NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-21-2026 10PM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

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What if the secret to cleaning up hazardous waste or slowing down climate change lives in our bathroom? Weird, slimy things and showerheads, stuff growing in dishwashers, hot water heaters. They're really strange environments. Join us on a treasure hunt for microbes, which may hold clues for saving the world. Listen to shortwave on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says federal agents may enter private property without a warrant from a federal judge. As Matt Seppick of Minnesota Public Radio reports, the directive is outlined in a memo from a top immigration and customs enforcement official that was leaked by a whistleblower.

In the May 12th memo, which the Associated Press first reported, acting ICE director Todd Lyons, claims that agents need only an administrative warrant from ICE itself to enter someone's home. University of St. Thomas law professor Julie Jonas says this flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment. We require in this country for a unbiased magistrate to make a determination of probable cause. They're the ones who are supposed to be calling the balls and the strikes. In Minneapolis and St. Paul this month, ICE agents without judicial warrants broke down the doors of two homes. Neither of the men they arrested is undocumented. One is a citizen. Both have been released. For NPR news, I'm Matt Seppig in Minneapolis. President Trump says he won't use military force to try to acquire Greenland.

He's also backing down from his threat to impose new tariffs on European nations that oppose his ambitions to take control of the Arctic Island. This comes after a discussion with the head of NATO, as NPR's Tamara Keith explains. The NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta has been something of a Trump whisperer in this second term, largely by piling on praise. And the two met just hours after Trump. Trump's speech. And with cameras rolling, Ruta told Trump it pained him to think that the president doubted NATO's commitment to the U.S. Trump now says they have a concept of a deal, though there was

no mention of the U.S. actually owning Greenland, as he had been demanding. He dodged questions about that, simply saying it would be an infinite deal. NPR's Tamara Keith reporting, a New York judge is ordering the state to redraw its congressional map before this year's midterm election, as NPR's Hansilo Wong reports the ruling gives Democrats a chance to pick up an additional seat in the nationwide redistricting fight. The New York State judge found that a U.S. House District in New York City currently represented by a Republican violates the state's constitution by diluting the collective power of black and Latino voters. The judge is ordering New York's independent redistricting commission to come up with a new congressional map by February 6. The new map is likely to include an additional Democratic-friendly district that could help Democrats push back against a Republican gerrymandering efforts sparked by President Trump.

Legal fights are still playing out over other new congressional maps. California's Republican Party is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block that state's new map, which voters approved last year as a Democratic counter-response to the new Republican-friendly map in Texas. Hansi Lo Wong, NPR News. Meteorologists are warning that a polar vortex could bring severe winter weather to much of the United States. The Midwest and North could see temperatures as low as 30 degrees below zero. The frigid conditions are expected to persist through January and early February. This is NPR News.

Ukrainian president Volodemir Zelenskyy says about 4,000 buildings in Kiev remained without heating, and nearly 60% of the city is without power after days of Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid. President Trump says he will meet tomorrow with Zelensky while his envoy plans to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin. About a third of homeowners consider themselves house poor, meaning most of their income goes to homeowner expenses. That's according to financial advice. Vice site NerdWallet. NPR's Stephen Besaha reports both home buyers and owners are feeling the affordability crunch. A majority of homeowners say having a house is more expensive than they thought it would be. Kate Wood is a home and mortgage expert at NerdWallet. She says many homeowners

don't realize that just because they have a fixed mortgage, their monthly payment can still go up because of insurance and property tax. We have seen those costs rise tremendously in some parts of the country over the last few years. She says more severe weather events have driven up home insurance prices. Even intense regular weather events like rain and hail have raised costs. As for potential buyers last year, just 29% managed to buy a new home. The most common complaint, availability and affordability. Stephen Besaha, NPR News.

Handprints on the walls of Indonesian caves, maybe the oldest rock art studied so far, dating back at least 67,000 years. The tan-colored prints uncovered on the island of Sulawesi were made by blowing pigment over hands placed on cave walls. Researchers dated mineral crusts and discovered they are the oldest to be found on cave walls. This is NPR News from Washington.