NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 10AM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Switzerland has declared five days of mourning for the victims of a New Year's Eve fire that tour through a bar at a popular ski resort town in the Swiss Alps. Authorities say at least 40 people have died and more than 100 others were injured, many of them seriously. NPR's Ruth Sherlock has more. The Le Constellation Bar in the Swiss Ski Resort town of Kranz Montana was a favorite for young people, including many teenagers.

16-year-old Axel Clavier described to the BBC trying to get out of the basement nightclub. He says, we thought we were going to suffocate because of the smoke. We didn't know where to exit. There was a huge crowd,

and I was alone. I told myself, I wasn't going to make it. He pushed his way up the one narrow staircase and smashed a window to escape. Witnesses outside the bar described seeing people coming out, some with their clothes still on fire. An investigation is underway into the cause of the fire.

Officials say it was not a deliberate attack. Ruth Sherlock and P.R. News. Somali American daycare providers in Minneapolis say they're facing threats and vandalism after a right-wing YouTube influencer accused them of fraud. NPR's Brian Mann reports the video targets Somali-run childcare centres, echoing past claims that led the Trump administration to cut federal funding. Now, Zerulu Muhammad spoke at a press conference at the Nukomas Daycare Center where he works in Minneapolis. And he said there's been a break-in, there's been vandalism, and some people in the community are scared.

And Muhammad says sensitive documents have been stolen. After that press conference on Wednesday, President Trump posted on social media calling Muhammad's account of the break-in a total fraud. As this situation unfolded, Trump has again attacked Somali Americans in Minnesota. calling them low-lifes. That's NPR's Brian Mann. Stocks opened a hire on this first business day of the new year. MPR, Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37 points in early trading. Investors are hoping stock market momentum continues into the new year. After major indexes recorded double-digit gains in 2025, the Dow rose 13 percent last year, while the S&P 500 index jumped more than 16 percent. Tesla is reporting falling sales now that a 75

$100 tax credit for electric vehicles has expired. Tesla says fourth quarter sales were down around 16 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales for all of 2025 were down around 9 percent. Meanwhile, China's BYD saw its sales increase last year, passing Tesla to become the world's number one EV maker. Stocks were higher today in Hong Kong and Seoul. Markets were closed in Tokyo and Shanghai. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 52 points, the NASDAQ up 304. This is NPR. It was a night of upsets as the four teams won slots in the semifinals for the college football championship.

Pat Duggins of Alabama Public Radio reports. The Indiana Hoosiers is the only top-ranked team to survive the quarterfinals. Miami, Oregon, and Old Miss beat Ohio State, Texas Tech, and Georgia. Number one ranked Indiana's head coach Kirk Signetti says he learned to break an opponent's will by working as an assistant to Nick Sabin at Alabama. The Hoosiers did that to the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl. It takes a while. It doesn't happen in the first quarter, second quarter. It happens in the second half at some point. Next week's games in the Fiesta and Peach Bowls will decide which two teams play for the national title.

For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Parts of upstate New York are digging out from a powerful winter storm this week that brought more than a foot of snow to some parts. Dermande Demons, who's originally from the south, says he's still clearing snow in front of home in Syracuse. We don't have to fight snow, you know, we don't have to fight ice. We still have conditions where, you know, you could die freezing temperatures, but as far as the climate goes, where the extra challenges, we don't have to face that. We're still able to operate the whole winter. We can still do things without having to have the extra obstacles.

The National Weather Service recorded more than two feet of snow at Hancock International Airport on Tuesday. That not only smashed the record for December 30th, but also May Tuesday, the second snowiest day for Syracuse since official records began in 1902. On Wall Street, the Dow up 53 points, the S&P 500 up 42. This is NPR News.