U.S. Preparing for Winter Storm; Trump's Use of Military; U.S Consumer Spending

Summary

Up First – January 24, 2026 – Summary

Episode Overview

This episode of NPR’s Up First covers the top three news stories for the day: the U.S. preparing for a major winter storm affecting over 200 million Americans, President Trump’s recent military decisions—both domestic and abroad, and the paradox of strong U.S. consumer spending despite widespread economic pessimism. Hosts Scott Simon and Ayesha Rascoe are joined by NPR correspondents and analysts to break down each topic, offering direct reporting, analysis, and voices from the field.

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1. U.S. Braces for Major Winter Storm

(02:15–05:47)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Scope of the Storm:
  The winter storm is set to impact a huge area stretching from New Mexico to the Northeast. More than half the U.S. population, over 200 million people, are expected to face bad weather.

• Emergency Declarations:
  At least 16 states have declared emergencies in advance of the storm, which is bringing significant snow, ice, and dangerous cold.

  "The risks are so intense that as I'm standing here right now, I'm declaring a state of emergency throughout the entire state of New York." — (Ayesha Rascoe quoting Gov. Kathy Hochul, 00:25)

• Power Outages & Disruptions:
  Tens of thousands of homes and businesses—mainly in Texas—have already lost power, with outages likely to spread from Texas east through the Carolinas into Virginia. Some outages may last a week or longer.

• Travel and Daily Life Impact:
  School districts as far apart as El Paso and Philadelphia have canceled classes into next week; roads are expected to be treacherous and in some cases impassable for days.

• Community Preparation:
  NPR’s Frank Morris (Tulsa, OK) reports local sentiment: people are stocking up on necessities and recalling previous major storms. Residents express a mix of anxiety and readiness to hunker down with family.

  "I've already been out to the store once, but I went, came back and got some more meats, water, toiletries...I'm only hoping two days." – Tulsa resident (03:52) "Despite the cold and hassle, lots of people here say they're looking forward to being hunkered down with their families for a while." – Frank Morris (04:20)

• Key Safety Concerns:
  Authorities emphasize the dangers of ice build-up on power lines and the risk of improper generator or heater use.

  "Fumes from generators kill people in every big winter storm. Emergency officials say caution not to use a generator indoors or in the garage..." — Frank Morris (04:49)

• Road Recovery Timeline:
  Officials recall prior storms taking up to two weeks to clear all streets in Tulsa.

  "The last time there was a snowstorm this bad 15 years ago, it took two weeks to get all the streets clear." — Frank Morris (05:18)

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2. President Trump's Use of Military – Abroad and at Home

(05:57–12:46)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Military Decision-Making:
  President Trump announced at Davos that military action in Greenland is "off the table," but signaled a new force deployment toward Iran as a precaution in light of violent protests there.

• Domestic Military Deployments:
  Over 2,000 National Guard troops are stationed in Washington, D.C., with additional deployments in Memphis, New Orleans, and potentially Minneapolis. Some deployments blocked by federal judges.

• Changes in Military Use in Trump’s Second Term:
  NPR reporters Tom Bowman and Quill Lawrence discuss contrasts with Trump’s first term:

  • Increased domestic deployments, longer troop presence in some cities.
  • Active duty forces on standby for domestic use—over 2,000 pre-deployed for potential action in Minneapolis.
  • The administration is increasingly averse to "boots on the ground" in foreign wars or extended "nation building" operations.

  "You're not looking at a large-scale military operation like we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't think Trump wants to have that kind of open-ended military mission." — Tom Bowman (08:05)

  "It can seem like a contradiction...[but] there's this aversion to any responsibility, sense of owning it just because you broke it..." – Quill Lawrence (08:31)

• Foreign Operations:

  • Recent "Delta Force" operation seized Venezuelan President Maduro and brought him to New York for prosecution.
  • U.S. forces are leaving Iraq and ending support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, leading to thousands of ISIS prisoners escaping as Kurds pull back.

  "...these Kurdish forces on the ground in northeast Syria...in the fighting with the Syrian government, the Kurds have now pulled back and hundreds of those ISIS fighters escaped. So no boots on the ground, but also fewer allies on the ground, which means there can be consequences for that." — Quill Lawrence (09:05)

• Legal & Ethical Controversies:

  • DOJ claims legality for strikes against drug-carrying boats, but this is questioned by Congress and some retired military leaders.
  • Resignations among senior officers, including the former head of Southern Command, Admiral Halsey, over these actions.

  "The Justice Department has said these boat strikes are legal. ...There are many people in Congress and defense analysts who question that." — Tom Bowman (10:00)

  • The Pentagon has fired or replaced civilian casualty mitigation staff and now lacks internal guardrails.

  "The guardrails that kept rules of engagement from being unlawful. Those have been dismantled." — Quill Lawrence (11:00)

  • Climate of fear: active-duty officers hesitant to speak up against the administration.

  "...his friends who are still on active duty are afraid to say anything...afraid of getting fired because as you know, many admirals and generals have been fired over the past year by this administration." — Tom Bowman (12:00)

  • Transparency is reduced, with fewer Pentagon briefings and less public information.

  "...the American people aren't getting a sense of what the military is doing in their name." — Tom Bowman (12:30)

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3. U.S. Consumer Spending Remains Strong—Is It Sustainable?

(12:56–16:17)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Public Economic Anxiety vs. Actual Spending:
  Despite most Americans feeling pessimistic about their finances—"poll after poll shows...Americans are worried about the cost of living"—consumer spending continues to rise.

  • During the government shutdown in Fall 2025, not only did spending not fall, it rose sharply.

    "[P]eople's mood about the economy hit bottom, they didn’t dial back their spending. On the contrary, spending rose pretty sharply during the fall." — Scott Horsley (13:18)

• Who Keeps Spending—and How?
  According to analyst Tim Quinlan and examples from retail and restaurant chains, upper-income households continue to splurge, while lower-income families increasingly cut back and switch to cheaper essentials.

  "Spending increased faster than people's incomes did." — Scott Horsley (14:00)

  "The consumer’s still resilient. They're being cautious with the largest growth coming from our higher income households." — Darden CEO Rick Cardena (14:55)

• Warning Signs and Inequality:
  Some companies (e.g., Procter & Gamble) report anxious consumers are already economizing on basic products. More lower-income families are “hitting the wall,” resorting to savings and credit cards.

  "There are lots of examples of kind of two-speed spending behavior where upper income families are able to splurge while lower income families are just scraping by." — Scott Horsley (14:32)

  "The unpleasant truth of it is the top 10% of households give you almost half of all the overall spending. So if those households are doing well, that kind of papers over the struggles that people have at different levels of income." — Tim Quinlan (15:49)

• Possible Policy Relief:
  Lower-income families might get some help via larger tax refunds or minor GOP-passed tax cuts, but most benefits will accrue to higher earners.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "School districts from El Paso, Texas, to Philadelphia, some 2,000 miles away have already canceled classes into next week." — Frank Morris (02:45)
• "There are many people in Congress and defense analysts who question [the legality of the boat strikes]." — Tom Bowman (10:11)
• "Those [military] briefings have dried up...As a result, the American people aren’t getting a sense of what the military is doing in their name." — Tom Bowman (12:30)
• "The unpleasant truth of it is the top 10% of households give you almost half of all the overall spending." – Tim Quinlan (15:49)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:15 – Storm impact and emergency details begin
• 03:33 – Tulsa residents prepping for the storm
• 04:49 – Generator and heating safety
• 05:57 – Trump comments at Davos; Iran and Greenland military remarks
• 06:48 – NPR military correspondents analyze domestic deployments
• 08:05 – Differences in military use (1st vs. 2nd Trump term)
• 09:05 – U.S. military withdrawals and consequences abroad
• 10:00 – Debate over legality of new military tactics
• 11:00 – Dismantling of civilian harm mitigation in DoD
• 12:46 – Close of military segment
• 12:56 – Overview of public economic mood vs. consumer spending
• 13:41 – Examples of spending through the government shutdown
• 14:55 – Shifts in consumer habits, widening inequality in spending
• 15:49 – Economic concentration among top 10% of households

---

This rich, fast-paced episode offers an essential snapshot of major national news, blending policy analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and a reflection on daily American concerns as winter intensifies and national priorities evolve.

Transcript

[Scott Simon]

Millions across the US brace for a major winter storm.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

At least 16 states have declared emergencies ahead of lots of snow, ice and perilously low temperatures.

[Scott Simon]

I'm Scott Simon.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

And I'm Ayesha Rascoe. And this is up first from NPR News. The risks are so intense that as I'm standing here right now, I'm declaring a state of emergency throughout the entire state of New York.

[Scott Simon]

Governor Kathy Hochul, one of the many governors worried about the dangerous conditions that are forecast.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

We'll have more on that. We'll also look at how President Trump is using the military overseas and right here at home.

[Scott Simon]

Also, consumer spending carries the economy, but is that sustainable?

[Ayesha Rascoe]

So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

[Scott Simon]

Foreign.

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[Frank Morris]

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[Scott Simon]

We can work to make mental health care more accessible.

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[Scott Simon]

Over 200 million Americans are in for a weekend of tough weather. It's over half the entire population of the United States.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

A powerful winter storm is expected to hit large parts of the country, from New Mexico all the way to the Northeast.

[Scott Simon]

NPR's Frank Morris is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where, like many other cities, people are preparing to be snowed in. Thanks for being with us, Frank.

[Frank Morris]

You bet, Scott.

[Scott Simon]

And storms already is just getting started, but it's already having an enormous effect, isn't it?

[Frank Morris]

Yeah, that's right. The storm is mostly shutting down a huge swath of the nation this weekend, even though it's only Saturday. School districts from El Paso, Texas, to Philadelphia, some 2,000 miles away have already canceled classes into next week. Roads, of course, are going to be slick for days. The storm has already knocked tens of thousands of homes and businesses off the power grid, mainly in Texas. It's expected to trigger wide outages from central Texas, fanning out through the Carolinas and into Virginia. And some of those blackouts could last a week or more. And the storm threatens to drop more than a foot of snow from Oklahoma City to New York City. Then there's the bitter cold. We're expecting lows in the single digits through Monday.

[Scott Simon]

In Tulsa where you are, what are people doing there to prepare?

[Frank Morris]

You know, they're doing pretty much the same as like 200 million other people facing bad roads and power outages. This weekend they're stocking up on supplies at Oasis Fresh Market grocery store in north Tulsa. Shavonda Pinnell, Jacob Washburn and Ty Walker filled their shopping carts. Let's take a listen.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

I've already been out to the store once, but I went, came back and got some more meats, some more meats, water, toiletries, just all the necessities. I'm only hoping two days.

[Scott Simon]

Yep, stocking up Walmart.

[Frank Morris]

We had an online order and they.

[Scott Simon]

Canceled it on us.

[Frank Morris]

Ordered it two days ago and they canceled it.

[Scott Simon]

So here I am.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

I got potatoes and I got some beans and they're gonna stick to you.

[Frank Morris]

Despite the cold and hassle, lots of people here say they're looking forward to being hunkered down with their families for a while.

[Scott Simon]

Well, cozy as that sounds, it's also a dangerous situation too, isn't it? What people face, right?

[Frank Morris]

You know, it's got ice is the main concern. It's building up on power lines right now and eventually they snap or trees take them down and when they go, the power goes with them. Widespread outages are expected to fan out over nearly 2,000 miles and power crews will take days if not weeks to restore electricity. And without electricity, many people's furnaces won't work. Fumes from generators kill people in every big winter storm. Rain emergency officials say caution not to use a generator indoors or in the garage when it's outside. Make sure it's not near any windows inside. Space heaters and candles can spark fires.

[Scott Simon]

What about roads?

[Frank Morris]

Boy, the roads are going to be dangerous for days. Across many states, the roads are being pre treated, but this much snow and ice is going to make many impassable. The operations manager for the public works department here in Tulsa told me that the last time there was a snowstorm this bad 15 years ago, it took two weeks to get all the streets clear. Another storm. People remember here an ice storm in 2007 cut power to north Tulsa for a week. And one woman here told me she's never seen Tulsa look so bad.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah, well, best message because people stay off the streets. NPR's Frank Morris in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks so much for speaking with us today.

[Frank Morris]

You bet, Scott. Thank you.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

President Trump has taken military action against Greenland off the table. That's what he said during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, where he also said there's a framework for a deal for both Greenland as well as the Arctic region.

[Scott Simon]

There were few details on that framework, but on his way back to the U.S. the president told reporters he had sent what he called an armada of naval forces toward Iran.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

This is in case President Trump decides to take action against Iran, where the government recently responded to weeks of protests with violence. He's also weighing a military deployment right here in the US In Minneapolis.

[Scott Simon]

During his first term, President Trump faced some resistance from the US Military. We'll look at how things are going during his second term with NPR's Tom Bowman and Quill Lawrence, Good to have both of you.

[Tom Bowman]

Good to be here.

[Scott Simon]

Yes, thank you, Tom. Let's begin domestically. How have we seen the military deployed here at home?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, Scott, if you left the studio and walked to the window and looked down North Capitol street here in Washington, you would likely see National Guard troops walking up and down the street. There are more than 2,000 National Guard troops here in D.C. right now and they've been extended all through 2026. And also Guard troops have gone to Memphis, New Orleans. Trump tried to send out of state Guard troops to Oregon and Illino. Federal judges said that's not a good idea. There's no need for that now. We have active duty forces, Scott, on standby from Colorado, from Alaska and from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, more than 2,000 of them in total on pre deployment orders to go to Minneapolis if need be.

[Scott Simon]

And let's turn to you both because given the president's comments, military action against Iran remains possible. US Is still boarding oil tankers off of Venezuela, where of course, just three weeks ago US Forces seized President Maduro. What do you see as being different in terms of the US Military being deployed in the second term from the Trump first term? Tom.

[Tom Bowman]

Well, you're right, Scott. Venezuela, they seized President Maduro. That was a delta force. It was a raid. It was a targeted mission to grab Maduro, get him out and send him to New York for prosecution. There were no outside of that boots on the Ground, you're not looking at a large scale military operation like we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't think Trump wants to have that kind of open ended military mission, Will.

[Quill Lawrence]

Yeah, it can seem like a contradiction because at the same time as the Pentagon is pushing out this message of, let's say, mess around and find out and lethality. Trump and many of the people in his administration have talked about kind of an America first isolationism. But what's consistent is what Tom's saying is there's this aversion to any boots on the ground or any responsibility sense of owning it just because you broke it to turn around the old Pottery.

[Tom Bowman]

Barn rule and certainly no nation building like we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Quill Lawrence]

And yeah, to talk about Iraq. I mean, the US this week just left its last base in central Iraq. And in Syria, it's announced pretty bluntly that it's abandoning any support for the Kurdish forces that did most of the fighting against ISIS there. But already you see this result is that, you know, these Kurdish forces on the ground in northeast Syria, they were guarding thousands of ISIS prisoners. And in the fighting with the Syrian government, the Kurds have now pulled back from hundreds of those ISIS fighters escaped. So no boots on the ground, but also fewer allies on the ground, which means there can be consequences for that.

[Scott Simon]

Let me ask you both about the question of legality. I'm thinking less about Maduro or boarding the tankers in the boat strikes near Venezuela. Does this put the US into unknown territory?

[Tom Bowman]

No, there are definitely questions about that. Now, the Justice Department has said these boat strikes are legal. And, and their argument is that these boats are carrying drugs to the United States that are killing tens of thousands of Americans. Therefore, we can attack these boats because they're killing Americans. There are many people in Congress and defense analysts who question that. And we do know that the former head of Southern Command, Admiral Halsey, he actually resigned over this issue. He had, I'm told by Capitol Hill sources, reservations about these boat strikes, and he decided to resign rather than continue.

[Scott Simon]

Quill.

[Quill Lawrence]

I spoke with Sarah Yeager about this. She used to work at the Department of Defense advising the Joint Chiefs on humanitarian law. She's now at Human Rights Watch. She said the Pentagon has specifically fired the staff that used to advise the targeters and the operators.

[Frank Morris]

So there was a large staff that.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Was dealing with civilian harm mitigation, meaning.

[Frank Morris]

Making sure that civilians were not harmed in US Operations. That has been gutted. The guardrails that kept rules of engagement from being unlawful. Those have been dismantled.

[Quill Lawrence]

And this is playing out with military leadership, too. In a recent Senate confirmation hearing for two generals to replace the heads of Southern Command who Tom just mentioned and the heads of Cyber Command. I mean, one is replacing an admiral that quite possibly left because he had objections to what he thought were illegal orders killing the people in these fast boats. The other was replacing a general that got the sack because he ran afoul of a right wing conspiracy theorist, Laura Loomer. So you have a Republican senator, chairman of this committee, assuring them that they should speak their minds and tell the senators how they really feel. But there is uncertainty as to sort of what is grounds for dismissal and what they can say and still keep their careers.

[Tom Bowman]

And along those lines, Scott, I just had Brecker with a retired four star officer who said, listen, his friends who are still on active duty are afraid to say anything, afraid to stand up to Secretary Hegseth or go afoul of President Trump. They're afraid of getting fired because as you know, many admirals and generals have been fired over the past year by this administration. And the consequence of that, Scott, is we used to get background briefings from military officials, senior military officials, about, let's say, Venezuela, what's going on there, what's the possibilities for Iran? Those have all dried up. Last year there were only two Pentagon briefings by Secretary Hegseth. So as a result of all that, the American people aren't getting a sense of what the military is doing in their name.

[Scott Simon]

And here's Tom Bowman and Quill. Lawrence, thanks so much.

[Tom Bowman]

You're welcome.

[Quill Lawrence]

Thank you.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Poll after poll shows that Americans are worried about the cost of living. And according to a new survey from the University of Michigan, they feel worse about the economy now than they did a year ago.

[Scott Simon]

And yet consumer spending remains high, at least for now. We're joined now by NPR's Scott Horsley. Good to have you, Scott.

[Scott Horsley]

Good morning. Good to be with you.

[Scott Simon]

And you have some sales receipts there. What do they show?

[Scott Horsley]

Yeah, they show that even during the government shutdown this past fall, when people's mood about the economy hit bottom, they didn't dial back their spending. On the contrary, spending rose pretty sharply during the fall. Economist Tim Quinlan, who's with Wells Fargo, says the numbers suggest that despite people's deep funk about the economy, they continued to shell out not only for necessities like food and rent. We also saw more spending on things.

[Tim Quinlan]

Like recreation growing faster than many people would have thought when there was a lot of hand wringing about the impact of tariffs and labor market, that's losing momentum. But one way or another, the consumer just keeps finding a way to keep spending.

[Scott Horsley]

Now for some families, finding a way might mean dipping into savings or reaching for a credit card because in both October and November, spending increased faster than people's incomes did.

[Scott Simon]

And how long can if I might put it this way, we keep that up before we run out of money.

[Scott Horsley]

Well, there are already signs some families have hit the wall. Procter and Gamble said this week that some anxious shoppers are beginning to skimp on things like laundry detergent and even toilet paper. Now, presumably that just means switching from P and G Charmin to a cheaper but there are lots of examples of kind of two speed spending behavior where upper income families are able to splurge while lower income families are just scraping by. The Darden restaurant chain, for example, has a wide variety of offerings, from the never Ending Pasta bowl at Olive Garden, which is just under $14, to a $90 wagyu filet at the Capital Grill. CEO Rick Cardena says Darden's doing fine thanks to middle and upper income customers who are offsetting any cutbacks by those at the bottom.

[Scott Simon]

The consumer's still resilient. They're being cautious with the largest growth coming from our higher income households.

[Tom Bowman]

But there was a little pullback in.

[Scott Simon]

Those earning less than $50,000 in casual brands.

[Scott Horsley]

Now wealthier families might feel like they can afford to spend more because the stocks in their retirement account are doing okay and their home values are climbing, whereas people living paycheck to paycheck may feel like they have to tighten their belts.

[Scott Simon]

Scott, is there any help on the horizon for lower income families?

[Scott Horsley]

There could be some. They may get a bigger tax refund this year and perhaps see a little boost in their take home pay thanks to the GOP tax cut passed last summer. Although we know most of the benefits of the tax cut are going to go to higher income families, we talk all the time about how consumer spending is the biggest engine of the US Economy. Tim Quindlen notes that engine is increasingly driven by a relatively small slice of well off shoppers.

[Tim Quinlan]

The unpleasant truth of it is the top 10% of households give you almost half of all the overall spending. So if those households are doing well, that kind of papers over the struggles that people have at different levels of income.

[Scott Horsley]

Carmakers, for example, have been reporting solid sales even though it's getting harder for middle and lower income families to afford a new car. You can have a macro economy that looks pretty good on the surface even if a lot of families that are struggling to pay their bills.

[Scott Simon]

I'm Bear. Scott Horsley, thanks so much.

[Scott Horsley]

You're welcome.

[Scott Simon]

And that's up first for Saturday, January 24th, 2026. I'm Scott Simon.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

And I'm Ayesha Rascoe.

[Scott Simon]

Dave Misic produced today's podcast with help from Michael Radcliffe.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Our editor is Dee Parvaz along with Russell Lewis, Andrew Sussman, Rafael Nam and Fernando Naro.

[Scott Simon]

Andy Craig is our director. Our technical director has been David Greenberg with engineering support from Zoe Van Genhoven, Z. Coleman and Simon Laszlo Johnson.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes. Evie Stone is our executive producer. And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.

[Scott Simon]

And tomorrow on the Sunday story with Ayesha, President Trump's vision for the new American workforce leans less on the college educated white collar worker and more on the trades. But how do women fit into that vision?

[Ayesha Rascoe]

We'll get into all of that. But you know, Scott, we also have so many stories to offer over the weekend and throughout the week, but definitely over the weekend when it's gonna be snowing and all that stuff. So people need to tune in all.

[Scott Simon]

The latest news in, books, movies, music, sports and so much more, even every now and then, like recipes and games and all that stuff. Tune into npr. Find your local station at stations. Npr.

[Ayesha Rascoe]

Yes, Tune in like so when you're bundled up in the blizzard.

[Scott Simon]

Right. Reach your fingers out and just tune in.

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