NPR News: 02-05-2026 8AM EST

Summary

NPR News Now – February 5, 2026, 8AM EST

Host: Korva Coleman | Duration: ~5 minutes

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Overview

This NPR News Now episode covers overnight developments in U.S. politics, federal immigration operations, a controversial FBI raid on Georgia election ballots, updates on federal health agency funding, public health collaboration, and Google's financial moves. The episode features concise reporting on key national events with commentary from NPR correspondents.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Federal Immigration Agent Drawdown in Minnesota

[00:15 – 01:00]

• Main Story: President Trump announced he personally decided to withdraw 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota; about 2,000 remain.
  • The announcement aired during a recent NBC News interview.
• State Reaction:
  • Keith Ellison (Minnesota Attorney General): Described the partial withdrawal as "a step in the right direction but that the surge needs to end."
  • Jacob Fry (Minneapolis Mayor): Echoed that sentiment, saying the federal presence "has been catastrophic for residents and businesses."
  • Community Groups: Called the move insufficient.
    • Notable Quote [00:54]: Community coalition describes remaining officers as “masked, unaccountable agents terrorizing the community.”
• Correspondent: Meg Anderson

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2. FBI Raid on Fulton County, Georgia, Ballots

[01:00 – 02:14]

• Context: President Trump continues to allege national election fraud, celebrating a recent FBI raid on a Fulton County elections office.
  • Hundreds of boxes of 2020 ballots were seized.
  • Georgia officials demand their return and greater transparency on the investigation.
• Local Officials:
  • Rob Pitts (Fulton Commission Chairman): Leading calls for ballot return and unsealing of the affidavit supporting the search warrant.
    • Notable Quote [01:29]: “Pitts renewed his promise to use every tool at his disposal to fight for Fulton County.”
• Public Concerns: Uncertainty about the Department of Justice’s next moves; Trump fixates on Fulton County after his 2020 loss in Georgia despite “a lack of evidence.”
• Correspondent: Sarah Kalis

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3. Bipartisan Health Agency Budget Law

[02:14 – 03:10]

• Background: Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the previous year saw significant staff departures, canceled grants, and diminished programs.
• Budget Restoration:
  • The new law aims to restore funding, staffing, and required programming.
  • Tammy Baldwin (Senator, WI): Integral in writing the legislation.
    • Notable Quote [02:41]: “With this goal, how do we reign in an agency that has gone rogue?”
    • Notable Quote [02:57]: “It’s very, very specific. It is law. And by the way, the president just signed it.”
• Correspondent: Selena Simmons Duffin

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4. Global Public Health Network

[03:10 – 03:30]

• Participants: Illinois and New York City join the World Health Organization’s network to monitor and counter disease outbreaks. California joined last month.
• Political Context: The Trump administration formally withdrew the U.S. from the WHO two weeks prior.

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5. Google’s AI-Investment Surge

[03:31 – 04:36]

• Corporate Moves: Google (Alphabet) plans to double capital expenditures to $175–185 billion in 2026, focusing on AI and data center growth.
  • Q4 revenue up 18%, profit up 30% year-over-year.
• AI Focus: Significant spending on Gemini chatbot and related infrastructure.
  • Sundar Pichai (CEO): Reports that investments in AI and infrastructure are directly fueling revenue growth, potentially easing investor concerns about returns on huge AI-related outlays.
• Correspondent: John Ruich
  • Notable Commentary [03:55]: “AI is a big part of that. The company has been investing heavily in AI development and data centers, and its Gemini chatbot is one of the most popular in the world.”

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6. National Prayer Breakfast Attendance

[04:36 – 04:55]

• Event: President Trump to attend the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, co-chaired by Senators Roger Marshall (KS) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Community statement on federal agents in Minnesota [00:54]:
  "...there are still thousands of, quote, masked, unaccountable agents terrorizing the community."
• Tammy Baldwin on health agency oversight [02:41]:
  “With this goal, how do we reign in an agency that has gone rogue?”
• Senator Baldwin on the new health budget [02:57]:
  “It’s very, very specific. It is law. And by the way, the president just signed it.”
• John Ruich on Google’s AI investment [03:55]:
  “AI is a big part of that. The company has been investing heavily in AI development and data centers, and its Gemini chatbot is one of the most popular in the world.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------------|------------| | Federal Immigration Agent Drawdown (Minnesota) | 00:15–01:00| | FBI Ballot Raid, Georgia Election | 01:00–02:14| | Health Agency Budget Restoration | 02:14–03:10| | States Join WHO Public Health Network | 03:10–03:30| | Google’s AI Investment Surge | 03:31–04:36| | National Prayer Breakfast Preview | 04:36–04:55|

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Tone: Concise, factual, urgent—keeping with NPR's hallmark delivery.
Attribution: All statements are directly attributed to reporters, officials, and relevant sources as heard in the episode.

Transcript

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[Korva Coleman]

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. President Trump says he's the one who decided to withdraw 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota. He spoke in an interview aired last night by NBC News. This means about 2,000 federal agents still remain in Minnesota. Minnesota NPR's Meg Anderson reports. Many in the state see the drawdown as progress, but not enough.

[Meg Anderson]

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called it a step in the right direction, but that the surge needs to end. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry also called for it to end, saying it's been catastrophic for residents and businesses. A coalition of Minnesota Faith, labor and other community groups dismissed the announcement. In a statement, they said there are still thousands of, quote, masked, unaccountable agents terrorizing the community.

[Korva Coleman]

NPR's Meg Anderson reporting in his in an NBC interview last night, Trump also continued to claim there's cheating in national elections. There's no evidence of that. He celebrated a raid last week by FBI agents on an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia. Agents seized hundreds of boxes with ballots inside from the 2020 presidential election. Georgia officials have demanded their return from Georgia Public Broadcasting. Sarah Kalis has more in the filing.

[Sarah Kalis]

Fulton Commissioned Chairman Rob Pitts in the Board of Elections requests the return of the 700 boxes of ballots taken from the Fulton county elections warehouse and for the affidavit supporting the search warrant to be unsealed. Pitts renewed his promise to use every tool at his disposal to fight Fulton County.

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Make no mistake, in my opinion, we are the poster child here. Of all the states, all the counties, all the cities that may involve many.

[Sarah Kalis]

Questions remain about the FBI operation and what steps the Department of Justice may take next. President Trump has fixated on Fulton county election results after his 2020 loss in Georgia, repeatedly claiming the 2020 election was stolen despite a lack of evidence. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Atlanta.

[Korva Coleman]

The bipartisan budget just passed into law will restore a lot of funding and programs in the Federal Health Agency. NPR's Selena Sims Duffin has more.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Last year, tens of thousands of staff quit or were fired. Grants were canceled with no notice, and congressional required programs were hollowed out. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, says she helped write the new health budget.

[Tammy Baldwin]

With this goal, how do we reign in an agency that has gone rogue?

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

The new bipartisan law includes detailed instructions to fund specific centers, to fully staff them, to pay grantees promptly and more.

[Tammy Baldwin]

It's very, very specific. It is law. And by the way, the president just signed it.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Hhs did not respond to a request for comment about the new budget. Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Washington.

[Korva Coleman]

On Wall street, in premarket trading, Dow futures are higher. This is npr. The state of Illinois and New York City have now joined a network from the World Health Organization. It's intended to identify and work against disease outbreaks. California was the first state to join it last month. Two weeks ago, the Trump administration officially withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization. Big tech company Google is planning to double its capital expenditures this year. This is money spent for big projects such as land, buildings or in this case, equipment used for artificial intelligence. Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced It saw an 18% jump in revenues last quarter. NPR's John Ruich has more.

[John Ruich]

CEO Sundar Pichai says the quarter ending in December was tremendous, but profits leapt 30%, propelled by strong sales growth in its search and cloud businesses. And it's pressing ahead with plans to spend between 175 billion and $185 billion this year on its businesses. AI is a big part of that. The company has been investing heavily in AI development and data centers, and its Gemini chatbot is one of the most popular in the world. Pichai says those investments and infrastructure have helped drive revenue growth, which is something that may soothe some investors. Markets have been jittery lately with concerns returns on eye popping AI investments across the sector. John Ruich, NPR News.

[Korva Coleman]

Google is a financial supporter of npr. President Trump will attend the National Prayer Breakfast this morning. It's held annually in Washington. The honorary co chairs are Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.

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