NPR News: 01-27-2026 5AM EST

episode

NPR News Now 4 min 4 speakers 5 chapters transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: chapters · speakers · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What recent events are impacting immigration policies in Minnesota?

Dave Mattingly 0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattockley. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says he had a productive phone call with President Trump about de-escalating tensions following Saturday's fatal shooting of a man in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers. NPR's Martin Costi has more.

Martin Costi 0:21

Walz announced on social media that he'd spoken to Trump and that Trump, quote, agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota, unquote. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Walls added that Customs and Border Protection Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino would leave the state. Since last summer, Bovino has been the face of immigration enforcement surges in Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and now the Twin Cities, where he said without evidence that Alex Preddy had intended to, quote, massacre law enforcement agents before he was shot and killed. Bovino also provoked local anger by referring to the Border Patrol agents as the victims in that incident. Wall said Trump would send in ICE veteran and border czar Tom Homan to take over the operation in Minnesota.

Martin Costi 1:05

Martin Koste, NPR News.

Dave Mattingly 1:07

A federal judge in Minnesota is ordering the acting director of U.S.

How are winter storms affecting power restoration efforts in the U.S.?

Dave Mattingly 1:11

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, to appear in court on Friday. It stems from a case in which ICE did not follow the court-ordered release of a detained man. The man's attorney says his client must be let go because ICE failed to provide him with a bond hearing. The judge's order notes this is one of dozens of court orders in recent weeks with which ICE has failed to comply. Crews are slowly making progress to restore power to areas of the U.S. most affected by the latest winter storm. More than 530,000 homes and businesses are still without power this morning. That's down from more than 800,000 at this time yesterday. The hardest-hit states include Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, where heavy icing brought down trees and power lines.

Dave Mattingly 2:00

Curtis Tate with member station WEKU reports on efforts to get the lights back on in Kentucky.

What led to the recent crash of a private jet in Bangor, Maine?

Curtis Tate 2:06

Counties along Kentucky's southern border received a layer of ice over the weekend that at its peak cut off electricity to more than 60,000 customers. Utility repair crews are working 16-hour shifts to replace broken poles and downed lines. The effort may take them the rest of the week, especially in the region's remote rural areas. and as temperatures were set to fall into the single digits and below zero, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced over social media the death of a 72-year-old woman from hypothermia. Eastern grid operator PJM, which includes parts of Kentucky, revised upward its peak electricity demand forecast and said high power consumption would persist through the week. I'm Curtis Tate in Richmond, Kentucky.

Dave Mattingly 2:47

At least six people were killed in Sunday night's fiery crash of a private jet at an airport in Bangor, Maine. That jet went down during takeoff. This is NPR News. A former Olympic athlete who represented Canada in snowboarding has pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering multiple killings while running a billion-dollar drug trafficking ring.

What charges has a former Olympic athlete faced in a drug trafficking case?

Dave Mattingly 3:12

Ryan Wedding entered his plea yesterday in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, southeast of Los Angeles. Wedding was apprehended in Mexico last week, less than a year after he was added to the FBI's list of its 10 most wanted fugitives. Wedding competed in the Winter Games in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Prosecutors say Wedding had been in hiding in Mexico for more than a decade. They accuse him of moving up to 60 tons of cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and Southern California under the protection of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The U.S. Olympic team is set for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy. Here's NPR's Ping Wang. More than 230 U.S. athletes are headed to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Who are the notable athletes representing the U.S. at the upcoming Winter Olympics?

Dave Mattingly 3:57

They range in age from 15-year-old Abby Winterberger, a free skier from California, to Rich Ruinen, a 54-year-old curler from Minnesota. Two-time gold medalist Michaela Schifrin is back, representing the U.S.