NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-03-2026 4AM EST

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Gail Snyder. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries does not sound optimistic about a full-year funding bill for the Homeland Security Department. He said Monday that Democrats will not support it unless immigration enforcement agents are reined in. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security need to dramatically change. And absent that, then a full-year appropriations bill is in deep. Trouble. Last week, the Senate passed a bill to fund the government through September under a deal that allows for separate negotiations for Homeland Security funding. President Trump is urging the House to come together on it, but Democrats want to see changes at DHS. The Trump administration

can continue its immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis after a ruling from a federal court judge over the weekend. As his borders are, Tom Holman said there are plans to draw down the federal government's presence. Many people in Minneapolis, though, say they don't feel any change, as NPR's Kat-Lonsdorf reports. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez denied the state's request for an immediate halt to the federal military-style operation in the city, which has been going on for nearly two months, while at the same time acknowledging the tremendous strain it has put on the people of Minnesota. On the same day, a different judge in Texas issued a scathing order to release five-year-old Liam Conjejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conjejo-Arias, from federal detention. Liam was detained in a Minneapolis suburb last month, wearing a fluffy blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack after coming home from school.

Pictures of that incident spurred outrage across the country. The two are now back in Minnesota. Kat Lonsdorf and Pierre News, Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam says the department is requiring all federal officers on the ground in Minneapolis to wear body cameras. She made the announcement Monday in a social media post amid increased scrutiny of the conduct of immigration enforcement. agents. President Trump says he's agreed to a trade deal with India to lower tariffs on the country from 25% to 18%. Trump says in return India has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia as Empirist Dia Hadid reports from Mumbai. In the truth social post, Trump said the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to buy oil from the United States and quote, potentially Venezuela. Trump claims Modi also agreed to

purchase over $500 billion worth of American products. In a statement, Modi confirmed the reduced tariffs. He did not mention a trade deal. Still, the statement suggests the Thorin Relations after the Trump administration slapped 25% tariffs on India and then doubled it to punish India for being one of the world's biggest buyers of Russian crude. India remains a major buyer, although it has curbed its purchases. Trump's announcement comes just days after India closed a major trade agreement with the EU.

D. Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai. This is NPR. Officials in Wisconsin's Milwaukee County moving quickly to ensure health insurance is in place for more than 5,000 employees and retirees. Wisconsin Public Radio's Evan Casey reports. County supervisors learned late last week that a contract with United Healthcare had expired at the end of last year. The HR employee who was in charge of that contract has since been fired. Milwaukee County supervisor Kathleen Vincent said she's angry. board didn't learn about the issue until weeks after the start of the new year.

First responders deserve better. Our parks and airport staff deserve better. Our snow plowed drivers and highway crews working midnight to 8 a.m. 365 days per year deserve better. Employees do still have health coverage but under the old contract. The county board could approve a new contract later this week. For NPR news, I'm Evan Casey in Milwaukee. Elon Musk is merging his space and artificial intelligence ventures into a single company. His rocket company, SpaceX, announced Monday that it had bought XAI. The deal combined several ventures, including the GROC AI chatbot, the satellite communications company Starlink, and the X social media platform.

In Arizona, Sheriff says the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of today's show host Savannah Guthrie is being investigated as a crime based on. on what authorities saw at her home in the Tucson area. The Pima County Sheriff says there are signs that Nancy Guthrie did not leave on her own. She was last seen Saturday night reported missing by the family around midday Sunday. I'm Jail Snyder, NPR News.