NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2026 1AM EST

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

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This is our glass. On This American Life, one that we like is a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best. Our lost and found is currently filled with pants. I don't know. I've never seen this happen. This is true. This is true. Mysteries of every size each week, this American Life, wherever you get your podcast. Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Tensions Tuesday night at a town hall event hosted by Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Omar was attacked by a man who used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid in her direction. At the time, she was responding to this month's fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Secretary Christine Nome must resign or face impeachment. Omar continued speaking after security tackled and penned the man to the floor. She insisted on continuing to speak after the attack and a statement from Omar's office says she is okay. The man is in police custody. He is expected to face an assault charge. Omar is a Somalia-born American citizen in Minnesota's large Somali community has been a target of President Trump. During a speech in Iowa Tuesday, Trump said, Omar does not love the United States. A preliminary government assessment contradicts the Trump administration's

initial narrative of the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Prattie in Minneapolis and Piers Jimenez-Posteo reports. The review describes how Alex Prattie resisted arrest before two officers shot him, but the review makes no mention of Alex Prattie attacking officers or threatening them with a weapon as the administration first described the incident. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has come under intense by partisan 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. Hemanabustillo, NPR News. To stop cocaine from reaching the U.S., American military forces have carried out three dozen attacks on alleged drug smuggling boats. The strikes in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific over the past five months have killed 126 people. But as John Otis reports, they've done little to disrupt the illegal drug trade. President Trump claims the boat bombings have stopped 97% of all illegal drugs coming into the U.S. by water. However, experts say that most drug boats drop off their cargo in Central America or Mexico, with the drugs then taken overland to the U.S.

And during the last three months of 2025, when the U.S. bombing campaign was in full force, drug seizures at the U.S.-Mexican border actually increased. According to data from U.S. customs and border protection, cocaine seizures were up by 34 percent compared to the same period in 2024 when there were no boat bombings. For NPR News, I'm John O'Don. This is NPR. Maryland Governor Westmore is urging state lawmakers to pass a bill redrawing the state's congressional maps.

Jenny Obama, a member station WAMU reports. The new maps would make the state's only Republican held seat, currently represented by Congressman Andy Harris, more competitive for Democrats. Republicans grilled more and the bill's sponsor, saying the map silenced the voices of residents. Moore called the president's push, quote, political redlining.

That I'm the only black governor in this country. And only the third elected black governor in the history of this nation. And Donald Trump and J.D. Vance and their allies in the states that he suggested are doing everything in their power to silence the voices and trying to eliminate black leadership, elected leadership all over this country. The bill could pass a Democratic-controlled House this week, but it faces opposition in the state Senate. For NPR News, I'm Jenny Abamu.

A judge in Virginia has blocked a Democratic redistricting plan to counter-Republican efforts prompted by President Trump. The judge in southwestern Virginia ruled Tuesday that state Democrats failed to follow the correct legal or legislative steps for the plan to be put to voters. Republicans are calling the ruling decisive, but Democrats say they are still aiming to put the issue to a vote in April. Paris is the first stop on a tour of Europe for the leader. of Denmark and Greenland, the two prime ministers aimed to strengthen strategic partnerships and protect sovereignty in the Arctic following pressure from the Trump administration. I'm Joel Snyder. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps.

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