NPR News: 02-02-2026 8AM EST
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What updates are there on the federal government shutdown?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Kuhlman. The partial federal government shutdown continues. The Senate passed legislation on Friday to fund federal agencies, but the bill only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks. This is supposed to give lawmakers time to negotiate changes to the agency at the heart of President Trump's immigration crackdown. The House has to pass the Senate measure before the shutdown can end. And Bears Luke Garrett says the Speaker of the House is optimistic.
Speaker Johnson told Fox News he and Trump support some changes to DHS.
For example, we want body cameras on immigration custom enforcement agents.
But Johnson made clear the GOP won't budge on issues of DHS agents hiding their identities with masks, citing officer safety. This doesn't line up with the changes Democrats want.
NPR's Lou Garrett reporting. A federal judge has rejected a request from local and state officials in Minnesota to temporarily stop the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The judge says despite her order, the crackdown will likely have profound consequences for Minnesota. There's a new report from a nonpartisan government watchdog. It suggests the Trump administration's efforts to fire staff at the Department of Education ended up costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
NPR's Corey Turner reports. Last March, the administration tried to fire some 300 attorneys and staff from the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. Their work is to investigate families' complaints of school-based discrimination related to sex, race, disability, and more. The courts paused the firings, so the Trump administration then made a choice. For nearly nine months, it kept these staff on paid leave instead of letting them work. Now, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says the cost of that lost work in salary and benefits was between $28.5 and $38 million. The administration pushed back, saying since these staff were finally allowed to work in December, it considers the issue moot.
Corey Turner, NPR News.
Gaza's main border crossing is supposed to reopen, but no one has crossed through the Egypt-Gaza border yet. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports.
An Israeli security official and Egyptian state TV announced the Rafah border crossing was open. But Palestinian health officials say it appears only five medical patients will be given Israeli permission today to leave through the crossing. In addition, small groups of medical patients may be allowed in and out through a separate Israeli crossing. These small numbers don't meet the need. Gaza health officials say 20,000 Palestinians are in need of medical treatment abroad that they can't get in Gaza. There are still no arrangements to allow travel for average Palestinians. But the move to reopen the crossing is a milestone. Under U.S. pressure, Israel allowed it to reopen after a final Israeli hostage body was recovered last week.
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
Two of the most nominated musicians at this year's Grammy Awards made history last night. Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar both set new records, and Piers Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has more.
Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos, a love letter to his home island of Puerto Rico, became the first Spanish-language album to ever win Album of the Year. During his acceptance speech, the 31-year-old spoke primarily in Spanish. He told the people of his island that there is nothing they can't accomplish and thanked his mom for giving birth to him there. The other big winner of the night was Kendrick Lamar.
The L.A.
rapper took home five Grammys total, making him the most awarded artist of the night for the second consecutive year. He also became the most awarded rapper in Grammys history. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News.
What are the implications of the recent immigration crackdown in Minnesota?
It's February 2nd, or Groundhog Day, and keeping with tradition, thousands of fans of Punxsutawney Phil in central Pennsylvania turned out to hear his weather prediction this morning. Dan McGinley is the vice president of the Groundhog Club's inner circle.
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