NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2026 6PM EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump is defending the ICE officer who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis. In a post on social media, he blames what he calls the radical left for the incident. NPR's Deepa Shiveron reports. Without citing any evidence, Trump accused the, quote, radical left of attacking law enforcement officials, including ICE officers, on a, quote, daily basis. The Department of Homeland Security alleges that an ICE official fired defensive shots at a 37-year-old woman in her car. The Minneapolis police say that preliminary information

shows the woman was blocking the street in her car and was approached by law enforcement. The shooting happened as the vehicle drove off and the woman was later pronounced dead with a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation into the use of deadly force is being led jointly by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Deepa Shiveram, NPR News, the White House. says authorities in Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. NPR's Ader Peralta reports, it's unclear who approved the transfer. In a social media post, Trump said the 30 to 50 million barrels of oil will be sold at market price and that the proceeds will be controlled by him to, quote, ensure it is used to the benefit

of the people of Venezuela and the U.S. Since last year, the United States has enacted what is essentially a naval blockade on Venezuela. Trump said interim authorities approved the transfer, but it is. it's unclear who he's talking about. Trump has said Venezuela's acting president, Delsi Rodriguez, is willing to do what the United States wants. But Rodriguez has been a Maduro loyalist, and at times she has taken a defiant tone in public.

An appearance on Tuesday, she sent a message to those who threaten her. My destiny is only decided by God, she says. Adapalta, NPR News, Cucuta, Colombia. Congressional forecasters say they expect the U.S. population to grow by 7 million fewer people. people over the next decade than we were projecting this time last year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that's largely due to the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. The Congressional Budget Office projects the U.S. population will grow from 349 million people this year to about

357 million in 2035. That's substantially slower growth than CBO was projecting a year ago. The biggest factor driving the slowdown is immigration policy. Women in the U.S. are also having fewer children than they used to. By 2030, forecasters think there'll be fewer babies born each year in the U.S. than there are deaths. Without newcomers from other countries, the population would begin to decline at that point. CBO also says Americans are living longer, so the fastest growing part of the population will be people over 65. Scott Horsley, in Pair News, Washington. House Speaker, Mike Johnson sent a letter to President Trump inviting him to deliver the state of the union address on February 24th. The letter's a formal step to schedule the address. It's

NPR News. President Trump says he wants to block large investors from buying houses, saying that a ban would make it easier for younger families to buy their first homes. The president is under pressure to address voters' concerns about affordability ahead of this year's midterm elections. Warner Brothers Discovery has once more rejected a bid from the family of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison to acquire the company. As NPR's David Fulkenflick reports, the parent company of HBO Max and CNN, says,

says it's sticking with a bid from Netflix. Larry Ellison is the co-founder of Oracle and one of the world's richest people. He agreed to personally guarantee $40 billion of his offer, valued at more than $100 billion. With his son, David Ellison now has a controlling stake in Paramount, which owns CBS and Paramount Plus streaming. They want to combine it with Warner to take on Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and a bulked-up Disney. Warner Brothers Discovery Chairman Sam DiPiazza told CNBC, no dice, though Netflix doesn't want its cable channels. Ultimately, he didn't raise the price. So in our perspective, Netflix continues to be the superior offer, a clear path to closing.

DiPiazza argues that antitrust regulators in the U.S. and abroad would be more likely to knock down a takeover by Paramount. David Fulkinflik and PR News. Millions of people are celebrating Orthodox Christmas today, nearly two weeks after much of the world marked the holiday. The difference stems from calendar changes made in the 16th century. Eastern Orthodox churches, including Russian traditions, follow the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. I'm Ryland Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.