NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2026 3AM EST

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shays Stevens. Zoroamam Dani has been sworn in as the first Muslim mayor of New York City. The 34-year-old progressive Democrat rose in a single year from being a relatively unknown state lawmaker to lead the largest city in the United States. More from NPR's Brian Mann. The oath was administered to Mamdani in a ceremony held in a historic subway station under City Hall by New York State Attorney General, Letitia James. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Mamdani was born in Uganda to parents originally from India.

At a time when President Trump has sought to limit immigration from Muslim and African countries, Mamdani swept to victory, promising to make New York City more affordable in building a movement of young voters. After his swearing in, he flashed his trademark grin. This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime. A larger public ceremony will take place later on. New Year's Day on the steps of City Hall. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. President Trump says he's pulling National Guard troops from several major cities.

The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration's emergency appeal of plans to deploy troops to Chicago. NPRS. Franco Ordonez reports. President Trump says in a social media post that he's polling troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. In his true social post, Trump credits the deployment with reducing crime and promises to come back in a different and stronger form. Trump has argued that the Guard was needed in the democratically led cities to quell crime and protect federal immigration officers,

but he's also faced legal defeats as Democratic governors have opposed the moves. This was the first time the Supreme Court waited into the matter and while not precedent-setting, the ruling brings some clarity to Trump's presidential powers. Franco Ordonez. NPR News, Palm Beach. A House Medal has released a transcript of its interview with former special counsel, Jack Smith. NPR's Gary Johnson

reports that Smith has volunteered to testify publicly, but no Republican leader has accepted his offer. The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee dropped the nearly 300-page transcript on New Year's Eve. Jack Smith fielded questions about his work building criminal cases against now President Donald Trump over Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged refusal the turnover secret documents to the FBI. Smith told lawmakers the election case was built on Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before their political party and that several state and federal officials would have been witnesses for the prosecution.

The Justice Department dropped both cases against Trump after last year's election, following a long policy that the sitting president cannot be prosecuted. Carrie Johnson and PR News, Washington. Wall Street closed out the year on a down-down. note, this is NPR. A new report from UNICEF finds sexual violence against children is endemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert explains, the problem is especially acute in regions gripped by conflict. Sexual violence against children has been increasing in the country for several years.

In 2024, more than 45,000 cases were reported, a number that will likely be surpassed in 2025. Ramatou Ture, Chief of Child Protection with UNICEF, DRC, calls the problem endemic. It means that basically you have several layers or drivers that are compounded that makes it happen everywhere. About half the reported cases are in areas of conflict. Ture says sexual violence is often used as a weapon of war. But elsewhere, high rates of poverty and child marriage exacerbate the problem. The report calls on the government to do more to support survivors. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

New Year celebrations are continuing around the world as revelers usher in the year 2026. In Brazil, over two and a half million people gathered on Copacabana Beach to celebrate. In Sydney, Australia, two official fireworks displays were held, while revelers also remembered those killed in a terror attack on a Hanukkah festival last month. Security is heightened this year in New Orleans, where motors ran into a crowd last year, killing 14 people in Burroughs. Street on New Year's Day. The crystal cover Times Square Ball in New York City was highlighted in the colors red, white, and blue to kick off the nation's celebration of its 250th birthday.

This is NPR News.