NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2026 3PM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The showdown over heavy immigration enforcement in Minnesota now involves the arrests of at least three people. They're accused of helping organize a protest that disrupted Sunday service at the St. Paul Church, where one of the pastors is linked to immigration and customs enforcement. NPR Saraventry has details. Nekima Levy Armstrong is a civil rights attorney and allegedly played a role in organizing the protest, in which demonstrators went to city's church. a Southern Baptist Church, and chanted justice for Renee Good and Ice Out. One of the church's pastors,

David Easterwood, leads the local ICE field office. In a post on X announcing the arrest, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote, listen loud and clear, we do not tolerate attacks on places of worship. Bondi is also the chair of President Trump's task force to quote, eradicate anti-Christian bias. This all comes as thousands of federal agents remain in the Twin Cities. conducting immigration enforcement operations, and large-scale protests are planned for Friday. Sarah Ventry and PR News, Minneapolis. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork today to build out a campaign for governor of Minnesota. This and the aftermath of Governor Tim Walts's abrupt exit from the race,

as federal allegations of state government fraud on his watch intensified. Former Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith has publicly testified before Congress for the first time, since his investigations into President Trump ended. He says he has no regret about the criminal charges he brought against a Republican leader. Committee Chair Jim Jordan was among the Republicans to criticize Smith as partisan investigator. Democrats have been going after President Trump for 10 years, for a decade, and the country should never, ever forget what they did. Ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin applauded Smith.

Special Counsel Smith, you pursued the facts. You followed every applicable law, ethics, rule, DHA regulation. Your decisions were reviewed by the public integrity section. You acted based solely on the facts, the opposite of Donald Trump. Now to developments out of Davos, Pakistan is facing criticism at home after it accepted President Trump's invitation to join the Board of Peace regarding Gaza. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehba Sherev sat next to President Trump and signed the Board of Peace Charter at a ceremony at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davis. But Alama Raja Nasir Abbas, who is the leader of opposition in Pakistan's upper house,

said the board actually stripped the Palestinians of the right to govern themselves. That's Omar Kandekar reporting. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 467 points or nearly 1%. This is NPR news. Iranians remain nearly completely cut off from communication with the outside world after authorities cut off most internet connection during mass anti-government protests there starting last month. And PR's Emily Fang looks at how authorities have managed to shut off the web. In 2009, big demonstrations rocked Iran. And after, cybersecurity researchers say Iran's leaders started looking at ways to centralize the country's internet infrastructure, creating just a few state-controlled gateways.

that manage international internet traffic. Here's Hesam Nauru's poor. He's a researcher who once advised the Iranian government. This gateways function as a trick point. Because nearly all incoming and outgoing international traffic passes through them. Poor says Iran also created crude domestic internet platforms walled off from the global internet. They built something closer to a digital fortress. And so nearly four weeks on, Iran's internet is still closed off.

Emily Fang and Pierre News. President Trump is suing J.P. Morgan Chase, as well as its CEO, Jamie Diamond, for at least $5 billion for closing his accounts shortly after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. President Trump alleges, quote, political and social motivations. In a statement to NPR, J.P. Morgan says it intends to defend itself. U.S. stocks trading higher this hour with the Dow of 467 points, nearly 1%. The NASDAQ has risen more than 1%. The SMP is also higher. You're listening to NPR News.