NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-18-2026 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

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This message comes from Databricks, the data and AI company. Are your AI agents working? Most aren't reliable for business. You need AI that's accurate. Agent Bricks, AI agents grounded in your data and built for your goals. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Active duty troops from Alaska are preparing for possible deployment to Minnesota. A U.S. official confirmed to NPR that the troops are now on-south.

standby. And peers Luke Garrett has more. Up to 1,500 active duty soldiers in Alaska are preparing for a possible deployment to Minnesota. The prepared to deploy orders come after Trump said Thursday he'd implement the Insurrection Act unless local officials stop protesters from, quote, attacking immigration agents. The rarely used law allows for domestic military use. In Minneapolis, protesters and federal officers have clashed after U.S. immigration and custom enforcement agents surged into the city. ICE agents have shot two people in the city this city. month, leaving one dead. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to NPR, quote, The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief, if called upon.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye has called on city residents to remain peaceful and not give Trump an excuse to deploy the troops. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. European Union leaders held an emergency meeting in Brussels today over President Trump's calls for Greenland to be sold to the U.S. and his threats of an additional 10% tariff on eight European countries, if that doesn't happen. And Pierce, Eleanor Beardsley reports. Thousands gathered in Copenhagen this weekend to show solidarity with Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU and NATO member Denmark. On Sunday, European and NATO members issued a joint statement.

France, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden say Trump's threats over Greenland risk accelerating a dangerous downward spiral in relations between transatlantic and NATO allies. We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland, they said. We're ready to engage in dialogue with the U.S., but a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territory integrity. Eleanor Beersley and PR News, Paris. A survey by the National Home Builders Association and Wells Fargo found builder confidence was down in January. And here, Stephen Besaha has more. There were signs of a return to optimism among single-family home builders at the end of the year.

The housing market index saw three straight months of gains, but that's now ended. The index fell two points to 37. Anything below 50 means an overall negative outlook. Builders are dealing with rising construction costs and high interest rates. Most of the builders responded before the Trump administration announced new housing policies, like ordering Fannie and Freddie Mac to buy up $200 billion in mortgage-backed security. to lower mortgage rates. The average 30-year mortgage is down.

It's just over 6%. But that's still well above COVID-era rates that make many homeowners reluctant to sell. Stephen Besaha, NPR News. Wall Street is closed tomorrow in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. This is NPR News. Wildfires in Chile have left at least 16 people dead in the southern Neoblo and Bobio regions, as John Bartlett reports from the capital, Santiago. Since Tuesday, wildfires have ripped through Chile's southern forests,

leading to the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. The government has declared a state of catastrophe, restricting movement in the region, and a curfew will be put in place in the areas affected. President Gabrielle Borich has arrived in the region to oversee the response, and the Forestry Commission said that it had 24 planes and 10 fire brigades battling the blazes. Wildfires hit Chile every summer, and the country's National Forestry Commission says that there are currently 80 fires burning.

up and down the country, covering an area of nearly 21,000 hectares. This latest wave of fires has been exacerbated by a heat wave in the south of Chile, with temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit and winds of up to 55 miles per hour. For NPR news, I'm John Bartlett in Santiago, Chile. The Syrian government says it's reached a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic forces, taking almost full control of the country. The move dismantles the Kurdish-led forces

that controlled the Northeast for more than a decade. Tensions between the government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, leading to a major push toward the east. The agreement includes dismantling the SDF and having its forces joined the Syrian military, but there's no clear timeline on when this agreement will go into effect.

I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from the NBC News, podcast, Here's the Scoop. Every evening, join NBC News reporters for a deep dive into the day's top stories, from the front page to the zeitgeist in 15 minutes or less.

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