NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2026 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

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This message comes from Data Bricks, the data and AI company. Are your AI agents working? Most aren't reliable for business. You need AI that's accurate. Agent Bricks, AI agents grounded in your data and built for your goals. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The Justice Department alleges in new charges that 16 protesters in Minnesota assaulted or impeded federal immigration officers during the Trump administration's operations there.

As Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio reports, defense attorneys say the evidence is thin. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted the names and photos of the protesters to social media before the cases were unsealed, drawing a sharp rebuke from a federal judge. The 16 are charged by complaint with obstructing or impeding federal officers. But defense attorney Kevin Rich says a grand jury must still approve the charges. It's not that difficult to make a case past the grand jury, but the DOJ has a history of bringing bogus press. prosecutions, as we have seen in recent months, and the grand jury is a good bulwark.

One defendant, a Somali-American U.S. citizen, alleges agents injured her and called her a racial slur while arresting her and questioning her citizenship. For NPR News, I'm Matt Seppick in Minneapolis. The FBI says it's executing a, quote, court-authorized law enforcement action at an elections warehouse in Georgia. NPR's Stephen Fowler reports this is the latest salvo in the ongoing fight over baseless claims of election rigging in 2020. The FBI wouldn't answer NPR's questions about the search warrant for the Fulton County elections warehouse outside of Atlanta. But Georgia's most populous county has been the subject of baseless claims of election fraud since 2020. Last month,

the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to gain access to Fulton County's ballots, and a state court judge recently allowed the Republican Majority State Election Board to move forward with a subpoena for 2020 documents too. This, as the deal, OJ has sued 25 states, including Georgia, seeking access to unredacted copies of their voter rolls. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. At least 50 people have died across several states as a result of the winter storm that left a good portion of the United States under snow and ice. That includes at least 10 people in Kentucky. Stan Ingold of member station W.EKU has more.

Governor Andy Bichier says that most of the deaths in the state were people in their 60s and 70s. The governor announced that the state will dip into its storm relief fund. and offered to pay $10,000 for the funerals of each of the dead. First thing we do in Kentucky is grieved together, and we don't want these families to have to wait for reimbursement by FEMA. Among the dead is an inmate at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex. Officials say he was working with the crew to remove snow and ice when he fell and hit his head. The death is being investigated by the Kentucky State Police.

For NPR News, I'm Stan Engold in Richmond, Kentucky. Organizers are planning what they anticipate will be the largest no-key-executive. Kings protests yet over what they call authoritarianism under President Trump. The demonstrations on March 28th will focus on the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Organizers emphasize nonviolent resistance and ongoing training to defend constitutional rights. This is NPR News from Washington. As expected, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady today, despite pressure from President Trump for much lower borrowing costs.

The central bank has already cut its benchmark interest rate three. times, but with inflation still elevated, most Fed policymakers voted to hold their target rate unchanged. Trump has threatened to fire Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who pushed back hard earlier this month after the Justice Department launched an investigation into cost overruns at the Fed's headquarters. A new study suggests humpback whales are teaching each other how to do a complicated and very cool feeding technique. NPR's Nate Rot explains. bubble net feeding is when a humpback whale dives below a shoal of tiny krill or fish and starts to swim in a circle beneath. It then releases air from its blowhole creating this ever-tightening ring of bubbles that makes its prey gather in tight clusters that are easier to eat.

The new study looked at a specific population of humpbacks over 20 years and found that whales that did not bubble net feed were more likely to start the more time they spent with one that did. suggesting the study says that their social bonds are helping spread the behavior through the population, making it more resilient into the future. Nate Rot, NPR News. The Transportation Security Administration released its list of the 10 most unusual items seized at airport security last year. The items include a replica pipe bomb in Boise, bullets concealed in a bottle of Nesquick in Miami, turtles found in Pants in Newark, and more turtles in abroad. in Miami. This is NPR News from Washington. 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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