NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2026 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Investigators are attempting to identify victims of an apparently accidental fire at the Khan Montana Ski Resort in Switzerland during New Year's celebrations. The fire began in a crowded bar. About 40 people died and more than 100 were injured. Top prosecutor Beatrice Spieu is among those leading the investigation. She's heard here through an interpreter. The priority is really on.

medicine at the moment where there are reinforcements that have been required, have been called from our neighboring cantons to help us to identify the people who have died. Beatrice Piyud has heard through an interpreter on the BBC. President Trump says he will not send National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles, in Portland, Oregon for now. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Bryce Dole has the latest. The president's announcement came as hundreds of people visited downtown Portland for New Year's Eve. Among them was Holly Romero, a retired yoga instructor.

Honestly, I feel safer because, you know, once the military starts going against the civilians, then it's fascism. It's called what it is. Stephen Martin, a fertility clinic specialist, had a different view. I'd like to have a larger presence because the city is unsafe, especially at night. State and local leaders were locked in a court fight with the president for months. Trump tried to send the National Guard to protect. the ICE facility in Portland, but a federal judge blocked him from doing so. Governor Tina Kotech called the news, quote, a big win for Oregonians and for the rule of law.

For NPR News, I'm Bryce Dole. The U.S. Postal Services warning voters and taxpayers, the postmarks will not necessarily reflect the day that letters and parcels are first mailed. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports the new system could affect whether bills, ballots, and tax returns are considered to be on time. USPS says the official date stamped on mail reflects when it's processed by a sorting machine, not when the Postal Service first receives it. That means letters and payments could be postmarked a day or more after they're sent,

depending on pickup and sorting schedules. For decades, the postmark has served as proof that something was mailed on time, especially for bills, legal documents, tax filings, and mail-in-back. Postal officials say the new language is intended to improve public understanding of postmarks, but critics mourn it could create problems, leading to late fees, missed deadlines, and confusion, especially in communities that rely heavily on traditional mail. Windsor Johnston, NPR News. U.S. markets are closed for this New Year's Day from Washington.

You're listening to NPR News. While Times Square rang in the new year, underground at an old abandoned subway station, Zaharan Mamdani was being sworn in as mayor of New York City, with the oath being administered by state A.G. Letitia James. Mayor of the city of New York. According to the best of my ability. According to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. And Momdani gets to do it all over again this hour, this time in a very public ceremony. Thousands of copyrighted works enter the public domain today, NPR's Netta Ulibe reports. Copyright expires for works from 1930 and sound recordings from 1925.

95 years have passed since the publication of books now in the public domain, books like William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, and the first four Nancy Drew detective novels. Movies from 1930 include a Marx Brothers classic, Animal Crackers, and the epic war film All Quiet on the Western Front. It's set in the trenches of World War I. Music, entering the public domain in 2026, includes a few compositions by George Gershwin and the first recording of Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra.

This means the work is available for anyone to use, reuse, or remix without paying a fee. Netta Ulippi, NPR News. A group of federal workers filed a class action suit against a Trump administration. and they argue that a policy that drops coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs is discriminatory. This is NPR News.