NPR News: 01-24-2026 3AM EST

Summary

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NPR News Now — January 24, 2026, 3AM EST

Host: Dwahili Sai Kowtow
Episode Theme:
A rapid-fire update on major United States news, covering an impending massive winter storm, FEMA personnel policy changes, protests and immigration crackdowns in Minnesota, a civil rights lawsuit in Mississippi, and a political shakeup at TikTok's U.S. ownership.

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1. Major Winter Storm Threatens Over Half the U.S.

[00:15 – 01:02]

• Scope:
  Over half the U.S. (34 states) to be affected this weekend. The storm will track from the Southern Plains, through the South, and up the Northeast.

• New York City Efforts:

  • NYC Mayor Zoran Mamdani unveils a massive storm response plan.
  • 2,000+ sanitation workers on 12-hour shifts starting the next evening.
  • 700 salt spreaders ready for first snowflakes, 2,200 snow plows to be activated at 2 inches of accumulation.
  • Forecast: 6–12 inches of snow Sunday to Monday morning.

Memorable Quote:

“We are going to see more than 2,000 of those sanitation workers begin 12 hour shifts starting tomorrow evening. They will salt as soon as we see the first snowflakes hit the ground with 700 salt spreaders. And then as soon as we see 2 inches of snow accumulate, we're going to see 2,200 plows activate.”
— NYC Official (clip), [00:45]

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2. FEMA Halts Termination of Disaster Workers

[01:02 – 02:03]

• Background:
  FEMA relies on contract disaster workers (2- or 4-year terms). Previously, FEMA was not renewing contracts, risking workforce reductions.

• Recent Development:

  • FEMA abruptly stops contract terminations after internal controversy and outside criticism.
  • The Trump Administration is attempting a broader overhaul of FEMA.
  • FEMA claims workforce size is always intended to fluctuate; unclear if terminations will resume post-storm.

Memorable Quote:

“FEMA relies on thousands of disaster workers to respond on the ground when storms and wildfires hit...The Trump administration has been critical of FEMA and is working to overhaul the agency.”
— Lauren Sommer, NPR, [01:21]

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3. Minnesota: Protests & Economic Blackout Over ICE Operations

[02:03 – 03:12]

• Events:

  • Around 100 clergy members arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, protesting airline collaboration with immigration agencies.
  • Coalition of over 100 groups and businesses closed in protest.
  • Thousands march, braving subzero temperatures.

• Demands:

  • Organizers call for ICE to leave the state due to aggressive raids, which have terrified local communities for weeks.

• Resistance Tactics:
  Community members provide food to those hiding, organize neighborhood lookouts, and give alerts when ICE is nearby.

Memorable Quote:

“We are in total crisis here in Minnesota with this ICE surge. Thousands of agents are terrorizing our communities.”
— Martha Bardwell, Minneapolis pastor, [02:50]

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4. Mississippi: Civil Rights Groups Sue Over “Goon Squad” Scandal

[03:12 – 04:12]

• Issue:

  • Civil rights orgs (ACLU of MS, Center for Constitutional Rights) sue the Rankin County DA, demanding more transparency after public records requests go unanswered.
  • The “Goon Squad” scandal: Black men were abused during police raids over two decades—warrantless raids, constitutional rights violations admitted.

• Victims:

  • Some are still imprisoned or living with impacts of wrongful convictions.

Memorable Quote:

“I think the important thing to keep at the forefront is that there are real victims, people who are still incarcerated in Mississippi Department of Corrections custody or people who are living with the consequences of criminal convictions. They deserve some level of transparency.”
— Corbin Felder, Center for Constitutional Rights, [04:00]

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5. TikTok Ownership Restructuring to Avoid U.S. Ban

[04:19 – 04:54]

• Key Developments:
  • TikTok announces new U.S.-based, non-Chinese investors: allies of President Trump, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison (Oracle), and an Emirati firm.
  • The move, and additional safeguards using Oracle’s cloud, aim to avert a congressional ban.
  • ByteDance remains involved, but U.S. control is expanded.

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Timestamps Key Segments

• Winter Storm/Northeast Response: [00:15 – 01:02]
• FEMA Policy Change: [01:02 – 02:03]
• Minnesota ICE Protests: [02:03 – 03:12]
• Mississippi Goon Squad Lawsuit: [03:12 – 04:12]
• TikTok U.S. Restructuring: [04:19 – 04:54]

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This episode delivers a concise, high-impact overview of national headlines, with a focus on urgent crises (weather, immigration, civil rights), government responses, and a major tech/political development. The reporting maintains NPR’s serious, factual tone while capturing the gravity and emotion of the events.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwahili Sai. Kowtow. Over half of the US could be affected by a major winter storm this weekend. Forecasters say the system is expected to move through 34 states from the Southern Plains to the south and up the Northeast. In New York City, New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani says as the storm nears, thousands of trucks with agency partners will be transformed into the nation's largest snow fighting operation.

[C]

We are going to see more than 2,000 of those sanitation workers begin 12 hour shifts starting tomorrow evening. They will salt as soon as we see the first snowflakes hit the ground with 700 salt spreaders. And then as soon as we see 2 inches of snow accumulate, we're going to see 2200 plows activate.

[B]

Across the city, the National Weather Service is forecasting 6 to 12 inches of snowfall from Sunday into Monday morning. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or fema, is abruptly halting the termination of federal disaster workers. As NPR's Lauren Summit reports, FEMA relies.

[D]

On thousands of disaster workers to respond on the ground when storms and wildfires hit. Those workers are on two or four year contracts, which generally are renewed. Recently, FEMA has been terminating employees whose contracts are up, something disaster response experts say could hurt the agency's ability to respond. On Thursday, FEMA abruptly stopped that policy, according to an internal email obtained by npr. The Trump administration has been critical of FEMA and is working to overhaul the agency. In a statement to npr, FEMA says its disaster workforce is designed to fluctuate, but did not respond to questions about whether the termination policy would be reinstated after the winter storm. Lauren Sommer, NPR News.

[B]

In Minnesota, about 100 members of clergy were arrested while demanding that Delta and other airlines stop cooperating with federal immigration agents at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport Friday morning. Separately, a coalition of 100 groups, including labor unions, childcare workers and hundreds of businesses closed to oppose the surge of ISIL operations in the state. NPR's Meg Anderson reports. Thousands marched despite extreme sub zero temperatures.

[E]

Organizers of the protests and economic blackouts are demanding that immigration officers leave the state. For more than two weeks, people in the Twin Cities have been on edge as officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ice, escalate aggressive tactics against Minnesotans. Martha Bardwell, a Minneapolis pastor, is participating in the day's events.

[F]

We are in total crisis here in Minnesota with this ice surge. Thousands of agents are terrorizing our communities.

[E]

Community members have also been coordinating a massive network of resistance, delivering food to people afraid to leave their homes, stand guard outside schools, and loudly alerting the neighborhood when federal agents are nearby. Meg Anderson, NPR News.

[B]

This is npr. Civil rights organizations in Mississippi have filed a lawsuit against the Rankin county district attorney, an office at the center of the, quote, Goon Squad scandal, where black men were viciously abused at the hands of local sheriff deputies over the course of two decades. Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Shamir Muhammad reports.

[G]

Attorneys for the ACLU of Mississippi and the center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit after unsuccessfully requesting public records last summer. Corbin Felder, an attorney with the center for Constitutional Rights, says convicted members of the Goon Squad have admitted to warrantless raids and violating constitutional rights, including those of people later convicted of crimes.

[H]

I think the important thing to keep at the forefront is that there are real victims, people who are still incarcerated in Mississippi Department of Corrections custody or people who are living with the consequences of criminal convictions. They deserve some level of transparency.

[G]

The Rankin County District attorney's office declined to comment. For NPR News, I'm Shamir Mohamed in Jackson, Mississippi.

[B]

The TikTok video app used by more than 200 million Americans has new non Chinese investors, allies of President Trump, billionaire Michael Dell, Larry Ellison of tech giant Oracle MGX, an Emirati investment firm. The Chinese owner, ByteDance, agreed to let these new owners create a US TikTok to avoid a permanent ban by Congress with new defined safeguards in Oracle's cloud environment. I'm Douahli Saikowtel, NPR News, in New York City.

[I]

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