NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2026 5AM EST

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. New York City has a new mayor, Zoran Mamdami, was sworn in by New York Attorney General Lettician James just after midnight in a private ceremony at a decommissioned subway station. After just having taken my oath to become the mayor of the city of New York, I do so also here in the old City Hall subway station, a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality the health, the legacy of our city.

A public inaugural ceremony will be held this afternoon at City Hall. The Democratic Socialist will be sworn in again by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders. Mimdani is the first Muslim mayor of New York City and the first of South Asian descent. At 34, he's also the youngest in New York in generations. Starting today, sodas, caffeinated beverages, and candy are off the table for snap recipients in five states. From Nebraska Public Media News, Macy Byers reports on the changes. Electronic benefit cards can no longer be used to buy products like sodas, energy drinks, and candy in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia. Product restrictions vary between states, with Iowa enacting the most restrictive changes on some prepared foods like granola bars.

Nebraska was the first state to seek USDA approval for their restrictions, which includes soft drinks and energy. drinks. The restrictions align with the Trump administrations make America Healthy Again initiative, which has sought to restrict processed foods, lower drug prices, and overturn existing vaccine recommendations. 13 more states also had their waivers approved and will enact restrictions sometime in 2026. For NPR news, I'm Macy Byers in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Legal Accountability Project, a non-profit group that advocates for law clerks, has filed a complaint alleging that a federal appeals court judge has been bullying her law clerks. NPR's Carrie Johnson says Sarah Merriam had been accused of abuse of conduct before.

This case is interesting, in part because this project says Judge Merriam is the subject of a previous complaint. There's a public order from 2023 that does not name this judge but seems to match details in the new filing from the legal accountability project. That investigation found the judge had. in overly harsh management style. Officials closed the investigation after the judge agreed to watch workplace videos and receive some counseling. NPR is Carrie Johnson. A fire broke out at a ski resort in Switzerland early this morning. Officials say there were several people killed and many others injured.

They were not more specific than that. The fire started during New Year festivities in a bar in the heart of the Swiss Alps, about 25 miles north of the Matterhorn. This is NPR News. in Washington. In his New Year's address, Taiwanese President Light Ching-Tai promised today to defend Taiwan

against what he called China's rising expansionist ambitions. China just completed live-fire military drills around the island. China claims Taiwan as its own territory. Bourbon maker Jim Beam is halting production at its flagship plant in Kentucky for all of 2026.

As NPR's Ava Poucatch reports, Industry analysts say tariffs and changes in people's drinking tastes influence the pause. Jim Beam says it will invest in site enhancements at the Claremont flagship facility during the production pods. The company will continue to distill it to other sites in Kentucky. Sierra Enloe is a Kentucky-based economic development consultant. She says there's uncertainty in the global market for bourbon and other distilleries have halted production intermittently because of that. Beam isn't unique. It truly is an industry trend where we're seeing that this uncertainty is leading to a pause in economic activity. Americans are drinking less overall. And bourbon

exports have faced a trade battle with some countries like Canada souring on the product altogether. Abipukatch and PR News. The Department of Health and Human Services is freezing a federal program that helps low-income families pay for child care. Officials say this comes in response to allegations of fraud in Minnesota but applies to all money distributed under the Child Care and Development Fund. Some 1.4 million children received assistance in 2019. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News.