NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 5AM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Dozens of families in Houston, Texas are homeless after a fire tour through an apartment complex. It broke out early yesterday morning. Brian Sky Eagle is a deputy chief with the Houston Fire Department. He says it appears someone had been shooting off fireworks in the courtyard. Not only is it illegal to have fireworks in the Houston area, but this is unsafe. We've got children, we've got families, and they're all put out of a home tonight. So this is a very tragic start to a new year.

No injuries were reported. The new mayor of New York City is promising to enact an aggressive agenda to make the nation's largest city more affordable for working people. Democratic Socialists Iran Mandani was sworn in yesterday. He had campaigned heavily on cost-of-living issues, including affordable rents, universal childcare, and free bus service. Mamdami is the city's first Muslim mayor and at 34, the youngest in decades. 10 years ago today, a group of anti-government militants took over a federal wildlife refuge in Harney County, Oregon. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Conrad Wilson reports. The arms standoff at the Malhear National Wildlife Refuge was led by folks from outside Harney County.

Those who worked near the refuge, say a decade later, the occupier's message didn't stick. I think we were moving on even when it was happening. Brenda Smith runs a nonprofit in Harney County that for years has hosted conversations between ranchers, conservation groups, and federal land managers. Republican State Representative Mark Owens also farms in the county. Living through that and working through that, I don't think it was as impactful for the community as

as impactful for people watching the community. The occupation lasted 41 days, and before it was over, the leaders were arrested and one was shot and killed by police. For NPR News, I'm Conrad Wilson in Harney County, Oregon. Voters will have less time to get mail-in ballots to election officials this year. multiple states are eliminating grace periods for casting ballots by mail. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports. Almost 20 states and territories count ballots that make it to officials after polls close.

Most 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 and PR News. Swiss authorities say it may take days to identify all those who died in a fire at a ski resort yesterday. At least 40 people were killed when the fire swept through a New Year's celebration. More than 100 people were injured, some seriously.

Authorities say they have yet to determine a final death toll because many of the bodies were badly brought. burned. This is NPR News in Washington. China is now taxing contraception for years. Controceptive products were not taxed. That was at a time when officials feared China could not support a large population and impose the one-child policy, limiting families to one child. But now China wants to encourage people to have more babies as it faces a falling birth rate leading to a smaller workforce. As of January 1st, there is a 13% tax on contraception. The case of a flesh-eating parasite has been reported in the Mexican state along the border with Texas. Nina Krovinsky from member station KJZZ has details. More than a year after Mexico's first reported case of the

New World screw worm, the deadly parasite has been discovered in a cow in the Mexican state of Tamalipas. The United States closed the U.S.-Mexico border to cattle for much of 2025, and effort to protect its herds from the parasite, which so far has not been reported in the U.S. The New World Screw Worm has largely spread in southern Mexico, but there have been cases closer to the U.S. border. Mexico says this most recent case in a border state has only been detected in a single animal. Mexican ranchers have been advocating for months for a phased reopening of the border so they can return to exporting their cattle to the United States. For NPR News, I'm Nina Kravinsky in Hermosio, Mexico.

In college football, it's now down to the final four teams. Ole Miss will play Miami in the Fiesta Bowl Thursday night. The next night, Indiana faces Oregon in the Peach Bowl. The winners of those two games will then play for the national title, January 19th. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.