NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 8AM 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 Yearse 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. It's been two weeks since the Justice Department was supposed to release all of the Epstein files in its possession. NPR Stephen Fowler reports there are well over a million more pages yet to be released. The DOJ has failed to fully meet a deadline set by a law signed by President Trump. The relatively few documents that have been made public have extensive redactions, and the government also says some of what's released should not be trusted. While there's no public estimate of how many files remain or when they'll be made public,

according to some emails released in the files, the number of documents collected as evidence in the criminal investigation in Epstein alone, is well north of a million. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. Social Security field offices across the nation lost 9% of their staff in the past year. NPR's Ashley Lopez says that's according to a new report from the Strategic Organizing Center. Researchers compiled data from unions representing Social Security field office workers nationwide. These are local employees that provide direct services like help with identity cards, benefits applications, and benefits verification, among other community-specific needs.

Thousands of workers who provide those services, have left the agency amid the Trump administration's push to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The report found that there are nearly 4,000 beneficiaries for every Social Security field office worker. In eight states, there are 5,000 beneficiaries for each worker. The report also found that some congressional districts lost as much as a fifth of their local social security workforce. Ashley Lopez and PR News. On Wall Street, Dowell Futures are up 189 points. Stocks across Asia closed mixed today.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The college football playoff is down to four teams after quarterfinal games and the number one team is still undefeated. Steve Federman reports. Number one, Indiana easily beat Alabama 38 to 3 in the Rose Bowl to advance to the semifinal round. The Hoosiers are now 14 and 0. Indiana will next play Oregon, which had no trouble with Texas A&M, Oregon winning 23 to nothing. Oregon and Indiana played earlier this season, Indiana winning 30 to 20. The most thrilling quarterfinal games saw Mississippi, kicking a field goal in the final seconds to beat Georgia, 39 to 34. Next up for Ole Miss is Miami, which beat defending champion Ohio State.

The semifinals take place next Thursday and Friday. The championship game is on January 19th. For NPR News, I'm Steve Feuderman in Los Angeles. The U.S. has sharply lowered proposed duties on several Italian pasta makers after a preliminary review of alleged unfair trade practices. A Commerce Department official said updated findings showed Italian exporters had addressed many of the initial concerns. Back in October, 13 Italian companies were told they could face an extra 92% duty on top of the 15% tariff already in place and most EU imports. Two U.S. firms had accused them of selling pasta at unfairly low prices. The department spokesperson says Washington remains committed to a fair, transparent process.

I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.