NPR News: 01-19-2026 4PM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Kremlin says President Trump will go down in the history books if he's able to secure U.S. control over Greenland. The comments come as the White House continues its push to annex the territory despite the island belonging to Denmark, a U.S.-NATO ally. From Moscow, NPR's Charles Mains reports.
What historic actions is President Trump taking regarding Greenland?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says he isn't weighing in on whether a possible U.S. annexation of Greenland would be good, bad, or even legal. Instead, Peskov says he's merely acknowledging that President Trump's actions would be historic and written about for years to come. Trump has justified his intentions on Greenland as necessary to protect U.S. security interests in the Arctic from rival powers, including Russia. Yet many Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and members of his Security Council, have suggested Trump's claims on Greenland are historically justified. And what observers say is tacit Russian support for a move all but sure to provoke a crisis in the transatlantic alliance.
Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow.
A group of prominent Catholic leaders in the United States is denouncing recent foreign policy moves by the Trump administration. NPR's Jason Derose reports.
U.S. cardinals from Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Newark write in a statement that the building of sustainable peace is, quote, "...being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies." The statement points to U.S. actions related to Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland. Cardinal Shupich of Chicago writes that, quote, as pastors entrusted with the teaching of our people, we cannot stand by while decisions are made that condemn millions to lives trapped permanently at the edge of existence. The statement comes as Pope Leo recently put forth a Vatican foreign policy agenda calling for just and sustainable relations among nations. Jason DeRose, NPR News.
About 1,500 active duty troops remain on standby for a potential deployment to Minnesota. Tensions in Minneapolis have reached a boiling point over the presence of federal immigration agents. Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison says the real threat isn't protesters, it's the federal government's growing footprint.
But this is all driven by the illegal, unconstitutional escalation of the president. This is what it's all about. We don't need more people from Alaska or anywhere else. We need them to leave. We need to go back to normal levels of a federal presence in our state, not this occupation.
Over the weekend, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz directed the State National Guard to prepare to deploy to help local police and emergency management agencies. The Trump administration says the influx of federal agents is necessary to restore order and enforce immigration law. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. For more than 20 years, the annual Let Freedom Ring concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's life and work. This year, the concert is relocating within the nation's capital. As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.
Let Freedom Ring was a signature event at the Kennedy Center. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama attended the celebration. Georgetown University, which produces the concert, says it's moving to the historic Howard Theater to save money. Longtime music producer Nolan Williams Jr. says he has no regrets.
You celebrate the time that was and the impact that has been, and then you move forward to the next thing.
For this year's concert, Williams wrote a piece called Just Like Selma.
The headliner for this year's Let Freedom Ring is the actor and rapper Common. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
Working nine to five.
Country music legend Dolly Parton is celebrating her 80th birthday today. And instead of accepting gifts, she's focused on giving one.
When I first started thinking about something special to do for my 80th birthday, I thought, well, Lord, please give me a song or something to make the birthday special and to be a gift from me to other people for my birthday.
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