NPR News: 02-08-2026 12PM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm.
What concerns do Democrats have about President Trump's influence on midterm elections?
The midterm elections are nine months away, and some Democrats are concerned that President Trump will try to undermine the public's confidence in the results. The party holding the White House often loses ground in the Congress in the midterms. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff says Trump will do everything he can to suppress the vote.
He hasn't brought prices down. There's chaos and killing in American streets by ICE agents. The public has turned against him. In every election we've had since his election, the voters have swung wildly against him. And as he said at that prayer breakfast, his ego cannot stand another loss.
He was interviewed on ABC's This Week. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said today, He's imposing sanctions on some foreign manufacturers of components for Russian drones and missiles used against Ukraine. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
Producing this weaponry would be impossible without critical foreign components, which the Russians continue to obtain by circumventing sanctions, Zelensky wrote on X. He said Ukraine is introducing new sanctions against companies that continue to supply such components, wittingly or unwittingly, as well as against the missile and drone manufacturers. Targets include China, Panama, and UAE-based companies. Russia strikes Ukraine nearly every night, though the frequency and intensity has dropped recently, say experts, as its supplies are running low. Experts also say recent missiles shot at Ukraine were produced this year, proof that Russia has gone through much of its original stockpile. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Poltava, Ukraine.
Russian authorities say they have a suspect in last week's attempted assassination of a senior military intelligence officer. They say a Russian citizen was detained in Dubai and is now in custody in Moscow. Vladimir Akseyev serves as the first deputy head of Russia's military intelligence service. He was shot three times in his apartment building on Friday. He is expected to survive. Team USA has won its first medal of the Winter Olympics. Skier Breezy Johnson took the gold in the women's downhill race in Italy. NPR's Becky Sullivan reports.
Any downhill race requires taking risks and pushing your limit, and Breezy Johnson's run looked just like that. She hit a top speed of 80 miles per hour and finished in one minute, 36.1 seconds, which was just four hundredths of a second ahead of silver medalist Emma Eicher of Germany. Italy's Sofia Goggia won bronze. It's the first Olympic medal for Johnson, who missed her chance in 2022 when she badly injured her knee just before the Games in Beijing. Lindsey Vonn was already in the middle of an incredible career comeback when she tore her left ACL just over a week ago and decided to race in Sunday's race anyway. but the 41-year-old American crashed badly just 13 seconds into her run when she clipped a gate and had to be airlifted off the course.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
This is NPR News in Washington. Japan's public broadcaster NHK is projecting that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party won decisively in today's parliamentary election. It's projected it won a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, which would allow the prime minister to overcome any upper house opposition to her conservative agenda. Vote counting is underway in Thailand after a general election. Three major parties are expected to win the most votes, conservative, progressive, and populist. No single party is expected to secure a clear majority, so a coalition government is likely. When Super Bowl 60 kicks off between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots tonight, John Beaver will become the only credentialed photographer to work at all 60 Super Bowls.
Greg Eklund reports.
When John Beaver took a buyout from Sports Illustrated magazine after his 50th Super Bowl, he thought his streak would end.
What sanctions is Ukraine imposing against foreign manufacturers?
But with no desire to stop after 50, he's been credentialed since by the NFL to take photos and eagerly anticipates his 60th big game.
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