NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-03-2026 1AM EST

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. A major fire is burning in downtown Denver at this hour, an apartment complex is under construction. It went up in flames. Officials say an entire city block is burning. Firemen have evacuated a 20-block area, and at least one firefighter has been injured. The FBI says it stopped a terrorist attack scheduled for New Year's Eve

in a town near Charlotte, North Carolina. 18-year-old Christian Sturtevant has been arrested. Officials say he told an FBI undercover employee that he was going to use knives and hammers to kill people at a fast food restaurant and a store. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson says Sturdivant had pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State Group. He has been planning this attack for about a year, but he's been planning an attack for far longer than that. He was planning this attack in support of ISIS, and we have charged him with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. You've convicted Sturdivant could face 20 years in prison.

Iranian officials say they'll continue to clamp down on anti-governmental. protest despite warnings from President Trump that he might intervene to help them. A spokesman says officers would not allow what he called enemies to turn unrest into chaos. The BBC's chief political correspondent, Leah Zusset, has our reports. There's no sign yet that President Trump's threat to, in his words, come to the rescue of Iranians, will convince the authorities to change course. From the start of this strife, Iran's president, Masud Pesachian, has also tried to diffuse tension by pledging to listen to what he called legitimate demands.

But this dissent isn't just about a cost of living crisis, but a measure of political discontent. And Mr. Trump's warnings have added yet more unpredictability and possible peril. The BBC's Lees Doucette. Dozens of aid groups as well as Arab and European countries are urging Israel to reverse a ban on humanitarian organizations in Gaza. The Israelis suspended the registration of 37 aid groups as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports.

Israel says the groups failed to meet new registration requirements, which include providing to the Israeli government the names of all the Palestinians working for them. The aid groups will have to cease operations in the coming weeks in Gaza, the West Bank, and in East Jerusalem. Dozens of aid groups warn in a letter that the humanitarian needs are still extreme in Gaza, where winter storms have displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. In the West Bank, the aid groups, write, quote, ongoing military raids and settler violence continue to drive displacement. Similar concerns are raised in a letter from the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt, among others.

Michelle Kellerman and PR News Tel Aviv. Investigators in Switzerland say they have a likely cause for a deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort Thursday night. They say sparkling candles held in champagne bottles were too close to the ceiling of a crowded bar. 40 people were killed in the ensuing fire, another 119. people were injured. You're listening to NPR News. More than half a million people worldwide were sickened by a chicken guinea disease last year. That's according to the World Health Organization. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, most of the cases were in Central and South America. Chicken gunia disease is caused by a virus spread through mosquito bites. While it's much less prevalent than dengue, which sickens hundreds of millions of people each year, it's still a major risk.

It can cause severe joint pain, fever, and rash that can become chronic. By early December of this past year, 41 countries and territories had reported a case. 186 people died from the disease. More than half of all cases were in the Americas, with Brazil accounting for the vast majority. But researchers worry that climate change could be pushing the mosquitoes that carry Chikungunya into new areas, including the U.S. Last October, someone in Long Island, New York, got infected by a mosquito. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

President Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged threats on Friday, as why did economic protests grow across Iran? In a social media post, Trump warned Iran that if it kills peaceful protesters, the U.S. will come to their rescue. And Iranian official responded, saying U.S. intervention would lead to chaos in the entire region and the destruction of U.S. interests. Ukraine's president named a new chief of staff on Friday, 39-year-old General Kareil Budanov has headed the country's military intelligence since 2020.

He replaces Andre Yermak, who is being investigated as potential suspect and alleged corruption in the country's energy sector. Budanov is one of the country's most recognizable and popular wartime figures. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.