NPR News: 01-09-2026 1PM EST
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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Minnesota authorities are asking the public to send in video or any other evidence they have that could help them with the investigation of a Minneapolis woman's fatal shooting by a federal immigration agent this week. Here's State Attorney General Keith Ellison.
She died trying to be a legal assistant to legal observer to look out for the interests of the most vulnerable members of our community.
What recent events have occurred in Minneapolis regarding immigration enforcement?
The administration says the agent who shot Renee Good acted in self-defense. Federal agents are also under scrutiny over a shooting in Portland, Oregon that injured two people. It touched off protests outside an ICE facility last night. The Trump administration maintains agents are authorized to act if they are threatened while attempting to enforce immigration law. The newest Labor Department numbers show U.S. hiring in December cooled further and brought to a close the slowest year of job growth since the onset of the pandemic. Employers added 50,000 jobs, falling short of the widely projected 70,000. As recent polls suggest growing disapproval with President Trump's handling of the economy. They also indicate strong support for his military action in Venezuela among Republicans.
At the same time, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll, a majority of those surveyed are concerned the U.S. will become too involved in Venezuela. Here's Trump speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity.
It's going to take a while to do it. We have to rebuild the country. They couldn't have an election. They wouldn't even know how to have an election right now. The country has become third world, and they wouldn't know how to have an election right now. We're going to rebuild the oil and the oil infrastructure. We'll be in charge of it.
and make a lot of money, President Trump adds. The president told the New York Times this week the only thing that constrains him on foreign policy is his morality and mind. A new NPR-Ipsos poll finds that most Americans want the U.S. to be the moral leader in the world, but far fewer think it is. NPR's Frank Langfitt has details.
Just over 60% think the U.S. should be the world's moral leader, according to the poll. But 45% say it isn't. Sarah Bolling is a Democrat who lives in Little Rock. She says the U.S. attack on Venezuela is a good example.
It's not about anything that has to do with the betterment of the people in Venezuela. It's solely due to taking over the resources in that land, and that is not moral to me in my world.
By contrast, more than 60% of Republicans say the U.S. is the world's moral leader and that it should not hesitate to use its military power. Frank Lankfitt, NPR News.
U.S. stocks are trading higher this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now up 200 points at 49,465. This is NPR News. Former professional wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. is on trial in Mississippi. He is accused of pocketing nearly $3 million in federal funding intended for families in need. Shamir Muhammad with Mississippi Public Broadcasting has the latest.
DiBiase is accused of using the funds to enrich himself, buying private real estate and even a boat through six sham contracts. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy, embezzlement and wire fraud. A former internal auditor of Mississippi's Department of Human Services has testified that DiBiase received an agency corner office, a state email address, and a phone, even though he was not a state employee or contractor. Agency witnesses from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services also testified.
How is the U.S. job market performing as of December 2025?
This is the only criminal case to go to trial in Mississippi's $77 million welfare fraud scandal. For NPR News, I'm Shamir Mohamed in Jackson.
The Trump administration is expected to provide $45 million in aid to its U.S. trade partners Cambodia and Thailand as Washington attempts to keep a U.S. brokered ceasefire between the Southeast Asian neighbors from collapsing. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State made the announcement in an online media briefing in Bangkok.
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