doesn't make any sense to me either. The entire premise of treating publications as products is itself architecturally flawed."

"A compulsion to engage"

The cases are on two tracks: some in state court and others in federal court. In each, a handful of "bellwether" cases head to trial first. The outcome of those cases could affect how the rest play out and could open the door for wide-ranging settlement talks.

Jury selection in the first bellwether case starts Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The plaintiff K.G.M, now 19 years old, says her use of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok led to depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.

K.G.M. began using social media at age 10, despite her mother's efforts to block her from the apps, according to the complaint. She "developed a compulsion to engage with those products nonstop" as a result of their "addictive design" and "constant notifications."

"The more K.G.M. accessed Defendants' products, the worse her mental health became," the complaint says.

"She is going to be able to explain in a very real sense what social media did to her over the course of her life and how, in so many ways, it robbed her of her childhood and her adolescence," Bergman told reporters at a briefing last week. "She is very typical of so many children in the United States, the harms that they've sustained and the way their lives have been altered by the deliberate design decisions of the social media companies."

Last week, Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, settled with K.G.M., meaning it will not be involved in the first trial. No details about the settlement were publicly released. Still, the company remains a defendant in the other cases in both the state and federal consolidated proceedings.

"The Parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner," Snap said in a statement. The company has previously disputed the allegations in the lawsuits. "Snapchat was designed differently from traditional social media; it opens to the camera, allowing Snapchatters to connect with family and friends in an environment that prioritizes their safety and privacy," its lawyers told Bloomberg News in November.

"The internet is on trial"

It has been an uphill battle for the plaintiffs to bring their claims at all, because online platforms are broadly protected by a controversial legal shield known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

The plaintiffs hope to get around the immunity usually afforded to tech companies by focusing on features they say are designed to keep kids coming back to social media apps rather than on the specific posts or videos that users encounter.

"We are not talking about third-party content. We are talking about the reckless design of these platforms that are designed not to show kids what they want to see, but what they can't look away from," Bergman said.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is overseeing the consolidated state cases, including K.G.M.'s, has struck some plaintiffs' claims on the grounds they were about third-party content and therefore covered by Section 230. But she said the question of whether features like infinite scrolling could contribute to harming users is something a jury should decide.

Goldman, the Santa Clara University law professor, said the potential damages should the plaintiffs win pose "an existential threat" to the social media companies and beyond — not just in terms of financial impact but also if tech companies were forced to change how their products work.

"The internet is on trial in these cases," he said. "If the plaintiffs win, the internet will almost certainly look different than it does today. And probably it will be a far less conversational one that we have today."

Google is a financial supporter of NPR.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5684196

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MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS AND PROTESTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Minneapolis killings put a focus on use of body cameras

By Ximena Bustillo

Federal immigration enforcement authorities are facing scrutiny and widespread criticism over their tactics, including the lack of body-worn cameras, following the killing of two U.S. citizens by immigration officers in Minneapolis.

Several factors have led to this: Federal law does not mandate the use of body cameras by the two agencies tasked with leading the efforts to arrest and detain illegal immigrants — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Additionally, there is a shortage of cameras and a de-prioritization of body-camera programs in the second Trump administration.

This month, immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti – in separate incidents, and have since been confronted by large crowds of protesters and legal observers. The administration has defended the actions of the two officers involved in the shootings.

After Pretti's killing Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the VA nurse was committing an "act of terrorism" by "attacking" officers and "brandishing" a weapon. The video evidence and eyewitness accounts that have surfaced so far refute that assertion. There has been no evidence that NPR has verified of Pretti brandishing his handgun at any time during the encounter with federal agents.

"There is body camera footage from multiple angles which investigators are currently reviewing," a DHS official told NPR in a statement Monday. The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, and supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. CBP will also do an internal investigation.

There are about 2,000 immigration officers rotating through Minneapolis for what the administration dubs "Operation Metro Surge." Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates have criticized the rapid deployment of ICE officers and Border Patrol agents, as well as the officers' tactics to control crowds and conduct arrests. Minnesota officials are suing the administration over these tactics. Criticism has also centered on whether officers are or should be using body-worn cameras that can document these incidents.

A shortage of body cams

ICE is struggling in Minneapolis to use body-worn cameras: first, there are none available in the area; second, officers deployed are not properly trained in their use.

In written testimony, Samuel Olson, field office director in St. Paul for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, said that body-worn cameras had not been implemented for ICE officers out of his office.

"To equip every ICE law enforcement personnel operating out of Minnesota with a BWC [body worn camera] device will require approximately 2,000 devices," Olson said, adding that ICE would also need 180 days to ship, install, and test the necessary equipment and train hundreds of law enforcement personnel on proper usage, maintenance, and storage.

Furthermore, there are no body-worn cameras "physically located" at the St. Paul field office and that the agency would have to ship in additional devices, potentially needing more than ICE nationally has.

"At this time, the ERO St. Paul Office is not scheduled or funded for BWC deployment. ICE law enforcement personnel out of the ERO St. Paul Offices are not properly prepared, trained, or equipped for an immediate deployment of BWC use," Olson said.

Customs and Border Protection has a slightly different situation.

According to court filings, body cameras "will be used to record official law enforcement encounters, except when doing so may jeopardize agents and officers or public safety."

"For purposes of Operation Metro Surge, CBP personnel who are equipped with and trained in [body cameras], have been instructed to have their body-worn camera on their person for use in operations," said Kyle Harvick, deputy incident commander with Border Patrol overseeing border patrol operation in Minneapolis during "Operation Metro Surge."

Changing policy on body cameras

In 2021 Congress mandated ICE work with the Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to design a pilot program for body-worn cameras. A 2024 report says the agency expected body cameras to be implemented agency wide by September 2025.

This was a part of a broader Biden administration executive order to expand the use of body cameras to federal law enforcement.

When Trump began his second term in 2025, he rescinded Biden's executive order related to body camera use by federal law enforcement. The office tasked with helping to oversee the ICE pilot program was also depleted.

The use of body cameras has surfaced several times during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. In Chicago, District Judge Sara Ellis issued a temporary restraining order in October ordering federal agents conducting immigration enforcement in her district to activate their body cameras if they have them and unless exempted by agency policy. An appeals panel in the seventh circuit later overturned Ellis' order, which also included broader limits on use of force.

In order to address concerns about the lack of body cameras, lawmakers in the House recently passed a spending bill that would provide DHS with $20 million for cameras for ICE and CBP. But the bill only mandates the money be spent -- it does not mandate the use of the cameras.

After the latest deadly shooting, the broader package is in limbo. Senate Democrats are seemingly more resistant to passing the package, which would fund the entire federal government.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688754

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NATIONAL SECURITY | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:29 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Border Patrol has a history of excessive force. Critics say they're out of their depth

By Martin Kaste

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Staying with Minneapolis, federal officials say they are investigating the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday. The CBP is conducting its own investigation amid a torrent of criticism of the agency's use of force. Experts say immigration officers do not have the policing skills to handle crowds in an urban environment. NPR law enforcement correspondent Martin Kaste reports.

MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: Customs and Border Protection is often referred to as the country's biggest police department. And with more than 45,000 officers, it is bigger than any state or local law enforcement agency. But for Americans who live far from the border, it's still unusual to see CBP in their streets...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: That's not the time. Did you know that?

(CROSSTALK)

KASTE: ...Shoving protesters and observers back and spraying chemical irritants into their faces.

IRENE VEGA: The skills that these federal immigration agents are bringing to these cities are a complete mismatch for what we actually need.

KASTE: Irene Vega is a sociologist at UC Irvine, who studied border officers' attitudes about use of force, interviewing more than 90 of them. She says CBP has a very specific institutional culture.

VEGA: They saw themselves very different, right? They would tell me that they were trained to hike in the desert. You know, they often told me about arresting 10, 15 people who were very compliant.

KASTE: Minnesota officials have demanded that CBP and ICE back away from this kind of policing. Here's Governor Tim Walz on Sunday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TIM WALZ: It's their job to do immigrations and customs enforcement. It's law enforcement's job to do law enforcement in Minnesota.

KASTE: There's concern that these immigration officers, who now outnumber Minneapolis police, are out of their depth in this new environment. For instance, after Pretti was shot, federal officials blamed him for having a gun, angering the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus. The group's chairman, Bryan Strawser, says state law allows concealed carry with a permit, which police say Pretti had.

BRYAN STRAWSER: Federal officers, particularly those that are not based in Minnesota - they should be informed on what our laws are.

KASTE: The federal immigration agencies counter that they're being forced into this crowd control role. Here's CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott on Fox News over the weekend.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FOX NEWS, THE BIG WEEKEND SHOW")

RODNEY SCOTT: The primary training was to go out and arrest suspects, which is already dangerous. This entire environment where the community is encouraged by local leaders to come out and actually prevent you from making a felony arrest - it's a new dynamic. We're trying to evolve to it.

KASTE: Local politicians have encouraged protesters to be peaceful, not to impede officers. This isn't the first time CBP has been under pressure to change. More than a decade ago, outside reviews found a pattern of excessive force, such as officers shooting people for throwing rocks. The agency updated its manual in 2014 to require officers to carry less lethal weapons, such as pepper spray. There are also changes to the training. Retired federal trainer Kawika Lau helped to shape a new approach to teaching deescalation.

KAWIKA LAU: We teach them emotional intelligence, self-regulation, self-awareness because you can't bring calm to any situation if you, yourself, are not calm.

KASTE: But Lau cautions that those techniques are for one-on-one confrontations. When it comes to crowds, he's not sure how prepared CBP is.

LAU: They may have some training and expertise in urban operations and, you know, working in cities, but that's not what that position was designed to do. Therefore, that's not what the training is designed to produce.

KASTE: Earlier today, Governor Walz said on social media that he'd had what he terms a productive call with President Trump, who he says agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota. Veteran police reform expert Chuck Wexler, yesterday, told NPR that if any other police agency had just had officers involved in three shootings in as many weeks, it would pull back and reassess what it's doing. He says he hopes the feds will also consider what he calls a tactical pause in Minnesota. Martin Kaste, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHYGIRL SONG, "HEAVEN")

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5687887

NATIONAL | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:06 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

A year after the DCA midair collision, families of those killed push for changes

By Joel Rose

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

This week marks one year since the midair collision of a military helicopter and a passenger jet near the nation's capital. The crash killed 67 people, making it the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in decades. Now families of the victims are still pushing for improvements to air safety. NPR's Joel Rose reports.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: When Tim Lilley heard about the midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the first thing he did was try to contact his son, Sam.

TIM LILLEY: And so I start texting Sam to, you know, discuss this accident that happened. Of course, he's not answering me.

ROSE: That wasn't unusual. Both Sam and Tim Lilley were professional pilots, and pilots don't text when they're working. But it wasn't long before Tim and his wife, Sheri Lilley, suspected something was very wrong. They knew Sam was a pilot for PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American, so they got his fiance on the phone.

SHERI LILLEY: I think one of us may have said, is he flying into DCA? And she started crying immediately. She knew that something terrible had happened. And she responded, I spoke to him right before he left Wichita. Because we knew that's where the flight originated, that was our confirmation.

ROSE: The midair collision killed 67 people and touched hundreds of lives. Though it's likely that none of the victims' families had quite as much flight experience or understanding of the airspace as the Lilleys. Not only was their son Sam the first officer on American Airlines flight 5342, but Tim Lilley had flown that same helicopter route hundreds of times as an Army helicopter pilot.

T LILLEY: So I kind of became, for the family members, the person they'll come to to ask aviation questions. That kind of gave us an unwritten moral obligation to move forward and try to make sure that no other families ever have to go through this.

ROSE: A year later, the Lilleys and other crash victims' families are still working to prevent another tragedy. The Trump administration has made restrictions on helicopters around the Reagan National Airspace permanent. Families of the victims say they're grateful for that, but they're pushing for even more improvements to aviation safety. And some are supporting a bipartisan bill sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARIA CANTWELL: The families up here with us are reminders that these are real people with real loved ones that are gone.

ROSE: Cantwell and Cruz say their bill, known as the ROTOR Act, would require aircraft operators to equip their fleets with an advanced tracking technology known as ADSB. The bill would close loopholes, Cruz says, that allowed exemptions for military helicopters, including the Black Hawk that was not using its ADSB transponder during a training flight when it collided with the passenger jet.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TED CRUZ: This special carve-out was exactly what caused the January 29 crash that claimed 67 lives.

ROSE: The Senate passed the bill unanimously last month, but it faces an uncertain future in the House of Representatives, partly because of opposition from Sam Graves, a powerful committee chairman from Missouri. In a statement to NPR, Graves said that, quote, "Congress needs to get this right," unquote, and that lawmakers should wait for a final report from federal safety investigators before moving forward. In an interview with Politico, Graves went further, calling the ROTOR Act, quote, "emotional legislation" and citing concerns about the cost for small plane owners. Still, the bill's supporters remain committed, including Sheri Lilley.

S LILLEY: We believe firmly that the objections that are being stated are fairly flimsy.

ROSE: The National Transportation Safety Board will meet tomorrow to say what investigators think caused last year's crash. But Tim Lilley already has some ideas. He believes the helicopter's pilots made several critical mistakes on the night of the crash, including flying above 200 feet, the limit for that route. He thinks they never saw the plane before the collision. Still, Lilley doesn't blame the helicopter's crew. He blames their training, and he wants the Army to do something about it.

T LILLEY: I love Army aviation. I spent 20 years of my life there. This terrible tragedy, there was so much to learn from it. And so I just think that if I could engage with them, you know, we can have that conversation, and we can fix a lot of the problems that led to this accident.

ROSE: The Lilleys say they've reached out to the Army. That conversation hasn't happened yet, but the Lilleys say they intend to keep trying until it does. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5672463

World

- In China, AI is no longer optional for some kids. It's part of the curriculum: 2026 Jan 27

- At least 6,126 people killed in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests, activists say: 2026 Jan 27

- NATO chief wishes 'good luck' to those who think Europe can defend itself without US help: 2026 Jan 27

- Ukrainians are sharing hacks online on how to survive winter power cuts: 2026 Jan 26

- Israel finds the last hostage body in Gaza, paving the way for next steps in Trump plan: 2026 Jan 26

- France could become second country to ban social media for some teens: 2026 Jan 26

- China's top generals under investigation as country's leader clears out ranks: 2026 Jan 26

BUSINESS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

In China, AI is no longer optional for some kids. It's part of the curriculum

By John Ruwitch

In an elementary school classroom in Beijing's university district, 11-year-old Li Zichen was demonstrating a small robot. It's a remote-controlled vehicle that lifts and moves blocks and that can be programmed using artificial intelligence. It's a small project, but it got him thinking big — about the rovers that China sent to Mars and the Moon.

"If a rover comes across a crater in front of it, for instance, it can't decide what to do after communicating with Earth," he says, because sending signals across space takes too long. "It must decide on its own. So I think AI is very important for the nation's deep space exploration."

Meanwhile, Li's classmate, Song Haoyue, has used artificial intelligence as a graphic design tool to help her make a poster for a competition.

"I used Wukong, an AI image software, to create drawings," she said. She had it render a poster about a mythical bird that tries to fill in the ocean, one pebble at a time — a parable about perseverance.

Debate about artificial intelligence in U.S. schools has simmered for years, with some highlighting the risks of AI in schools — like it stunting cognitive or social development — and others concerned about it exacerbating a growing digital divide.

In China, the authorities have taken a stand.

Wang Le, Zichen and Haoyue's computer skills teacher at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Affiliated Primary School, a public school, said that the Ministry of Education has enacted a new framework. "They require integrating AI courses into the information technology curriculum," she said.

Starting in the fall, every student in elementary and middle school in Beijing, and several other districts, began learning about AI. Third graders learn the basics. Fourth graders focus on data and coding. By fifth grade, students are learning about "intelligent agents" and algorithms.

It's about preparing kids for life ahead, Wang said. And another thing: "It's about enhancing the country's competitiveness by securing a future pool of skilled professionals."

"Keji xingguo," she said. It's a political slogan that means: "Build a strong nation through science and technology."

This slogan encapsulates perhaps the ruling Communist Party's biggest dream: creating a country that is technologically advanced and self-sufficient. AI has been labeled essential for national security and economic competitiveness. The government aims for China to become a global leader in AI within the next four years.

But while the state's main goal with the AI-in-schools policy is to develop a pool of talent, the parents of the kids — like all parents — are thinking about their children's futures.

In a tiny, sixth floor walk-up apartment, Li Yutian, Zichen's father, expressed full-throated support of his child's interest in robotics and computers. He says he recently took his son to a Xiaomi factory to see what automation looks like in practice. Xiaomi makes some of China's best-selling cellphones, gadgets and cars.

The two talked on the way home, with the father telling his son Zichen he would need to find work that AI cannot do and differentiate himself to survive. "I said, 'In the future, if you want mechanical-type work you might, for example, do things like maintenance on robots, or program them and guide them, rather than competing with them,'" he recalled.

Around dinner tables in China, there is debate about some of the same issues Americans are grappling with as kids increasingly use AI: issues like becoming over-reliant on the technology, and stunting their problem-solving skills. Li Yutian thinks China's tough internet restrictions will help stave off some of the worst risks of AI — like kids getting exposed to violent content.

But sheltering children from this technology is not the way to go, he thinks. "I've always believed that not embracing it may be the greatest risk of all," he said.

Song Zefeng, the father of the girl who made the poster with AI, agrees — for the most part.

"It depends on the level," he said. "For fifth and sixth grades, at elementary school level, over-exposure is not appropriate."

Kids this age shouldn't be online much anyway, he said. But Song thinks having AI be a mandatory part of the curriculum is a smart move.

"The development of AI itself is quite certain, but the biggest uncertainty lies in what society will actually look like in the future," he said.

He thinks if his daughter can be inspired by what she's learning in class, maybe she'll be in a better position to figure out what role she can play in an AI-dominated future — and to weather the coming change.

NPR producer Jasmine Ling contributed to this story.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5683821

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WORLD | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 1:49 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

At least 6,126 people killed in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests, activists say

By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests killed at least 6,126 people while many others still are feared dead, activists said Tuesday, as a U.S. aircraft carrier group arrived in the Mideast to lead any American military response to the crisis.

The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyers accompanying it provide the U.S. the ability to strike Iran, particularly as Gulf Arab states have signaled they want to stay out of any attack despite hosting American military personnel.

Two Iranian-backed militias in the Mideast have signaled their willingness to launch new attacks, likely trying to back Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action over the killing of peaceful protesters or Tehran launching mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to drag the entire Mideast into a war, though its air defenses and military are still reeling after the June war launched by Israel against the country.

Both the Houthis and Kataib Hezbollah sat out from Israel's 12-day war on Iran that saw the United States bomb Iranian nuclear sites. The hesitancy to get involved shows the disarray still affecting Iran's self-described "Axis of Resistance" after facing attacks from Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Activists offer new death toll

The new figures Tuesday came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The group verifies each death with a network of activists on the ground in Iran.

It identified the dead as including at least 5,777 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 86 children and 49 civilians who weren't demonstrating. The crackdown has seen over 41,800 arrests, it added.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll given authorities cutting off the internet and disrupting calls into the Islamic Republic.

Iran's government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest "terrorists." In the past, Iran's theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.

That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest there in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The protests in Iran began on Dec. 28, sparked by the fall of the Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country. They were met by a violent crackdown by Iran's theocracy, the scale of which is only starting to become clear as the country has faced more than two weeks of internet blackout — the most comprehensive in its history.

Iran's U.N. ambassador told a U.N. Security Council meeting late Monday that Trump's repeated threats to use military force against the country "are neither ambiguous nor misinterpreted." Amir Saeid Iravani also repeated allegations that the U.S. leader incited violence by "armed terrorist groups" supported by the United States and Israel, but gave no evidence to support his claims.

Iranian state media has tried to accuse forces abroad for the protests as the theocracy remains broadly unable to address the country's ailing economy, which is still squeezed by international sanctions, particularly over its nuclear program.

Some Iranian-backed militias suggest willingness to fight

Iran projected its power across the Mideast through the "Axis of Resistance," a network of proxy militant groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, and other places. It was also seen as a defensive buffer, intended to keep conflict away from Iranian borders. But it has collapsed after Israel targeted Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and others during the Gaza war. Meanwhile, rebels in 2024 overthrew Syria's Bashar Assad after a yearslong, bloody war in which Iran backed his rule.

Yemen's Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have repeatedly warned they could resume fire if needed on shipping in the Red Sea, releasing old footage of a previous attack Monday. Ahmad "Abu Hussein" al-Hamidawi, the leader of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia, warned "the enemies that the war on the (Islamic) Republic will not be a picnic; rather, you will taste the bitterest forms of death, and nothing will remain of you in our region."

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, one of Iran's staunchest allies, refused to say how it planned to react in the case of a possible attack.

"During the past two months, several parties have asked me a clear and frank question: If Israel and America go to war against Iran, will Hezbollah intervene or not?" Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said in a video address.

He said the group is preparing for "possible aggression and is determined to defend" against it. But as to how it would act, he said, "these details will be determined by the battle and we will determine them according to the interests that are present."

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5689793

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WORLD | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 1:32 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

NATO chief wishes 'good luck' to those who think Europe can defend itself without US help

By The Associated Press

BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisted Monday that Europe is incapable of defending itself without U.S. military support and would have to more than double current military spending targets to be able to do so.

"If anyone thinks here … that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can't," Rutte told EU lawmakers in Brussels. Europe and the United States "need each other," he said.

Tensions are festering within NATO over U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed threats in recent weeks to annex Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Trump also said that he was slapping new tariffs on Greenland's European backers, but later dropped his threats after a "framework" for a deal over the mineral-rich island was reached, with Rutte's help. Few details of the agreement have emerged.

The 32-nation military organization is bound together by a mutual defense clause, Article 5 of NATO's founding Washington treaty, which commits every country to come to the defense of an ally whose territory is under threat.

At NATO's summit in The Hague in July, European allies — with the exception of Spain — plus Canada agreed to Trump's demand that they invest the same percentage of their economic output on defense as the United States within a decade.

They pledged to spend 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense, and a further 1.5% on security-related infrastructure – a total of 5% of GDP – by 2035.

"If you really want to go it alone," Rutte said, "forget that you can ever get there with 5%. It will be 10%. You have to build up your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros."

France has led calls for Europe to build its "strategic autonomy," and support for its stance has grown since the Trump administration warned last year that its security priorities lie elsewhere and that the Europeans would have to fend for themselves.

Rutte told the lawmakers that without the United States, Europe "would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the U.S. nuclear umbrella. So, hey, good luck!"

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5689791

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UKRAINE INVASION — EXPLAINED | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 1:24 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Ukrainians are sharing hacks online on how to survive winter power cuts

By Hanna Palamarenko

KYIV — After repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid, Ukrainians are facing long cuts to heating, electricity and water during the coldest winter since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

After a Jan. 9 attack, nearly 6,000 homes were left without heating in Kyiv, according to the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Utility services and energy workers worked around the clock to restore electricity to nearly all these homes last week. But less than two weeks later, another attack knocked electricity out again.

Heating systems have shut down because their pumps and control boards depend on electricity. Without electricity and heating, a modern skyscraper becomes a cold concrete box, and panoramic windows with breathtaking views of the Dnipro River, a source of cold.

With outside temperatures dropping to near-zero degrees Fahrenheit, and everywhere covered in ice and snow, the power cuts have chilled Ukrainian homes so much that windows ice up inside and some people can see their breath indoors. NPR spoke to several residents of Kyiv who say they manage by wearing their coats indoors, cooking with portable campfire stoves and sleeping under several layers of blankets.

The long blackouts amid the freezing temperatures have worn people out, psychologist Yulia Babiak told NPR.

On social media, Ukrainians share life hacks, including photos of homemade heating devices made from bricks and candles and posts about makeshift ways to keep warm at home. In stores, shelves that used to hold portable gas stoves, heaters and chemical warmers are now almost empty. For many city residents, these camping supplies have become the only way to stay warm, cook food or heat water.

In January, the sun sets in Kyiv at 5:30 p.m., plunging the capital into twilight and then darkness until the next morning's sunrise at 7:30 a.m. Every home by now has several types of battery-powered flashlights, USB lamps and Christmas lights. In cafes and restaurants, people dine by the cozy flickering of candles and the hum of generators.

The NPR bureau in Kyiv operates on backup power, batteries and a diesel generator, but it's not enough. So staff have to keep warm with blankets and hot water bottles.

For those who did not manage to buy portable gas heaters and stoves, firebricks have become a popular commodity. Users of the social network Threads show how to raise the temperature in a room by several degrees using simple homemade heaters. Those who have gas in their apartments or houses place bricks on the gas stove. As they heat up, the bricks give off heat and warm the room. Those who live in high-rise buildings where gas is not used create a structure out of candles, barbecue grills and bricks laid on the grill. This method is effective but also unsafe. People online also remind users that it is important to use detectors for carbon monoxide and smoke.

A safer and equally popular way to keep warm is to use a regular camping tent. As social media users have discovered, if you set up a tent right in the bedroom and put a few plastic bottles filled with hot water inside, you will sleep warmer. Those who do not have camping experience and/or equipment recall their childhood and build tents out of blankets. In general, most social media users agreed that hot water bottles in bed are the easiest and safest way to keep warm at night. They write that the heat from the bottles lasts for about four to five hours. Electric blankets are useful if they can be plugged in.

Businesses with generators are also reaching out on social media to offer shelter and help to those without power and electricity. In addition to the mobile heating points set up by the State Emergency Service and charitable organizations, local residents are creating their own shelters.

Coffee shops, gas stations, and local residents treat utility and energy company workers involved in repairs to hot coffee and snacks.

Tired of the darkness, cold and inability to cook hot meals, residents of one of Kyiv neighborhoods got together to barbecue. It turned into a real "resilience" party with music, mulled wine, and dancing to keep warm.

Taisiia Nechytailo, the owner of a beauty salon, offers local residents free hair washing if they don't have hot water at home or the opportunity to work on their laptops in the salon, which has an independent power source and uninterrupted internet access.

"Russia's tactic of striking at the energy sector, trying to leave us without light and heat, is not working," Nechytailo tells NPR. "We are only getting angrier and know exactly what we are fighting for."

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686455

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MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT | UPDATED MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 12:01 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Israel finds the last hostage body in Gaza, paving the way for next steps in Trump plan

By Aya Batrawy

Israel said Monday it identified the body of the final Israeli hostage in Gaza and returned it to Israel, paving the way for the long-awaited next steps in President Trump's peace plan.

The military said in a statement that Ran Gvili, 24, a special forces policeman, was killed while fighting militants during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. His body was taken to Gaza by members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group than Hamas that joined in the attacks.

The military said it launched a "large-scale operation" for his body over the weekend in a cemetery in northern Gaza, acting based on intelligence. The process required exhuming the bodies of deceased Palestinians until the team, including dental experts, identified Gvili's remains. The military told NPR the Palestinian bodies were reburied.

Hamas-led fighters captured 251 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli authorities.

"We have brought back Rani Gvili, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country's parliament Monday.

He and other Israeli leaders removed a yellow ribbon pin they've been wearing throughout the war that represented the hostages in Gaza. "We all wore the pin, and now that the mission has been completed, it is time to remove it," Netanyahu said.

The return of Gvili's remains is expected to mark the end of the first phase of the U.S.-backed ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

It could also pave the way for another big step. The Israeli government said it would allow Gaza's border crossing with Egypt to reopen again for Palestinians to enter and exit. It would mark the first time for that border to partially open since May 2024, when Israeli forces took over southern Gaza and the area of Rafah.

The Rafah border will not be opened by Israel to allow aid to directly enter from Egypt. People who enter and exit through that border will be permitted only by Israel after a vetting of names. International journalists are still barred from freely entering Gaza.

Future steps of the ceasefire agreement include Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing from Gaza — contentious points over which negotiations have not yet begun.

Senior Hamas negotiator Basem Naim told NPR last month that Hamas would be willing to lay down and "store" its weapons for a period of up to 10 years, on certain conditions, including guarantees that Israel would not attack and a political path to create a Palestinian state.

Speaking Monday to Israel's legislature, Netanyahu insisted the next stage of the peace plan "is not reconstruction — the next stage is disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza."

Most people in Gaza are suffering through another rainy winter without adequate shelter and say they desperately need reconstruction to begin, and more aid like tents. Several babies have died from the cold in past weeks, according to hospitals there.

President Trump's plan also says an "international stabilization force" of troops from various countries will deploy to Gaza, retrained Palestinian police would take over security and a Palestinian technocratic committee would take over governance from Hamas.

Trump celebrated the return of the final Israeli hostage on his social media platform. The president's son-in-law Jared Kushner also welcomed the news, saying he, Trump and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff had worked with the CIA, the Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza to make this possible.

"For the first time since 2014 there are no Israeli hostages held in Gaza," Kushner wrote on X.

Palestinian activists, meanwhile, have accused Israel of continuing to hold the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians, including children.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Hamas had provided information to help locate the body. He said it showed confirmed Hamas' commitment to the ceasefire's requirements, and now the U.S. should press Israel to uphold the ceasefire agreement.

Qassem also called for the Rafah crossing to be opened for aid to flow into Gaza, including medicine and mobile housing equipment.

Gaza's Civil Defense rescue services said thousands of bodies of Palestinian civilians remain under the rubble of buildings bombed by Israel in more than two years of war, saying their retrieval has been impossible due to the lack of heavy equipment. They called for heavy equipment to retrieve the dead and reconstruction materials to be brought through the Rafah crossing.

Aya Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Daniel Estrin and Itay Stern contributed reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel. Ahmed Abuhamda contributed from Cairo.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/g-s1-107340

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WORLD | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 4:48 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

France could become second country to ban social media for some teens

By Eleanor Beardsley

Heard on Morning Edition

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Today, the French Parliament votes on a law to ban children under the age of 15 from social media. The measure is meant to shield underage people from cyber harassment, harmful and inappropriate content, and to help curb excessive screen time. If the measure passes, France would become the second country, after Australia, to put a social media age ban in place. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: In a video posted this weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron did not mince words. The message is simple, he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Through interpreter) Our children's and teenagers' brains are not for sale. The emotions of our children and adolescents are not for sale or to be manipulated, neither by American social media platforms nor Chinese algorithms.

BEARDSLEY: Last month, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media entirely, saying it was time to take back control from powerful technology companies. As expected, the move has been criticized by the likes of YouTube and Meta. A second component of the French law would ban cell phones in high schools, starting next fall. They've already been banned in middle schools since 2018. Burgundy school director Aude Pascal (ph) says it's changed everything.

AUDE PASCAL: (Through interpreter) The kids put their phones in special lockers. They concentrate better in class, and it's changed the relationship between them. There's no more secret photo-taking and less harassment, and the parents are thrilled.

BEARDSLEY: Macron has made protecting minors online a priority for his government. In 2023, France tried to enact a similar law, requiring users to be at least 15 to register on social media platforms. But the measure was blocked after conflicting with EU digital privacy laws. A French study showed 1 in 2 teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. And 90% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 use them daily to access the internet, with 58% on social networks.

A French parliamentary commission investigating the psychological effects of TikTok actually went further than the current law, recommending a digital curfew for 15- to 18-year-olds by blocking their internet access from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m., though that is not part of the current measure. The current law is expected to pass overwhelmingly. This time, French lawmakers wrote it in a way to avoid running into problems with EU digital privacy as they attempt to keep young people off of social media platforms.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686578

WORLD | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 4:47 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

China's top generals under investigation as country's leader clears out ranks

By John Ruwitch

Heard on Morning Edition

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

China is announcing that two of its top generals are under investigation. One of them is the nation's most senior general. Analysts suspect it's a political purge, capping a two-year campaign by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to clean out the ranks. NPR's John Ruwitch reports.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: The announcement came from a defense ministry spokesperson on Saturday. Here's a clip from state TV.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Mandarin).

RUWITCH: Generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli of the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, are being investigated, he says, for suspected serious violations of discipline and the law. It's a big deal because Zhang was the ranking vice chairman of China's central command, known as the Central Military Commission. Only Xi Jinping stood above him. Liu was also on the commission.

TAYLOR FRAVEL: This is really an unprecedented kind of decapitation of the leadership of the PLA.

RUWITCH: Taylor Fravel is an expert in Chinese security at MIT. He says it's hard to know exactly what led to the investigations. The government has said almost nothing. But Fravel says an editorial in the Army's official newspaper left a clue. It accused the two men of having, quote, "trampled and undermined the Central Military Commission Chairman responsibility system." This is arcane stuff, but he says it means something important, because the chairman is Xi Jinping.

FRAVEL: That is clearly suggesting that the main problem is that they have been defying Xi, which means that they have posed a political threat.

RUWITCH: In other words, they were purged. Bonny Lin is an expert on Chinese foreign and defense policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. She sees it as part of the multi-year cleanout of a military that's long been plagued by factionalism and corruption.

BONNY LIN: I think this is Xi Jinping being very set on making sure that China has the military capabilities to both defend itself from what I think those in Beijing increasingly view as a more problematic external environment.

RUWITCH: In other words, geopolitical pressure from the U.S. and its allies. Xi also wants a military that can do what he wants, including potentially taking the island of Taiwan by force. But Lin says there's a cost.

LIN: In the short- to medium-term, he's definitely degrading what they have in terms of leadership expertise.

RUWITCH: Zhang Youxia, now under investigation, was one of the very few leaders in the Chinese military with war fighting experience. Most now have none. John Ruwitch, NPR News.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5687896

Law

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Politics

- Trump heads to Iowa hoping to refocus attention from shootings to the economy: 2026 Jan 27

- Trump and Walz strike conciliatory tone in wake of second Minnesota killing: 2026 Jan 26

- Fight over DHS funding has the government on track for a partial shutdown: 2026 Jan 26

- GOP lawyer Chris Madel ends bid for Minnesota governor, calls ICE effort a 'disaster': 2026 Jan 26

- The soaring ambitions of Trump's Board of Peace, and the realities of rebuilding Gaza: 2026 Jan 26

POLITICS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 • 5:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Trump heads to Iowa hoping to refocus attention from shootings to the economy

By Franco Ordoñez

Heard on Morning Edition

President Trump is heading on Tuesday to Iowa, where he's looking to change the subject to his economic agenda as his administration faces growing backlash over his immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

More Republicans are calling for an investigation after a second U.S. citizen was shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis.

The president is expected to tour a local business and give a speech on energy and the economy.

His chief of staff, Susie Wiles, says the trip is the beginning of what will eventually be weekly travel across the U.S. in support of Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections. But Trump is unlikely to escape the controversy surrounding his administration's immigration tactics in Minneapolis.

"The primary news story at the moment isn't just the ICE-related shooting. It's the response to the ICE-related shooting," said Ryan Williams, a veteran Republican strategist who helped lead Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. "That's what's going to be the focus. And the president can attempt to focus on the economy, on what he views are successes of his administration on the economic front. But he's going to be stuck talking about this issue for a significant period of time."

The Republican Party has struggled with how to respond to Saturday's fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at a VA hospital.

The shooting happened just weeks after another Minneapolis protester, Renee Macklin Good, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

A number of Republican lawmakers are pushing for more details about the second shooting, including Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas and Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

This weekend, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma questioned Trump's broader goals.

"Americans are asking themselves, 'What is the endgame? What is the solution?'" said Stitt. "And we believe in federalism and state rights. And nobody likes feds coming into their state. And so what's the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don't think that's what Americans want. We have to stop politicizing this."

After his top officials rushed to declare the U.S. citizen killed by federal agents a "domestic terrorist," Trump is now trying to strike a softer tone

Trump spoke with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Monday. Trump said in a social media post that Walz requested that they "work together."

"It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength," Trump wrote.

But soon after the call, Trump's team was attacking Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey again.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the local Democratic leaders for the tragedies, saying it was a result of their "deliberate and hostile resistance."

She called on the city and state leaders to turn over "criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails and assist federal law enforcement in apprehending illegal immigrants wanted for crimes.

"In Minnesota, ICE and local law enforcement can peacefully work together as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions," she said.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688944

POLITICS | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:11 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Trump and Walz strike conciliatory tone in wake of second Minnesota killing

By Danielle Kurtzleben

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

President Trump spoke to Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz today about the federal immigration agents that have now killed two people in Minnesota this month, including 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti over the weekend. The Trump administration has been trying to explain how those killings happened. It has now announced that border czar Tom Homan will take over running on-the-ground immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins me now with more. Hi, Danielle.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.

DETROW: What do we know about what happened in this call?

KURTZLEBEN: Well, President Trump and Governor Walz each put out a summary of the call. Now, Walz has given much more detail of the two - first of all, in a statement calling the conversation productive, which he then elaborated on in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters. And here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)

TIM WALZ: Whatever has happened here, there is a definite change of tone. There is definitely a more collaborative tone. I want to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing that, that I'm going to take them for their word right now that they're going to reduce this force.

KURTZLEBEN: So that's notable. Walz says that Trump said he's willing to reduce the force in Minneapolis. Walz also added that with Homan coming in, his understanding is that Greg Bovino, who had been heading operations in Minneapolis, is leaving and that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will no longer be there. Trump meanwhile posted on social media about the call and he made it sound friendly. He said he and Walz were on a similar wavelength, as he put it. He also characterized Walz as, quote, "happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota." Now, Walz and Trump both really seem to be emphasizing that they want to work together in the wake of these two killings.

DETROW: I mean, how does this square with how the administration had previously talked about Walz?

KURTZLEBEN: Well, there's a big contradiction, and it was apparent at the White House press briefing today, where press secretary Karoline Leavitt, she blamed Walz along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for the Saturday shooting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KAROLINE LEAVITT: But let's be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday. This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. For weeks, Governor Walz and the mayor, Jacob Frey, and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers.

KURTZLEBEN: So you have Trump emphasizing cooperation, and then you have the White House blaming Walz. It really seems like they're trying to have it both ways here, to put out this red meat of slamming Democratic leaders as these irresponsible extremists while also trying to put out this message of, don't worry - we're trying to work together to improve things.

DETROW: So that's their statements. Let's talk about their actions for a moment. The administration says it's sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. What does this change mean? Why is this significant?

KURTZLEBEN: Well, it seems clear this administration recognizes they need to change something in Minneapolis, which is something Walz also noted. Now, the whole world at this point has seen these two horrifying shootings on video. In that last one, you saw a man pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground by federal agents, one of whom shot him several times. So thus far, DHS Secretary Noem and Bovino, they've been the face of the immigration enforcement surge there. Homan, meanwhile, he is no moderate on immigration, but he did also serve under Obama. And Trump really seemed to emphasize this changing of the guard today. In announcing this, he went out of his way to say Homan hasn't been involved in Minneapolis and that he will be reporting directly to Trump.

DETROW: Still though, Danielle, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem have both called Pretti a domestic terrorist, a would-be assassin. It really seems hard to walk back that rhetoric.

KURTZLEBEN: Very much, but they are trying. Today, when Leavitt was asked about that, she said she's never heard Trump characterize Pretti that way. And this is meaningful because Trump, as you know, has no problem being inflammatory. So backing away from this shows they're trying not to repeat that message.

DETROW: That is NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Thank you so much, Danielle.

KURTZLEBEN: Thank you.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688947

POLITICS | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:07 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Fight over DHS funding has the government on track for a partial shutdown

By Claudia Grisales

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

The shooting and killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis this weekend may have a big effect on Congress. Funding for several federal agencies expires midnight Friday. Senate Democrats have now mobilized to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security in response to Pretti's death. And if lawmakers are unable to break the impasse, that could lead to a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Joining us now to discuss all of this is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Hey, Claudia.

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.

DETROW: So the Senate was on track to pass this final round of funding bills, with bipartisan support. How has the death of Alex Pretti changed that?

GRISALES: Right. And to recap, the House passed this $1.3 trillion spending package to fund big areas of the federal government past Friday night, and it would include funding for the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services and others, and it did draw bipartisan votes. But Senate Democrats, on their end, had signaled this would be easily passed in their chamber this week. However, with the death of Pretti, we saw a 180. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will block this entire funding package unless the DHS funding is split off from it. And Schumer said that the legislation, as written, is, quote, "woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE," end quote.

DETROW: Now, let's turn our head back to the last shutdown. There was that split among Democrats about holding out for health care subsidies. Are you seeing similar tension, similar splits in the caucus when it comes to what to do with Homeland Security funding?

GRISALES: No, this is very different, even as Republicans push back on Democrats' plans to block this entire funding package if DHS is not pulled out of it. One aide told me that when we saw the killing of Renee Good earlier this month, that some said this was a one-off. But they argue that with the death of Alex Pretti, this is now part of a disturbing and alarming trend. And for Democrats, the intensity of the resolve is higher this time. And the Democrats we saw defect last time to end the government shutdown, such as Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, have already said they're nos this time. And so far, we've just seen one Democrat say he'll vote for the package. That's John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. He says he doesn't vote for shutdowns. So he may be on an island for his party this time around.

DETROW: What are Republicans saying?

GRISALES: Well, most Republicans are standing by the administration's policy in general, but we're seeing more and more call for answers. That includes Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, who said he agreed with a statement issued by the NRA that there needs to be a full investigation. The NRA had taken issue with comments from Trump officials saying that Pretti was armed, so his killing may have been justified. We also know that the chair of House Homeland Security, New York's Andrew Garbarino, is also calling for an oversight hearing with DHS officials. We know DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, but that is not soon enough for many.

As for leadership, we're hearing Senate Majority Leader John Thune applaud Trump's decision to send Tom Homan to Minneapolis. He is hoping that will cool down temperatures there. And a spokesman for Thune said Monday, Republicans do not plan to separate the DHS funding bill out. So at this rate, we could be headed for a partial shutdown come this weekend.

DETROW: That is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Claudia, thanks so much.

GRISALES: Thank you.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688894

POLITICS | UPDATED MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:32 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

GOP lawyer Chris Madel ends bid for Minnesota governor, calls ICE effort a 'disaster'

By Elena Moore

Chris Madel, a Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota and the lawyer representing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who fatally shot Renee Macklin Good, has dropped out of the state's gubernatorial race, saying he no longer stands for the immigration crackdown happening in Minneapolis.

"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so," Madel said in a nearly 11-minute video posted to X on Monday.

It's the latest rebuke of the Trump administration's handling of the escalating political unrest in the city, just two days after intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a federal agent during protests over the weekend. Both Pretti and Good were U.S. citizens and 37 years old.

Despite originally supporting ICE's effort in the city, known as Operation Metro Surge, Madel called it "an unmitigated disaster" in his video, arguing it had "expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats."

"United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear," he added. "United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That's wrong."

Madel, a political newcomer, announced his bid for governor in December, vowing to make supporting law enforcement a priority of his campaign. He told the Minnesota Star Tribune earlier this month that he was providing legal counsel for the ICE agent who shot Good and that it did not change his political ambitions.

Despite Madel's exit from the race, there's still a crowded field of GOP candidates vying to lead Minnesota, a state that hasn't elected a Republican governor in roughly 20 years. Several candidates still in the race have not criticized the administration over ICE practices, while others have voiced continued support for the federal response.

The Minnesota gubernatorial race garnered national attention after the state's current governor, Democrat Tim Walz, announced he would no longer seek a third term amid blowback from the White House over his oversight of alleged social service fraud in the state.

The fraud scandal unfolded as Minneapolis was already quickly becoming the center of a political fight between President Trump and Minnesota Democrats over the state's immigration laws and practices.

Both fatal shootings of Good and Pretti this month have further intensified that fight. But it also prompted several national Republicans to call for the Trump administration to cooperate with state and local authorities after shutting them out in both investigations.

"The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement on Saturday. "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth."

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., echoed those calls for a federal-state probe, adding that "any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump's legacy."

Administration officials have claimed that Pretti — who had a lawful permit to carry a handgun — was a "domestic terrorist," and defended the response by federal agents as self-defense. However, footage captured in bystander videos and witness accounts contradicts that argument, and there has been no evidence that NPR has verified of Pretti brandishing his handgun at any time during the encounter with federal agents.

"Lawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American—especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a statement Sunday.

"A comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work" she added. "ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties."

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt expressed concern about the administration's handling of the situation in Minneapolis, telling CNN in an interview Sunday that the president was "getting bad advice."

"President Trump closed the border, promised to get violent criminals out of our country," Stitt said, adding that while he believes "everybody agrees with that," Americans are unsure about the administration's "endgame."

"What's the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don't think that's what Americans want," he said. "We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions on immigration reform."

On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on the administration's goal of deporting criminals living in the country without legal status, but acknowledged that no one in the White House wants to "see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets."

"This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals," she said.

In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump said that he spoke with Walz and that the two "seemed to be on a similar wavelength" in trying to reduce additional violence in Minneapolis, and said that the two leaders would speak again in the "near future."

Walz also acknowledged a more "cordial" tone with the president in an interview with MPR News on Monday.

"Whatever has happened here, there is a definite change of tone," Walz said. "There is a definitely a more collaborative tone. I want to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing that, that I'm going to take them for their word right now, that they're going to reduce this force."

Walz also said that Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander, will be leaving Minnesota.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688899

Related

- NPR

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POLITICS | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 4:31 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

The soaring ambitions of Trump's Board of Peace, and the realities of rebuilding Gaza

By Greg Myre, Daniel Estrin

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

In the past year, President Trump has often threatened or used military force abroad. Yet he also likes to present himself as the world's leading peacemaker, and that includes his new plan for a Global Board of Peace. We're going to talk through this apparent contradiction with two NPR correspondents. Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Hey, Daniel.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Hey. And Greg Myre is in Washington. Howdy, Greg.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Greg, you kick us off. Explain what we know - where things stand with Trump's Board of Peace.

MYRE: So Trump presented this at a ceremony last Thursday in Davos, Switzerland. He invited around 50 countries or so. Twenty or thereabouts have agreed to join. Entry is not cheap. If you want a permanent membership, you're being asked for a billion-dollar contribution. Here's Trump speaking at the event.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we'll do it in conjunction with the United Nations. You know, I've always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it.

MYRE: So Trump says he'll work with the U.N., but the concern among many is that he's looking either to rival or simply replace the U.N. He's been a longtime critic of big, bureaucratic global institutions like the U.N., and he may want an alternative where he'd be at the center and have control. Lots of details are still fuzzy, but it seems Trump would have power indefinitely, and he may be thinking of how he can still play a prominent role in global affairs after his presidency is over.

KELLY: Right, because worth stressing that the way this is set up, it's not the U.S. president who is running the board. It is Donald Trump personally. Who are the other members who have signed on?

MYRE: Yeah, the leaders who appeared with Trump last week include several autocrats whose countries lack democratic credentials and are accused of human rights abuses. We're talking about Belarus, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Egypt. And they were happy to join. It seems this would give them a channel, or another channel, to Trump. But in contrast, many traditional U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere have sounded deeply skeptical or just flat out refused to join. Two key countries, Russia and China, have been invited, but they haven't decided whether they'll take part.

The U.N. isn't saying much so far, just noting that it works with many international organizations. But, again, we're hearing from a lot of critics who see this as an extension of Trump's effort to tear down the existing world order and remake it in his own image. Some are describing it as a vanity project for Trump and foreign leaders he likes - almost like a country club, a global Mar-a-Lago, with Trump at the head of the dinner table.

KELLY: Daniel Estrin, jump in with the view from the Middle East. How does this Board of Peace fit in? Does this Board of Peace fit with existing efforts to resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict?

ESTRIN: Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually joined the Board of Peace. Trump invited him. He was hesitant at first because of Turkey and Qatar's participation. They are seen in Israel as longtime backers of Hamas. But actually, Mary Louise, the Board of Peace was created and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council for one reason and one reason only, and it was to oversee Gaza reconstruction. So that is going to be the main test of this Board of Peace, and it's part of a bigger structure. It's going to be overseeing several other committees, but the whole goal is to take control from Hamas and to start rebuilding everything in Gaza, from education to policing to infrastructure.

And really the bigger dynamic at play here is that the White House wants to move forward with the Gaza ceasefire, and Israel has been very leery for a long time. That changed today. There was a huge development. Israel recovered the body of the last hostage taken in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The White House and Israel are both welcoming this as a huge sea change and the opening of a new chapter in the ceasefire.

KELLY: Daniel, just circling back to Gaza reconstruction, another development - Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, just introduced his vision for turning Gaza into something that appears to look like a glitzy beachfront enclave. Realistic?

ESTRIN: Yeah, that is the question. Last week, Jared Kushner presented a slideshow. There were illustrations of dazzling skyscrapers on the shores of Gaza, and there was a blueprint he presented that promised to even build an airport in Gaza. And Kushner is calling it New Gaza. We have asked Palestinians in Gaza what they make of all this, and we hear a lot of skepticism. For example, Kushner's plan proposes only about a sixth of the housing units that Gaza used to have before the war. So Palestinians are saying, where are the rest of us going to be living? They don't see themselves reflected in what they see as a real estate project.

It's going to need a lot of funding. Kushner is promising a donor conference in Washington soon. It's fundamentally going to be needing security because if you want to go in and clear rubble or begin building, you need security. So Kushner is calling for a phased demilitarization of Hamas. People involved in that issue are telling us that it's still being negotiated. Nothing has been agreed upon yet.

Kushner is also calling for more aid and more temporary housing in Gaza in the next 100 days. But Prime Minister Netanyahu said today there will be no rebuilding of Gaza until Hamas is disarmed. So we're going to be seeing that tug-of-war continue between the U.S. and Israel over really how to proceed in Gaza.

KELLY: Well, and staying with what is realistic or not in Gaza, I'm thinking back to the ceasefire, the big announcement in October. President Trump billed it as this huge breakthrough. Where does it stand?

ESTRIN: Well, despite the ceasefire that was declared, fire has not ceased, Mary Louise. There have been lethal Israeli attacks on basically a daily basis. And now that that last hostage body was recovered today from Israel - to Israel, Israel's now willing to allow a new step - to open Gaza's main border crossing with Egypt.

KELLY: Greg, last word to you. The U.S., in another development, is moving military assets to the Middle East for a possible strike against Iran. In about 30 seconds, what's the latest there?

MYRE: Yeah, the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Lincoln has sailed into the Indian Ocean south of Iran, and it's in a position where it could strike. And the U.S. has moved other ships and aircraft into the region. And Trump has been intentionally vague about military action. This is the real Trump contradiction. He's bombed seven countries in the past year, but he's also had some diplomatic successes, and now he's pushing his Board of Peace to take a prominent role in other conflicts.

KELLY: NPR's Greg Myre in Washington and Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, thanks to you both.

MYRE: Sure thing, Mary Louise.

ESTRIN: You're welcome.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5687955

Health

- How long do you need to spend in the gym to get strong? Less than you think: 2026 Jan 26

- As GLP-1s become more available, some who aren't overweight may consider using them: 2026 Jan 26

- A CrossFit-like race is booming in Asia, and young people are driving the surge: 2026 Jan 25

LIVING BETTER | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 6:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

How long do you need to spend in the gym to get strong? Less than you think

By Will Stone

Building strength and muscle comes with huge payoffs for health and longevity, but most Americans still don't lift weights or regularly practice any muscle-strengthening activity.

Why? People often blame a lack of time.

Exercise physiologist David Behm says often when he talks to people about resistance training they seem to think they'd need hours in the gym to get results, working through rows of machines targeting each muscle.

"They're like 'my God, I'm going to be in there for an hour and a half or longer," says Behm, a professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.

Want to start strength training? Sign up for our special email series and learn how to start a muscle-building routine, no matter what shape you're in.

The reality is much different, and it's why Behm and others in his field have started promoting the idea of a minimum dose — as in how little you can get away with and still make meaningful progress.

"We're thinking about the person who is resistance-training averse," he says. "They really don't want to be in there very long."

The evidence shows you can make real gains in strength and muscle with as little as one or two quick workouts a week — depending on the approach, you might be able to get away with as little as a half hour in the gym (or even less).

The key is focusing on what are called multi-joint exercises, or compound lifts.

These are efficient movements that recruit one or more major muscle groups simultaneously. Some examples are the squat, deadlift, bench press, row and overhead press, or alternatives that can be done on machines.

Behm and his colleagues reviewed data from studies on resistance training and concluded that a beginner could start with one workout a week for the first three months. This kind of routine would incorporate a handful of multi-joint exercises, doing one set of about 6 to 15 reps for each movement.

"After that, if you have more time and want to get better, then work out twice a week, or move to two sets," he says.

Research does show a dose-response relationship between how many sets you do and muscle growth, meaning doing more can give you better results.

But "it's not linear, where it just goes up and up," says Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx. "You see the biggest increase in the first few sets, and then you see it leveling off."

While a minimalist strategy won't necessarily deliver maximum strength or muscle, Schoenfeld says you can make "very good gains" and see measurable health benefits with an hour to an hour and a half a week of training.

Based on his analysis, he suggests aiming for two separate workouts — each about 30-45 minutes — and a total of 4 to 6 sets per muscle group over the course of the week.

All of this can vary depending on your individual goals and how your body responds.

But for any minimalist approach to be effective in the long run, the research shows you do need to push yourself hard while training, says James Steele, a U.K.-based exercise scientist. The intensity of each workout is key.

"Effort is probably the more important determinant," he says. "It should feel like it's hard work to actually try and move that weight."

In resistance training, effort is usually measured by how close you are to failure, meaning the point where your muscles are so taxed they stall out and you have to stop and rest.

It doesn't seem like you need to go entirely to failure to get results, but you should be within a few reps or so.

And provided you do that, you might be able to get away with even less time in the gym. In a massive study, Steele collected close to seven years of data from nearly 15,000 people.

Their workout regimen? A handful of exercises performed on machines just once a week for about 20 minutes.

The typical participant got anywhere from 30% to 50% stronger in the first year and those gains were maintained or slightly improved upon throughout the study.

The bottom line, says Steele, is that you don't need to spend hours working out, but you do need to be regular.

"Pick a program that you enjoy, do it consistently. You still need to train hard. You can't avoid it," he says. "But other than that, you have a lot of freedom."

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686763

HEALTH | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 4:48 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

As GLP-1s become more available, some who aren't overweight may consider using them

By Yuki Noguchi

Heard on Morning Edition

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

GLP-1 drugs are meant to treat metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity. But as they become more available, some people might choose to use them even if they're not currently overweight. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: At just over 5-foot-5, Christie Woodard weighs a lean 125 pounds. She's also open about relying on a low-dose GLP-1 to keep her weight there.

CHRISTIE WOODARD: And sometimes, like, you know, I get, like, the, why? Because they look at me and think I'm healthy weight. Or maybe they even think I'm thin.

NOGUCHI: What people no longer see is Woodard's struggles with obesity, which began in her 30s and landed her at 260 pounds. The weight made running painful.

WOODARD: I was not fast. I had massive issues. I was in physical therapy constantly. I tore my meniscus.

NOGUCHI: Woodard, who is now 53 and lives in Easton, Maryland, got gastric bypass surgery four years ago, halving her body size. Elated, she set a goal of completing half marathons in all 50 states. Her weight remained stable until last year, when pounds began creeping back.

WOODARD: I feel it in my knees, but mainly I feel it in my soul. Like, I feel it in my confidence. It's messing with my head in a big way. Like, I was terrified that I was going to go back to what I was.

NOGUCHI: Her bariatric surgeon, Betsy Dovec, prescribed the drug Zepbound, though Woodard's body mass didn't technically classify her as overweight. Dovec says Woodard isn't alone.

BETSY DOVEC: I prescribe medications for all types of people.

NOGUCHI: Dovec says she would not, however, prescribe GLP-1s to someone trying to simply shed a few pounds. GLP-1 drugs are now cheaper, available in pill form and can treat various conditions, like sleep apnea. There are also plenty of online sellers offering GLP-1s and compounded versions of them, opening a potential avenue to people for whom they are not medically indicated. And that's controversial. Dovec says to call this cosmetic use misunderstands the various circumstances patients face. Obesity is a chronic disease, she says, and some patients, like Woodard, need multiple treatments to keep it in check - surgery, diet, exercise and GLP-1s.

DOVEC: I've never had someone that's abused it to the point of, like, uh-oh, your BMI is now under what is considered normal. Never. I've never seen that in my career.

NOGUCHI: But Dr. Jennifer Manne-Goehler, an obesity specialist with Mass General Brigham, does see risk. She notes people using GLP-1s tend to lose muscle, then regain fat when they stop the drug. Periodic use, therefore, creates potential for yo-yo dieting effects known to be harmful.

JENNIFER MANNE-GOEHLER: I think the problem with giving this medication to people who really don't have an indication for it is they assume all the risks of it, plus the risk of weight regain, which may be adverse for their health.

NOGUCHI: Christie Woodard is no stranger to the controversies. Initially, she felt ashamed to admit she needed GLP-1s.

WOODARD: I didn't tell anybody at first. I felt like I'd failed.

NOGUCHI: With time, she saw that as stigma. As head of human resources for a large company, she successfully advocated to include GLP-1s in their health insurance plan. She cited her own need for far fewer doctors' appointments and medications to manage ailments associated with obesity. Plus, she says, feeling in control makes her much happier and more effective.

WOODARD: Clothes become like an armor. And I wear what I want, and the confidence is there. And that shows up in everything I do, whether I am negotiating rates with our health insurance company or whether I am talking to an employee about a delicate situation or negotiating something with my boss.

NOGUCHI: Woodard's also now run 34 half-marathons in as many states and has confidence she can complete the rest.

Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5676080

HEALTH | SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2026 • 5:35 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

A CrossFit-like race is booming in Asia, and young people are driving the surge

By Stephanie Yang

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

Making plans to hit the gym in the new year? So are more young people across Asia, where health and wellness is a booming business. And one new competition has become especially trendy in recent months. Stephanie Yang reports from Bangkok.

UNIDENTIFIED EMCEE: Three, two, one.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STEPHANIE YANG, BYLINE: The event is known as HYROX, short for hybrid rockstar. This timed fitness competition is made up of eight workout stations, broken up by 1-kilometer laps. Music blares in the background, and emcees cheer racers as they cross the finish line.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

YANG: The global racing challenge, which started in Germany in 2017, is kind of like CrossFit but less intense. Now its events are selling out in Asia. In Bangkok, which hosted its first HYROX race last year, the bigger challenge has become snagging a ticket, which costs about 100 to $150.

RICHARD COWLEY: When we opened Bangkok, we were a little bit caught off guard. We did a one-day race to start with. We sold that out immediately, basically - like, 4,500 people in the first 18 hours.

YANG: This is Richard Cowley, director for HYROX events in Asia, where participation has doubled in the past year. Training sessions have been popping up all over Bangkok before the next race in March.

UNIDENTIFIED INSTRUCTOR: Going up and then down. Hold...

YANG: Gym owners in Bangkok say fitness used to be a niche market, mostly for foreigners and bodybuilders. But these days, young Asians are much more conscious of their health. That's spurring demand for physical activities from Pilates to pickleball, making the industry a multibillion-dollar business opportunity across Asia. Jack Thomas, who's been running a gym in Thailand for about 10 years, says programs like HYROX are the latest iteration of the wellness trend in the region.

JACK THOMAS: Well, it's probably 18 months ago that we joined as a HYROX gym. We've just seen sort of explosive growth, really. So now, both of our locations are HYROX training clubs. Our HYROX classes are some of the busiest that we have.

YANG: Thomas runs two out of 25 gyms in Bangkok offering HYROX classes. At one of them, 32-year-old Prow Vidhaya and her boyfriend are training for a proper race in Seoul, since the last race in Bangkok sold out. She says she likes HYROX because it's challenging but accessible.

PROW VIDHAYA: But I think for Thai people in general, it's a whole hype. And HYROX is so, like, easy to enter 'cause you can do as a couple, you can do as a team of four, so the bar to enter the race is very low.

YANG: I tried out some classes myself in October. They play high-energy music and repeat movements from the competition, like burpees or rowing, in short, intense bursts.

This is my third HYROX class here in Bangkok, and they're all about the same going through the stations. Today, we're doing four and switching through them. There's about 15 people here. It's 30 minutes in, and I'm already pretty tired.

Another trainee here is Tawan Taradolrattanakorn, a 28-year-old pet groomer and YouTube host. He started taking HYROX classes to try something new and because his fitness idols were doing it, too.

TAWAN TARADOLRATTANAKORN: Many Thai influencers go for the gym, maybe Pilates, HYROX, HIIT, go running, and everybody following them.

YANG: Gym owner Thomas says HYROX has helped open the door for amateur athletes to try out new rival competitions as well. That's putting him on the lookout for what trend may come next.

THOMAS: People eventually will be looking for new experiences, new things to do.

YANG: What's key, he says, is to keep them from getting bored. For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Yang, reporting from Bangkok.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5678985

Education

- Are snow days bad for students?: 2026 Jan 26

EDUCATION | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 4:55 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Are snow days bad for students?

By Mary Louise Kelly, Daniel Ofman, Jeanette Woods

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Across the U.S., a whole lot of us are digging out today after that massive storm over the weekend, which means flight cancellations and power outages and school closures. Now, the kids with sleds headed for the hill behind my house this morning were celebrating, but is that time off from school good for them? Are snow days good for students? Joshua Goodman is professor of education and of economics at Boston University. He has written about this. Professor Goodman, welcome.

JOSHUA GOODMAN: Thanks for having me.

KELLY: As basic as I can put it, are snow days good for kids?

GOODMAN: Emotionally, probably yes, but in terms of their learning, probably no. When they miss a day of school, they miss 1 out of 180 days that they have in the school year, and it shows up in the data later as being a little bit less good in reading, a little bit less skilled in math.

KELLY: How much is a little bit less? Like, what does the data actually tell us?

GOODMAN: Maybe not surprisingly, when you miss 1 out of your 180 days, you lose roughly 1% of your learning for the school year. Just like during the pandemic when we were concerned about kids missing school, when you miss a little school, you miss a little learning. You know, a few snow days aren't going to destroy anyone's career aspirations, but we should use them sparingly just to make sure that kids are doing what they're supposed to be doing.

KELLY: I'm also thinking of some of the other issues. For some students, for example, school is where you get lunch. It may be where you get a hot breakfast. It may be the only square meal a day you get.

GOODMAN: That's absolutely right. I mean, we learned this lesson the hard way over the last five years, when we had longer-term school closures, that schools play a lot of functions beyond just teaching math and reading and science and history. They're an important place for kids to get fed, to be watched and cared for, that enable parents to go to work physically. And so my kids are very happy to be off today. They are literally out sledding right now.

KELLY: Wonderful.

GOODMAN: I'm very lucky that I can work at home and talk to you from home. But that's not true of many parents, and it can be a challenge for families that depend on schools for a full range of services.

KELLY: Yeah, I will allow that much as I loved snow days as a kid, I loved them a little bit less as a working parent. I'm listening to you as you tell me some of the data about lost learning, about the downsides of snow days. What about the upside? What about the positives?

GOODMAN: I'll give you three upsides. One is there are real safety concerns. We don't want people getting into school bus accidents on the way to school during a snow day. So that's, I think, the first one. The second one is it is a magical time for kids if there's enough snow to actually go out and do something with it. The fact that my kids are out sledding is going to create memories with them and their friends that arguably are as, or maybe more important, than what they would have learned in school just for today. And then the third - and I'm saying this as a former high school math teacher myself...

KELLY: (Laughter).

GOODMAN: ...Is that if you don't declare a snow day when there's a lot of snow out, what tends to happen is you still get a lot of people absent from school. And it turns out that's actually harder to deal with in terms of learning and more disruptive in the long run than just saying, everyone's out today. We're going to start again tomorrow from scratch.

KELLY: Because what do you do if half the class was there and got the lesson you had planned and the other half didn't?

GOODMAN: Exactly. It's very hard for a teacher to teach half of the students in a room, catch the absent kids up the next day. It just wastes everyone's time. So it's better to just coordinate and all agree to go sledding together and come back for learning tomorrow.

KELLY: Professor Joshua Goodman of Boston University, talking us through the pros and cons of school snow days. Thank you so much.

GOODMAN: It's been a pleasure.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE PIANO GUYS' "LET IT SNOW")

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5688840

Culture

- Here to Help: In Baton Rouge, kids get a free and safe place to go after school: 2026 Jan 26

- Neighbors and church members transformed the home of a man with terminal cancer: 2026 Jan 26

- Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure': 2026 Jan 26

- Videos of cows using tools are drawing attention back to a cult-favorite cow comic: 2026 Jan 25

- Sunday Puzzle: All In: 2026 Jan 25

CULTURE | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:11 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Here to Help: In Baton Rouge, kids get a free and safe place to go after school

By Alex Cox

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The Gardere neighborhood of East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana has a long history of violence and poverty. People there have had to create their own solutions. As part of our ongoing series Here to Help, Alex Cox with member station WRKF has more about one woman, Murelle Harrison, who's working to help young people as a way to improve the entire community.

(CROSSTALK)

ALEX COX, BYLINE: It's a school night, and a bunch of rowdy kids run around the table where Murelle Harrison and a group of grade-schoolers play with magnetic blocks. They're building houses, cars and a racetrack.

MURELLE HARRISON: I don't know where's your sister today.

COX: Harrison is 77 and the executive director of the Gardere Initiative. It's an organization that puts on this free after-school program - a place for kids in the neighborhood of East Baton Rouge. Here, they get help with their homework and an after-school snack.

HARRISON: So many of these families are here, and they don't have grandmas and, you know, they just don't have the support system. We are the support system.

COX: The initiative started in 2006, with a Christmas and a back-to-school event for kids. Harrison had been coming to pick people up for a Sunday school in this neighborhood, and when she retired from Southern University in 2013, she took over the Gardere Initiative, which was a lot smaller at the time. She had big plans.

BARTHOLOMEW RIGGINS: Dr. Harrison had a vision that we could make it more intentional besides the two events in the year.

COX: That's Bartholomew Riggins. He's the senior pastor at Faith Chapel Church of God, one of the supporters of the initiative. He says that even though Harrison is the executive director, she doesn't take a salary. But that doesn't mean she's hands-off. When asked how many hours she works, she just laughs.

HARRISON: (Laughter).

COX: The initiative doesn't just help kids. They offer rent assistance and work to build a relationship with the local law enforcement. Baton Rouge has a lot of neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. Of all these neighborhoods in the parish, crime data shows Gardere has had the lowest homicide rate in recent years, and none this year. The initiative is not shy about taking credit for the crime drop because they say they're giving kids here something meaningful to do after school.

HARRISON: We believe that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. So whenever they're not in school, we need to provide activities for them.

COX: One of those kids she tries to keep busy is Antwon Garner. She's also his godmother.

ANTWON GARNER: She take me to church. Like, she help me. Like, she help me when I need. Like, when I need help, she help me.

COX: Harrison was Garner's mother's Sunday school teacher many years ago.

HARRISON: And then I just have always been a part of her life. She had seven children. I remember when each one of them was born. And so, like, she died four years ago, and I still pick her children up for Sunday school.

COX: The children now live with an aunt. There's a lot of kids like Garner in this community - kids who know struggle. And Harrison knows most of them. Many have her phone number. The kids head home each evening around 5:30, but they'll be back. As will Harrison, who says she's going to do this work as long as she's able.

HARRISON: I have a brother who said I'm going to have my wake and retirement service at the same time.

COX: Helping kids keeps her busy, she says, and adds that God made her for this kind of work. For NPR News, I'm Alex Cox in Baton Rouge.

(SOUNDBITE OF CURTIS MAYFIELD'S "THINK (INSTRUMENTAL)")

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5634805

CULTURE | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 5:08 PM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Neighbors and church members transformed the home of a man with terminal cancer

Heard on All Things Considered

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from Larry Maxfield. In early 2007, Maxfield's brother Marty entered home hospice care. Marty was 47. He had terminal cancer. He and his wife, Janice, decided to move from California to Utah, where their adult children lived, to spend his final days together as a family.

LARRY MAXFIELD: With very short notice, Marty's oldest son, who was living in Utah, found a small home in his neighborhood. The home was a bit weary, but it would have to do, given these hard circumstances. As a family, we all met in California at Marty's house. We spent several days packing their belongings into trucks and trailers. Then our caravan began the 12-hour drive to Utah. I was driving my brother's truck with Marty as my passenger. Marty shared his gratitude for all of our family support, and he made his wishes known about the desire to have his wife, Janice, cared for after his death.

I listened intently, but somehow in the back of my mind, I had a nagging feeling that I wished we had had more time to fix up the little house in Utah before our arrival. After driving for 12 hours, we pulled up to the curb well after dark to find the house lights were on and neighbors welcoming Marty and Janice to their new home. We assisted Marty up the porch stairs, and he looked inside and he found the strength to smile and say, this is wonderful. I looked inside the home and was surprised to discover the neighbors and their church members had been working all the time we were in California. Over those three days, charitable women had scrubbed the house top to bottom. They had sewn simple but beautiful draperies, and they turned the tiny old house into an inviting home.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MAXFIELD: Marty died two days later in the comfort of that tiny home. These women, who were total strangers, made a real difference in our lives, and I will never forget the kindness and compassion they showed to Marty and Janice, who were their complete strangers. They are my unsung heroines.

KELLY: Larry Maxfield lives outside Salt Lake City, Utah. You can find more stories of unsung heroes and learn how to submit your own at hiddenbrain.org.

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686589

BOOK REVIEWS | MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 • 9:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure'

By Heller McAlpin

In Departure(s), Julian Barnes' playful new novel about several of his lifelong obsessions — mortality, memory, and time — the author announces that after publishing 27 books over the past 44 years, "this will definitely be my last book — my official departure, my final conversation with you."

Surely, he jests? Barnes, who describes himself as a "cheerful pessimist," turned 80 this month. He also has a longstanding interest in endgames — both endings and games. Writing, he says, is still "one of the times I feel most alive and original," but he worries about repeating himself, or going stale, or "lapsing into the easy garrulity of autobiography." Self-determined retirement has the advantage of assuring against being cut off mid-project — and worse, of having someone else clumsily complete his orphaned book. Still, he backslided rather quickly after swearing off interviews some 10 years ago — lasting only until the publication of his very next book.

Departure(s) is billed as a novel. It is narrated by a writer named Julian ("Jules"), a self-declared agnostic/atheist who prepared for COVID lockdown by ordering a 30-DVD boxed set of Ingmar Bergman films. This narrator, like the author, was devastated by the sudden death of his wife (literary agent Pat Kavanagh) to brain cancer in 2008, and has since lost many friends, including fellow writers Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis, to other forms of the disease. He relays his own medical saga, including his diagnosis in early 2020 with an incurable but manageable form of leukemia, which is kept in check with daily chemotherapy pills. He comments wryly: "'Incurable yet manageable,' that sounds like...life, doesn't it?"

It takes Barnes a while to get to the story at the core of this book, which involves college classmates he introduced to each other while they were at Oxford University with him in the 1960s. Barnes calls this couple, whom he promised never to write about, Jean and Stephen. They all parted ways after graduation, and mostly fell out of touch until 40 years later, when they were in their 60s. Stephen, long-divorced, contacts Barnes and asks him to help reconnect with Jean. Barnes happily obliges, glad to have another go as matchmaker. Both Stephen and Jean confide separately that they consider their rekindled relationship their "last shot at happiness."

As a novelist, Barnes is used to playing god, manipulating his characters' lives and feelings. He notes that he has written about love frequently, though "few of my characters have ever been granted a happy ending." Jean argues that novelists really don't get love. Could this be true, Barnes wonders. Surely not the great novelists, who he feels "understand love, and most aspects of human behaviour, better than, say, psychiatrists or scientists or philosophers or priests or lonely-hearts columnists."

Barnes' central concern here is not so much with how Jean and Stephen's relationship plays out, but with endings in general, both literary and otherwise, and with stories and memories "with a missing middle," like the 40 year gap in his friends' love story. Fiction, he notes, "requires the slow composting of life before it becomes usable material." It also has the advantage over nonfiction of enabling writers to fill in blanks where facts remain elusive.

Like much of Barnes' work, Departure(s) attempts to synthesize multiple strands in a wily (and sometimes unruly) hybrid of autobiography, essay, fiction and autofiction that is thick with musings about Proust and other French writers, involuntary memory, and aging. ("You should do one thing or the other," sharp-tongued Jean admonishes him about his discursive approach to narrative.)

As always, Barnes underscores his thoughts with trenchant quotes from his inner Bartlett's, including this wonderful parenthetical remark: "What did T.S. Eliot say about memory? That no matter how you wrap it in camphor, the moths will get in."

Even if Departure(s) does not turn out to be Barnes' capstone, it is a welcome addition to his bibliography, exhibiting more in common with his greatest hits — including his breakthrough third novel, Flaubert's Parrot and his 2011 Booker Prize-winner, The Sense of An Ending — than his most recent novel, the disappointingly flat Elizabeth Finch.

Departure(s) is slim but weighty, digressive yet incisive. The plot is pretty much beside the point. Although the book features a somewhat tricky, not entirely reliable narrator, it gives us unprecedented access to the thoughts and feelings of this extraordinarily interesting, erudite writer who professes to view life as, "at best, a light comedy with a sad ending." A light comedy with a sad ending — that pretty much sums up Departure(s).

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686512

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CULTURE | SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2026 • 8:15 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Videos of cows using tools are drawing attention back to a cult-favorite cow comic

By Ayesha Rascoe, Danny Hensel

Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday

Transcript

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

In case you haven't heard, cows are using tools now. Well, one cow, Veronika, a brown cow in Switzerland that used a broom to scratch her back and belly. Alice Auersperg wrote a book about animal innovations and ever since has received videos of animals using tools. One day, she opened a video of a cow named Veronika, which she described to NPR's Nate Rott last week.

ALICE AUERSPERG: Veronika just rolled out her pink tongue. With the tip of the tongue, she grabbed, like, with an index finger, the stick, pulled the tongue back into the mouth, and Veronika just turned her head and started scratching her rear end.

RASCOE: Auersperg co-wrote a study published in Current Biology about the finding. That caught the attention of Aaron Wells, who knows a thing or two about cow tools.

AARON WELLS: I run a Bluesky account called Cow Tools Daily, and I moderate a Facebook group all about cow tool memes as well.

RASCOE: That's Cow Tools, as in the infamous comic panel from The Far Side by Gary Larson.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)

GARY LARSON: I drew this cartoon. Showing a cow standing in front of, like, a workbench, looking out at the reader. And on the workbench were these just amorphous shapes.

RASCOE: Gary Larson speaking with WHYY's Fresh Air in 1998.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)

LARSON: I was thinking about how anthropologists used to define man as being the only animal that made and used tools. And then they subsequently discovered that, well, even some birds and primates do that, so they had to change the definition a little. But I started thinking about what if cows started make - made tools. What would they make?

RASCOE: The tools that Larson dreamed up - a blob, a blob with a handle, something that looks like a saw and a long stick with prongs on it are mysterious. He said only the cow knows what they are.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)

LARSON: The reaction was unbelievable. I thought it was the end of my career, honestly, because I just started getting a barrage of phone calls and letters and...

TERRY GROSS: Saying what?

LARSON: Well, saying, what does it mean?

RASCOE: Seeing everyone ask that question attracted Aaron Wells to the comic. Now it's become a cult favorite. And Wells says the discovery of Veronika using her own tool is something to celebrate.

WELLS: For someone that is a huge fan of the Cow Tools comic, it's probably about the most exciting thing that could happen. It's like, wow, it's - we did it. Mission accomplished.

RASCOE: Wells says fans of the comic are editing Veronika into the panel, including using that long stick with prongs to scratch her back.

WELLS: Veronika, the cow, you know, all hail the new queen of Cow Tools.

RASCOE: A tribute to a prophecy more than 40 years in the making.

(SOUNDBITE OF HUGH MASEKELA'S "GRAZING IN THE GRASS")

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5686475

SUNDAY PUZZLE | SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2026 • 8:00 AM EST | VIEW ON NPR

Sunday Puzzle: All In

By Will Shortz

Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday

On-air challenge

Today's puzzle is called "All In." I'm going to give you clues for two words. Insert the letters A-L-L inside the answer to the first clue to get the answer to the second.

Ex. Opposite of good / Romantic song  -->  B(ALL)AD

1. Exam / Having the greatest height

2. Bathe standing up / Not as deep

3. Something that's unexpected and beneficial / Air-filled rubber sac attached to a string

4. What bees do / Playing for time

5. Descendant / Green onion

6. Attempt in basketball / Onion used in cooking

7. Sweeper's tool / Locale in the game Clue

8. Overhead structure supporting a crane / Courage displayed in battle

9. Vast wooded areas / Prevents from happening

Last week's challenge

Last week's challenge came from Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a word that means "very small." Move the first syllable to the end, separated by a space, and you'll get a two-word phrase naming something that is very large. What words are these?

Challenge answer

Subatomic / Atomic sub

Winner

Mark Minster of Terre Haute, Ind.

This week's challenge

This week's challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 29 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

Transcript

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

Time to play The Puzzle.

(SOUNDBITE OF STEVEN HENLEY JR.'S "PLAY THE PUZZLE")

RASCOE: Joining us is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION. How's it going, Will?

WILL SHORTZ: I am great. How are you, Ayesha?

RASCOE: I am good. You know, snow, snow, snow. That's all that's on the mind, but we going to make it. We going to make it (laughter).

SHORTZ: Fortunately, we're indoors and warm.

RASCOE: Yes, exactly. So, Will, please remind us of last week's challenge.

SHORTZ: Yes. It came from Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minnesota. I said, think of a word that means very small. Move the first syllable to the end separated by a space and you'll get a two-word phrase naming something that's very large. What words are these? Well, the word that means very small is subatomic. Move the start to the end and you get an atomic sub, which is really quite big.

RASCOE: Well, I mean, this must have fooled some people or really stumped some people, I should say, 'cause there were just over 200 correct entries, and this week's winner is Mark Minster of Terre Haute, Indiana. Congratulations, Mark.

MARK MINSTER: Thank you so much.

RASCOE: OK. So how did you come up with this? - 'cause this seems like this was a tricky one.

MINSTER: It was tricky. It took me two days of trying to make, you know, the word, like, knee-high work, which was satisfying my inner 4-year-old. And then on Tuesday, I was listening to the radio, and I heard the word molecular, and then I just went down a couple of levels on my drive to work. And I forgot to submit, and my wife reminded me on Wednesday. And the rest was history.

RASCOE: Wow. Oh, my God. And do you and your wife play together?

MINSTER: We do, yes. We got the kids involved too.

RASCOE: What do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?

MINSTER: Well, I'm an English professor at an engineering school. I like translating poetry. We like cooking. We like to travel, chasing the kids around to music lessons, that sort of thing.

RASCOE: OK. Well, it sounds like you're a very busy guy. We're glad you're here to partake in the Puzzle this week. I got to ask you, Mark, are you ready to play the Puzzle?

MINSTER: I am. I'm joyous and caffeinated. Let's do it.

RASCOE: OK. I love to hear that. Take it away, Will.

SHORTZ: I love that, too. OK, Mark and Ayesha. Today's puzzle is called All In. I'm going to give you clues for two words. Insert the word all inside the answer to the first clue to get the answer to the second. For example, if I said opposite of good and a romantic song, you would say bad and ballad. Here you go. Number one is exam and having the greatest height.

MINSTER: Test and tallest.

SHORTZ: You got it. To bathe standing up, and not as deep.

MINSTER: A shower and shallower.

SHORTZ: You got it. Something that's unexpected and beneficial, and an air-filled item attached to a string.

MINSTER: A boon and balloon.

SHORTZ: Good job. What bees do, and playing for time.

MINSTER: All I can think of is buzz.

SHORTZ: OK. What if they attack you?

MINSTER: Oh, sting and stalling.

SHORTZ: You got it. A descendant and a green onion.

MINSTER: A scion and scallion.

SHORTZ: Good job. An attempt in basketball and an onion used in cooking.

MINSTER: Shot and shallot.

SHORTZ: Good one. A sweeper's tool and a locale in the game Clue.

MINSTER: Broom and ballroom.

SHORTZ: Good one. Here's a tough one. An overhead structure supporting a crane, and courage displayed in battle.

MINSTER: Gantry and gallantry.

SHORTZ: Oh, I'm impressed. Here's your last one. Vast wooded areas, and prevents from happening.

MINSTER: Forest and forestall.

SHORTZ: Good job.

RASCOE: Whoo. You (laughter) - you knocked it out the park on that one. I couldn't even follow along. Like, I was - I would get one word.

(LAUGHTER)

MINSTER: I was just worried about not embarrassing myself, that's all.

RASCOE: How do you feel?

MINSTER: I feel great. Thank you so much.

RASCOE: OK. Well, you did a wonderful job. For playing our puzzle today, you'll get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin, as well as puzzle books and games. You can read all about it at /puzzle. And Mark, what member station do you listen to?

MINSTER: We listen to WFIU on the campus of Indiana University.

RASCOE: That's Mark Minster of Terre Haute, Indiana. Thanks for playing the Puzzle.

MINSTER: Thank you so much.

RASCOE: OK, Will. What's next week's challenge?

SHORTZ: Yes. It comes from Evan Kalish of Bayside, New York. Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. And the second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?

So again, a famous living singer with four syllables in his or her name. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?

RASCOE: When you have the answer, go to our website, /puzzle. To submit your response, just fill out the form on the Puzzle page. Remember, just one entry, please. Our deadline for entries this week is Thursday, January 29, at 3 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget to include a phone number where we can reach you. If you're the winner, we'll give you a call, and if you pick up the phone, you'll get to play on the air with the puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz. Thank you, Will.

SHORTZ: Thank you, Ayesha.

(SOUNDBITE OF STEVEN HENLEY JR.'S "PLAY THE PUZZLE")

Full article: https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5685117

Table of Contents

National Public Radio: 2026 Jan 27

National

Reporter's Notebook: Living and reporting from Minneapolis in crisis: 2026 Jan 27

Trump to hold de facto midterm kickoff in Iowa focused on the economy, energy prices: 2026 Jan 27

Meta, TikTok and YouTube are on trial over whether their apps hurt children: 2026 Jan 27

Minneapolis killings put a focus on use of body cameras: 2026 Jan 27

Border Patrol has a history of excessive force. Critics say they're out of their depth: 2026 Jan 26

A year after the DCA midair collision, families of those killed push for changes: 2026 Jan 26

World

In China, AI is no longer optional for some kids. It's part of the curriculum: 2026 Jan 27

At least 6,126 people killed in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests, activists say: 2026 Jan 27

NATO chief wishes 'good luck' to those who think Europe can defend itself without US help: 2026 Jan 27

Ukrainians are sharing hacks online on how to survive winter power cuts: 2026 Jan 26

Israel finds the last hostage body in Gaza, paving the way for next steps in Trump plan: 2026 Jan 26

France could become second country to ban social media for some teens: 2026 Jan 26

China's top generals under investigation as country's leader clears out ranks: 2026 Jan 26

Politics

Trump heads to Iowa hoping to refocus attention from shootings to the economy: 2026 Jan 27

Trump and Walz strike conciliatory tone in wake of second Minnesota killing: 2026 Jan 26

Fight over DHS funding has the government on track for a partial shutdown: 2026 Jan 26

GOP lawyer Chris Madel ends bid for Minnesota governor, calls ICE effort a 'disaster': 2026 Jan 26

The soaring ambitions of Trump's Board of Peace, and the realities of rebuilding Gaza: 2026 Jan 26

Health

How long do you need to spend in the gym to get strong? Less than you think: 2026 Jan 26

As GLP-1s become more available, some who aren't overweight may consider using them: 2026 Jan 26

A CrossFit-like race is booming in Asia, and young people are driving the surge: 2026 Jan 25

Education

Are snow days bad for students?: 2026 Jan 26

Culture

Here to Help: In Baton Rouge, kids get a free and safe place to go after school: 2026 Jan 26

Neighbors and church members transformed the home of a man with terminal cancer: 2026 Jan 26

Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure': 2026 Jan 26

Videos of cows using tools are drawing attention back to a cult-favorite cow comic: 2026 Jan 25

Sunday Puzzle: All In: 2026 Jan 25