NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2026 12PM EST

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A preliminary government assessment is out about the fatal shooting of Minneapolis protester Alex Prety last weekend in Minneapolis. NPR's Jimenez-Bustia reports it contradicts the Trump administration's initial narrative of the shooting. The review describes how Alex Preddy resisted arrest before two officers shot him, but the review makes no mention of Alex Preddy attacking officers or threatening them with a weapon as the administration first described the incident. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem has come under intense bipartisan scrutiny

for her initial characterization. She was quick to describe Predi's actions as, quote, domestic terrorism, saying Prattie was attacking officers first and brandishing a weapon. The review does not mention an attack or that a weapon was brandished. Instead, it notes officers noticed a gun once there was already a struggle to arrest him. Jimenez-Bustillo, NPR News. Some experts argue federal immigration agents deployed in large numbers in Minnesota's twin cities are unprepared for the resistance they're encountering. They say customs and border protection officers are generally less experience in urban policing and crowd control than other local law enforcement.

The experts cite the isolation of border regions that can influence how CPP officers typically operate in terms of arrests without resistance and the frequency with which they may use lethal force. The Trump administration has quietly rewritten some rules for nuclear safety and security, and PR's Jeff Brumfield obtained a copy of the rules and reports. There are some substantial changes. The changes apply to experimental reactors currently under construction at the Department of Energy. The department wants to get three or more of those reactors running by July 4th of this year to help meet that deadline officials rewrote internal rules for safety security and environmental management, then sent the rules to the companies building the reactors without making the. public. Catherine Huff, who is a nuclear engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is

critical of the decision. In the best world, the public should expect as much openness from the government as is possible. NPR's analysis found the new rules loosened groundwater restriction, security requirements, and more. The Energy Department has said safety remains a top priority for the program. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. With Arctic air expected to maintain its grip over the eastern half of the United States through the weekend, the death toll from the recent storm continues to mount. Authorities say dozens of lives have been lost as a result of hypothermia, reported heart attacks or accidents from the latest storm.

One Texas community is mourning the deaths of three siblings who perished in an icy pond. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow is up 19 points. You're listening to NPR News. Much of the South has been battling through unusually cold and dangerous winter conditions. In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves described what cleanup crews in the state have been up against. It's somewhat like whack-a-mole. Every time one of the utility companies and power companies gets a large group back online, we have another tree fall or we have another limb fall. Earlier this week, Reeves ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to assist with recovery in the state.

The American Psychiatric Association is updating a key text on mental health conditions. Future editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM, will be different from previous ones. And Pierre Ritu Chatterjee has details. The DSM, which defines all mental health disorders, is key to diagnosing and treating mental illnesses. The current edition, the DSM-5, was published in 2013. Psychiatrist Dr. Maria Okendo is chair of the future of DSM Strategic Committee. She told reporters at a press conference that the next edition will address critiques of the manual. There are many critiques out there, and perhaps the most salient one is the fact that the DSM doesn't reference what the causes of mental disorders are.

She says future DSMs will factor in genetics, the environment, life experiences and cultural identities. The details of plans are published in five papers in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Ritu Chatterjee, NPR News. U.S. stocks are mixed this hour. The NASDAQ is up slightly. The SMPs down for. The Dow is risen 25 points.

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