NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Voters will have less time to get mail-in ballots to elections officials this year. Multiple states are eliminating grace periods for casting ballots by mail, as NPR's Ashley Lopez reports. Almost 20 states and territories count ballots that make it to officials after polls close. Moes require that those ballots be post-sparked by election day, though. These laws are in place to give voters wiggle room in case there are issues with the mail or other unforeseen problems. But four of those states passed legislation that require ballots to be received by the close of polls, regardless of when the voter mailed their ballot. Trump signed an executive order,

much of which is currently halted by a court order that sought to eliminate these grace periods altogether. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. 19 states have raised their minimum wage. The bottom rate varies by state, but the highest is $17.13 an hour in Washington state and $16.00.000. hour in Hawaii. The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour where it's been since 2009. American farmers hurt by U.S. terrorists are learning how much federal aid they can expect per acre. The Agriculture Department says payments from a recently announced $12 billion farm aid package should begin arriving by the end of February, but some farmers say it will not be enough. Authorities say is too soon to speculate on the cause of a deadly fire that claimed at least 40

lives at a ski resort bar in the Swiss Alps. President Guy Parmalen calls it one of the worst tragedies in Swiss history. As NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports, a social media video appears to show flames spreading above the bar. There's also what seems to be a promotional video from last year for the bar, and that shows female staff wearing biker helmets striding through the place carrying sparklers stuffed into alcohol bottles. People have also been asking whether last night the bar was overcrowded. So there's clearly lots of questions to be answered in this investigation. For now, officials are saying the priority is to identify the bodies of the victims, and they say that that could take quite some time. NPR's Ruth Sherlock. Columbia's armed forces say they have,

quote, neutralized the main leader of Trenda Agua, the country's most feared criminal gangs. The BBC's Mimi Swaby has more. Gendaragua was originally formed in 2014 in a Venezuelan prison and has since branched out and become a multi-national criminal organization. And it really has strong roots now across Latin America as well as the US with some gang members recently being captured as well in Spain. Now, the Trump administration is increasing its pressure on the gang. It is designated as a foreign terrorist organization and Donald Trump says it's enabling a huge. amount of drugs into the country and is the cause of serious violent crime. Mimi Swaby reporting, this is NPR.

At least seven people, including a 21-year-old paramilitary volunteer, have been killed in the latest unrest in Iran. The deaths are the first fatalities during protests triggered by a troubled economy. The protests have slowed in the capital while spreading into rural provinces. They're being called the largest since 2022 when a police killing triggered nationwide protests. Several international aid groups are urging Israel to reverse a new ban on dozens of groups

providing food, shelter, and health care to Palestinians. Details from NPR's Aya Patrawe. Eight-year-old Noor Zanu cries in pain. As a physician at this Doctors Without Borders Clinic in Gaza City changes her dressing for severe burns sustained in the war. She's among what the Gaza Health Ministry says is more than 170,000 Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks. NPR's Anasbaba visited the clinic's waiting room,

which was packed with the wounded and sick. But it faces closure now, after Israel banned Doctors Without Borders and around 40 other aid groups from bringing aid or staff into Gaza. Israel says the decision is based on new security and transparency requirements aid groups fail to meet. Doctors Without Borders says it treated a million patients in Gaza in 2020.

half the population. They say Palestinians will be deprived of essential care if aid groups lose access to Gaza. A. Abletrawe, NPR News. Chinese automaker BYD says its sales slowed in 2025 but reached nearly two and a half million outpacing Tesla. BYD and other Chinese firms have put pressure on Western rivals by offering EVs at cheaper price. This is NPR.