NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-09-2026 4AM EST

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. A federal judge is ordering the FBI to release records about its seizure of 2020 election ballots in Georgia. NPR Stephen Fowler has more. The FBI has until Tuesday a publisher-redacted copy of the affidavit used to seize election material from Fulton County's elections office. The Saturday order comes after more than 650 boxes of election material were taken on January 28th with little public explanation. Fulton County is home to Atlanta and has been ground zero for. conspiracies about President Trump's 2020 election defeat, there's no evidence of widespread fraud in elections including the 2020 race, which

concluded more than five years ago. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. The Seattle Seahawks used a dominating defense Sunday night as they beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl 29 to 13. Jason Myers accounted for more than half of Seattle's scoring. He set a Super Bowl record by making all five

of his field goal tries. Thousands of Seattle fans traveled to Santa declare California to watch the game, Dustin Franz was ecstatic. This is the best. We came out here knowing that we were going to win this game and we freaking dominated. Defense, they could not move the ball against us. And the offense, we did enough to win the game. Seattle running back, Kenneth Walker, the third, was named the game's most valuable player. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a landslide victory Sunday in a hastily called snap election.

MPR's Anthony Kuhn reports that it's a big payoff for a big gamble by the nation's first female prime minister. The LDP has been in power for most of the past seven decades, and this appears to be their biggest win ever, despite having lost two elections in a row. They won a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house, allowing them to override vetoes on legislation in the opposition-controlled upper house.

The key factor in the LDP's win is the popularity of Prime Minister Sanai, Nakaichi, which has stayed in the 60% range since she took office in October. It helped her party beat all opponents, including a newly formed centrist alliance on the left and smaller populist parties on the right. Takeichi has said she wants to use the mandate to pursue some controversial policies, including tax cuts and increased defense spending. Anthony Kuhn in PR News, Seoul.

The Nicaraguan government began on Sunday to block Cuban citizens from entering that country without a visa. For years, Cuban citizens had... been exempt from visa regulations. The policy change blocks a key route for Cuban migration to the U.S. The Trump administration has been increasing pressure on Latin American nations in regard to immigration and security policies. Asian stocks were up on Monday. Tokyo's Nika jumped about 5% after the country's Prime Minister secured a supermajority in a parliamentary election. South Korea's Caspi's surged 4%. U.S. futures also edged higher and both gold and silver were up. This is, and PR News.

New York City is still dealing with dangerous cold and the lingering effects from a massive snowfall during last month's winter storm. For member station, WNYC, Catalina Gondela has more. Officials say the colds has already contributed to at least 18 deaths this winter. When chills remain dangerously cold with frostbite possible in just 15 minutes. The city has kept warming centers open and says more than 460 people stayed in them Saturday night. Meanwhile, crews are still clearing the docks for the city's bike share program that have been frozen since the January 25th storm. More than 600 stations have been dug out, and officials say most of the 2,200 should be accessible by Monday night. Still, riders might see fewer available bikes as the maintenance teams play catch-up.

Temperatures are expected to rise into the 30s by Monday afternoon and could reach the 40s later this week. For NPR news, I'm Catalina Gonella in New York. Super Bowl weekend is traditionally a slow time for theaters, and that held true this year. The survivalist thriller sent help remained in first place for the second week, but only brought in $10 million in North American ticket sales. Solomio, meanwhile, finished in second with $7.2 million. The documentary about the First Lady dropped by 67% from last week's opening performance, despite being shown in more than 300 more theaters.

It cost Amazon $75 million to produce and promote. Chris Goddorup won the Phoenix Open at TPC. Scottsdale's stadium course in Arizona Sunday. He shot a birdie on the first total of a playoff to beat Hideki Matsuyama. It's Goddrup's second season win. He also won the season opening, Sony Open. I'm Dale Wilman. 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. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com.

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