NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-20-2026 10PM EST

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump signed an executive order to stop federal agencies from helping Wall Street investors buy single-family homes. The measure says those investors are crowding out first-time homebuyers. Trump signed the order ahead of his address to the world's elite in Davos, Switzerland. NPR's Stephen Besaha has more. The order itself is pretty limited. Trump can't ban the sale of homes to institutional investors with an executive order.

But his order does tell us. several federal agencies that in 60 days, they must stop supporting these sales through things like providing insurance or approvals. And it tells his cabinet to review rules to make those purchases harder. Last year, institutional investors only owned about 3% of the single-family rental market. But those numbers are much higher in some sunbelt cities like Atlanta, where it's around 25%. But some economists say that what's driving up the price of housing is not the number of Walshoot investors. It's that there aren't enough homes on the market. Stephen Massaha, NPR News. Addressing the world's economic forum today in Davos, French President Emmanuel Macron, said the only

way to ensure global stability is through cooperation with allies. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports his speech was a thinly veiled critique of President Trump's foreign policy and worldview. While he did not directly address Trump, Macron did not completely shy away from the subject either. He opened his speech by saying, it's a time of peace, stability and predictability to considerable laughter in the room. Macron said Trump wanted to weaken and subordinate Europe with an accumulation of endless tariffs.

That are fundamentally unacceptable. Even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty. Europeans are bracing for Trump's arrival at Davos and a possible showdown over Greenland. Eleanor Beardsley in Pierre News, Paris. Physicians in Minnesota are sounding the alarm about federal immigration agents in hospitals. Erica Zurich of Minnesota Public Radio says some patients are worried about being targeted in medical facilities.

Physicians are voicing concerns for patients as thousands of federal officers have poured into the state. Dr. Aaron Stevens is the legislative chair for Minnesota's section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She says the presence of ICE agents intimidates patients and obstructs access to care. Many of our patients undocumented immigrants, naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens alike, fear leaving their homes for access to health care. They express to us a feeling of being hunted. Stephen says that some patients are giving birth alone, while others are missing, canceling, or postponing prenatal care appointments. For NPR news, I'm Erica Zurich in Minneapolis. The U.S. has taken control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela.

It's part of the Trump administration's efforts to take control of the U.S. the country's oil. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. International health officials will meet in a few months to reevaluate the United States's measles-free status. Experts fear the virus has regained a foothold in that the U.S. may soon follow Canada in losing the achievement of having eliminated it. The evaluation comes a year after the West Texas measles outbreak began. Scientists are investigating whether multiple U.S. outbreaks are linked. Consumers online are becoming more curious and critical about polyester clothing. Many users question the effects it may be having on the environment.

NPR's Ayanna Archie has more. Polyester clothing is more common than in recent years. It's largely fueled by fast fashion consumers who want to be on trend and pay as little as possible, and the retailers that want to meet consumers' demands while keeping expenses low. But in some cases, polyester clothing doesn't hold up for long. As people toss them, abandoned clothing

is ending up on coastlines in other countries. And they could stay there. Polyester isn't biodegradable. We're kinder of the point of understanding just where the plastics are. Aaron Stubbins, an environmental sciences professor at Northeastern University, says a lot more research is needed to draw conclusions about how polyester could be impacting our surroundings. Iy, NPR News. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he owes Indiana Governor Mike Braun some key lime pie and stone crabs.

After losing a bet when the Hoosiers beat the University of Miami Hurricanes in last night's college football championship, had Miami prevailed, Braun would have sent pork tenderloin and sugar cream pies. This is NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast, sponsor-free on Amazon Music, with a prime membership, or any podcast app, by subscribing to NPR NewsNowplus at plus.npr.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.