NPR News: 01-18-2026 11PM EST
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What is the current situation with U.S. troops and protests in Minnesota?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. U.S. officials tell NPR the Pentagon is telling 1,500 active-duty troops to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota. This amid growing protests as clashes rise between immigration agents and protesters after a woman was killed by an ICE agent earlier this month. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has opened criminal investigations into the state's governor and also Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye.
Of course, we will comply in it. But at the same time, we need to be understanding how wild this is. And whether it's Senator Slotkin or Governor Walz or myself, this is not the way that we conduct ourselves in America.
Speaking there on ABC's This Week. President Trump is expected to announce a plan letting Americans use their retirement savings for down payments on homes at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that starts tomorrow.
What are President Trump's plans for retirement savings and homeownership?
Trump offered few details on how it will work, but the White House says he'll present a final plan in Davos this week. Meanwhile, as Trump's approval ratings hover slightly above 40 percent, he's been working to communicate to voters his plans to make life more affordable. Implementation? That's another matter. And here's Daniel Kurtzleben explains.
Some of Trump's ideas he has been able to enact himself, like pulling back tariffs he himself instituted on some foods and beverages. Some he would need Congress to pass, like the outline of a health care plan he pitched, which would give Affordable Care Act subsidy money directly to consumers. Speaker Mike Johnson has given a tepid response to another new Trump idea to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Trump has been putting more energy into the affordability message since Democrats won November elections by leaning into that topic. However, his administration's attack on Venezuela, ICE troops in Minneapolis, and threats to Greenland have often overshadowed that message.
How is the Syrian government gaining control in northern Syria?
Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
Syrian government forces have taken control of another major city in northern Syria after clashes with Kurdish-led forces. NPR's Jawad Rizkallah has more.
The Syrian army entered the Arab city of Tabqa early Sunday. The city had been held by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, since 2017 when they pushed ISIS out of it. Fighting has lasted more than a week. The SDF already withdrew from Aleppo suburbs and towns further east, leaving Tabqa as the last city they controlled west of the Euphrates River. A local man speaking anonymously, fearing potential SDF reprisal, said his cousins joined local Arab tribal fighters in attacking SDF positions before government forces entered. We spoke to him as he was celebrating, quote, liberation at a central roundabout in the city.
What caused the recent train collision in southern Spain?
Syrian state media later announced a ceasefire deal. The SDF has yet to confirm. Jawad Rizqallah, NPR News, Beirut.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In southern Spain, at least 21 people are dead after two high-speed trains collided tonight. Officials say one of the trains derailed and jumped onto a track hitting a train coming in the opposite direction. Dozens are injured. Officials say the accident happened in a hard-to-reach area. There's no word on the cause of the accident. More cities are turning to AI to help address homelessness, using data and predictive algorithms to try to stop it before it starts.
How are cities using AI to address homelessness?
And here's Windsor Johnston has more. Cities like Los Angeles are using predictive algorithms to scan everything from emergency room visits to public benefits records, identifying people most at risk of losing housing. Janie Roundtree, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA, says the goal is early intervention.
We are never going to solve the problem of homelessness unless we can not only house people who are already experiencing homelessness, we also have to prevent it before it happens. You need people to find those people in time to help them.
People flagged by the system get a call from a case manager and possibly one-time financial help.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the current situation with U.S. troops and protests in Minnesota?
0:01–1:00
2
What are President Trump's plans for retirement savings and homeownership?
1:00–1:57
3
How is the Syrian government gaining control in northern Syria?
1:57–2:47
4
What caused the recent train collision in southern Spain?
2:47–3:27
5
How are cities using AI to address homelessness?
3:27–4:30
6
What unusual weather event occurred in the Florida panhandle?
4:30–4:38