Transcript
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Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. President Trump says he's dropping his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, at least for now. More from NPR's Giles Snyder.
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President Trump announced a move on social media crediting the deployments with reducing crime, but warning that his decision to end his efforts to send Guard troops into several largely Democratic led cities depends on crime rates, saying that Guard members could be sent back in a stronger form. Local leaders have said the deployments were not necessary, and Democrats have accused the Trump administration of overreaching. The deployments have repeatedly faced legal roadblocks, and last week the US Supreme Court refused to allow the administration to deploy troops to Chicago without permission from the governor of Illinois. Trial Snyder, NPR News.
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The Justice Department says it is still working to review files involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That's after missing a December 19 deadline set by law. NPR's Stephen Fowler has this update.
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We don't know how many Epstein files are yet to be released and we don't know when they will be. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch says in a social media post that do lawyers are working, quote, around the clock to review them. A law passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in November directed the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein by December 19th. And with minimal redactions, neither of those requirements has been met so far, despite about 40,000 new pages published under the law in the last two weeks. Stephen Fowler, NPR News.
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The first order of business for New York City in 2026 will be swearing in a new mayor. As Bruce Kahnweiser reports, Democratic Socialist Zoram Mamdani will be sworn in at one minute after midnight.
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Mamdani burst into the national spotlight this past year with a mayoral campaign that captivated the left and piqued the interest of centrist. In the end, it wasn't close. In a three way race, he won more than 50% of the vote, thumping one time New York political icon Andrew Cuomo by nine points. The 34 year old Mamdani stands out as the first South Asian and the first Muslim to lead America's largest city. He will be sworn in using a Koran. Mamdani made affordability the cornerstone of his campaign. He vowed to freeze rents on rent stabilized apartments implement free busing and build city owned grocery stores. He says raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% will add $5 billion to the city's coffers. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Kahnweiser in New York.