NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-05-2026 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Today's show host Savannah Guthrie has posted a video message on social media, asking anyone who might be holding her 84-year-old mother to provide proof that she is alive. We need to know, without a doubt, that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Guthrie appeared in the Instagram video with her brother and sister, their mother, Nancy Guthrie, vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona over the weekend. Authorities believe she was abducted. President Trump says he spoke with Savannah Guthrie by phone

Wednesday and a post on his social media platform. Trump said he has directed federal law enforcement resources to be at the disposal of the family and local authorities. President Trump has said his administration could use a softer touch on immigration. In Paris Franco Ordonez reports that Trump says it was his decision. to withdraw hundreds of federal officers from Minnesota. During an interview with NBC News, President Trump took a step back from his hardline position on immigration amid the national outcry after two U.S. citizens were killed

during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. We're dealing with really hard criminals. Trump says it was his decision to withdraw. draw 700 federal agents from the state, but that state and local officials have also agreed to cooperate more with their efforts, including the release of immigrants who've been arrested for crimes into federal custody. Franco, Ordojouz, NPR News, the White House. Senate Democratic

Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, laying out there demands for change at the Homeland Security Department. The demands come in the form of a letter to top congressional Republicans, Democrats threatening to block funding. for DHS unless there are dramatic changes to immigration enforcement. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says President Trump's special envoy is ready to meet with the Iranians this week. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that logistics still being worked out. Secretary Rubio says he thought there was already an agreement for U.S. envoy, Steve Whitkoff,

to meet Iranian officials in Turkey later this week. But he says the Iranians seem to have changed their mind about that. Wherever the talks land, he says, Whitkoff is ready to go. If the Iranians want to meet, we're ready. They've expressed an interest in meeting and talking. If they changed their mind, we're fine with that too. We'd prefer to meet and talk. I'm not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we're going to try to find out. He says Trump doesn't think a meeting will legitimize a regime that recently killed thousands of protesters. Rubio says any negotiations will have to cover Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs,

as well as how Iran treats its citizens. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. This is NPR. A new social media platform has Silicon Valley buzzing, but it's not for humans. Mold Book is a platform for artificial intelligence bots to talk to other chat bots. And Piers John Rewich explains. Mold Book was launched a week ago, and it's already got more than 1.6 million bots or AI agents on it. The platform looks like Reddit, a site where people can post stuff and others can comment on it.

The post on Moldbook, though, are coming from AI agents, which are semi-atomot. computer programs. The results have been interesting. Some agents created a novel religion. Others discussed crafting a new language so they could chat in secret, and some have been complaining about the people who created them.

AI agents have been controversial even before Mold Book. Proponents say they'll make life easier by handling tasks, like managing email inboxes and booking travel. Critics say they can be unpredictable, even potentially dangerous. John Rewich, NPR News.

Nike is facing a federal investigation over allegations of discrimination against white workers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed the investigation in a motion filed in Missouri federal court. The EEOC demanding that Nike fully comply with a subpoena for information in a statement. Nike says it's cooperating and called the subpoena a surprising escalation. After 80 years, minute-made, phasing out its frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada, parent company Coca-Cola says Minutemates frozen juices, including its lemonade and lime made, will be discontinued by April. The company says it wants to focus on fresh juices. This is NPR News.

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