NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2026 11AM EST

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is defending the U.S. military operation in Venezuela. Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at this hour, Rubio says the Trump administration wants to see a growing democracy in Venezuela. The end state here is we want a, we want a reach of phase of transition where we are left with a friendly, stable, prosperous Venezuela and democratic in which all elements of society are represented in free and fair elections. In prepared remarks, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Senator Gene Shaheen, says the U.S. has traded one dictator for another in Venezuela. She says the U.S. naval blockade around Venezuela is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. NPR has learned that three more people have resigned from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota. Six federal prosecutors previously quit after the Justice Department pressured them to investigate the widow of Renee Maclin Good, killed by federal. agents this month. NPR has also learned that an FBI agent who tried to investigate goods

killing resigned last week after being pressured to drop the issue. Congress is a day closer to a potential government shutdown. Democrats are seeking to overhaul a spending bill for homeland security after the killings of Minneapolis protesters. MPR's Barbara Sprunt has more. At one point, it looked like the Senate would easily pass a six-bill funding package this week, but now Senate Democrats are vowing to block the package with the bill for DHS, which includes ICE funding as is. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats are prepared to pass the rest of the funding package while overhauling the Homeland Security bill. The timing is tricky. Changes to the six-bill spending package for 2026 would mean another vote in the House, which is in recess this

week. Current funding for many federal agencies runs out after Friday. Barbara Sprint and In PR News, Washington. President Trump is suggesting Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar orchestrated an attack on herself last night in Minneapolis. He provided no evidence to support his assertion. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports Omar is one of Trump's main targets in his speeches and interviews. Trump mocked Omar in his economic speech in Des Moines ahead of the attack, and this month has also talked about her in speeches at Davos and the Detroit Economic Club, as well as during multiple interviews. ABC's Rachel Scott posted on social media that she spoke to Trump this morning,

and he said he hadn't seen video of the attack. He added of Omar, quote, I don't think about her. I think she's a fraud. I really don't think about that. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her. Video from the town hall showed a man approaching Omar and spraying her with an unknown substance. After the attack and apparently unhurt, Omar insisted on continuing to speak to her audience.

Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News. On Wall Street, the Dow is up more than 20 points. You're listening to NPR. The National Weather Service is watching another potential winter storm brewing. Forecasters say it could hit the East Coast this weekend. Initial forecasts suggest the coast of the Carolinas will get hit first. The storm could then zip north toward New England. The Federal Reserve winds up its two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. today.

Economists expect policymakers will leave short-term interest rates, where they are. New research shows how hormone therapy for menopause can affect brain health. Women who take hormone replacement therapy or HRT have faster reaction times. NPR's Alison Aubrey reports that suggests a benefit for cognitive health. Dr. Kristall Langley of the University of Cambridge analyzed data from about 125,000 women and found those who took hormone replacement to restore estrogen had less psychomotor slowing. For example, their reaction times on memory tests or quizzes was faster. Those women that were on HRT were able to respond much faster and much more similarly to those

premenopausal women. HRT did not help improve anxiety or sleep issues. Research shows physical activity, healthy diet and limiting alcohol can also help manage the effects of the menopause transition. Alison Aubrey and PR News. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting the leaders of Denmark and Greenland today. Trump has demanded control of Greenland. He says, for national security purposes. The leader of Denmark says the world order, as we know, it is over. She says she does not think it will return.

I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR NewsNow Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.