NPR News: 02-08-2026 4AM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
What recent developments are there in U.S. immigration policy?
White House Borders R. Tom Homan says he would like to draw down the surge of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. But speaking with KSTP Television on Saturday, he said he can only do so if he's confident his agents left behind won't be put at risk.
I need some help from the governor and mayor to get the message out there to the public. And as the agitation, as the interference taps down, that allows me to release the security force quicker.
He says if it does get to that support, the drawdown could take place over the next couple of weeks. A protest, meanwhile, was held outside a federal building in Minneapolis on Saturday. It was the one-month anniversary of the death of Renee Good, who was shot while slowly driving away from immigration officers. The opposition parties that control Taiwan's legislature are in an escalating back and forth with U.S. lawmakers who are urging the island to spend more on its own defense. As Ashish Valentine reports, what's at stake is $40 billion in defense spending currently stalled in Taiwan's legislature.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de has asked the legislature for $40 billion to pay for U.S. arms sales and other weapons system upgrades over the next eight years. But opposition parties, which favor closer ties with Beijing, say they haven't received enough details from the president to justify signing a blank check. They've proposed cutting the budget down significantly. The director of the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan is siding with President Lai. So are U.S. Senators Gene Shaheen, a Democrat, and Republican Jim Risch of the Foreign Relations Committee. They said they're deeply disappointed the special defense budget hasn't moved forward. They urged politicians to work across party lines to fully fund Taiwan's self-defense.
For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine in Taipei.
A collapsed pipe just outside of Washington, D.C. has sent 243 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River. That's according to D.C. Water, the city's water and sewer authority, which has released new information on the environmental impacts of the broken sewer line. As NPR's Andrew Limbaugh reports, clean water advocates want the city to issue a public health warning.
243 million gallons is roughly 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The pipe in question broke late January, but a few days ago, as they were making repairs, D.C. Water discovered a rock dam stretching 30 feet downstream from the original breaking point. Shari Lewis, spokesperson for DC Water, said that the company can't announce a timeline for a full repair until the rock blockage is removed. That process alone is estimated to take four to six weeks. The Potomac Riverkeeper Network, which advocates for clean water, did a study with researchers at the University of Maryland following the pipe's collapse and found high levels of fecal-related bacteria in the water. The network sent out a statement saying, quote, the Potomac River is not safe.
Andrew Limbaugh, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News.
Expect fewer roses and chocolates this Valentine's Day. A new survey from LendingTree says Americans are planning to spend almost $50 less on the holiday this year. NPR's Stephen Passaha reports.
LendingTree says the jewelry items it tracks are up almost 8% from last year. Chocolates up nearly 12%. Matt Schultz is LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst.
The last thing anybody wants to do is be a cheapskate on Valentine's Day, but When prices are really high and budgets are tight, sometimes you have to make some sacrifice.
But most American couples are still planning on gift-giving. People in the survey expect to spend about $130 this year.
How is Taiwan's defense budget being impacted by political opposition?
And if you're considering overspending, remember 72% of Americans said they'd be upset if their partner took on credit card debt for the holiday. Stephen Basaja, NPR News.
Ukraine's president says the U.S. has given both Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal to end the nearly four-year war there.
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