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Today’s top stories
President Trump plans to nominate Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump has repeatedly complained that Powell has been too timid about cutting rates. Here’s what to know about Warsh.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Border czar Tom Homan is planning to pull some of the thousands of federal immigration agents out of Minnesota. After arriving in Minneapolis to oversee the government’s immigration crackdown, Homan acknowledged some problems with operations, which led to federal agents fatally shooting two Americans this month.
- 🎧 Homan says he is revamping immigration enforcement to make it safer, more efficient and by the book. But these plans hinge on state and local level cooperation, says NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán. Homan explained that this would require the administration to have greater access to prisons and jails, which would mean fewer agents on the streets. Martínez-Beltrán says currently it feels like nothing has changed since Homan arrived. He has not provided a timeline for the drawdown, and federal agents continue to make arrests across the state.
- ➡️ Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced yesterday that she is running for Minnesota governor. Her bid comes at a time when immigration enforcement is a key issue for the state, and several Republican leaders have entered the race.
The Senate reached a deal last night to prevent large portions of the government from shutting down, while allowing time to negotiate changes to the Homeland Security bill. The deal, which Trump endorsed, would give Congress a two-week extension for negotiations. However, for this to work, the Senate will have to vote on these changes and send the measure back to the House.
- 🎧 The House is in recess until early next week, making a short-term shutdown all but inevitable, NPR’s Ximena Bustillo tells Up First. It remains unclear whether the House will approve the new package. Bustillo says that if lawmakers act fast, they could minimize the effects of a shutdown because most federal offices are closed over the weekend.
The FBI has seized hundreds of thousands of 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Ga., which includes most of Atlanta. The county is a hub of baseless fraud claims from that election cycle. Trump still falsely claims he won the 2020 election. The FBI’s actions have sparked concerns surrounding the 2026 midterm elections.
- 🎧 NPR’s Stephen Fowler covered Fulton County’s 2020 election and its aftermath. He says he witnessed several conspiracy theories that have since been debunked — including that ballots cast before Election Day were fake. The county is one of the several places where Trump faced criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the election. The case was dropped last year. The Trump administration is inserting itself in election data in multiple ways, including using Social Security data to hunt for noncitizen information. Fowler says the administration’s actions are intensifying tensions with state and local election officials who are worried about what steps the federal government will take this year.
Today’s listen
Destin Conrad has earned his first Grammy nomination for best progressive R&B album with his debut album, Love on Digital. The former teen social media star is now a globe-trotting musician, performing on big stages and even an iconic small one: NPR’s Tiny Desk. During an interview with All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang, Conrad expressed concerns that people might not take him seriously as a musical artist because of his history on the former video-sharing app Vine, where he shared quirky jokes and song snippets with over a million followers. Listen to the interview or read the transcript here.
Weekend picks
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: The big-budget movie Melania, which follows first lady Melania Trump for 20 days in January as she prepares to re-enter the White House, opens on 1,500 screens this weekend.
📺 TV: In The Beauty, a genetic biotech serum transforms people into ridiculously good-looking supermodels. But there is a catch: They are dying suddenly and horribly.
📚 Books: Julian Barnes’ Departure(s) explores some of his lifelong obsessions — mortality, memory, and time. The author says that after publishing 27 books over several decades this novel will be his last.
🎵 Music: This week NPR’s All Songs Considered has been obsessing over several new songs including Mitski’s “Where’s My Phone?” Check out this playlist that will keep you entertained this weekend.
❓ Quiz: Starting today with a decent score of seven out of 10. Think you can beat that? Give it a try.
3 things to know before you go
- Niklaus Miller, a non-Spanish speaker known as the Mediocre Bunny, has spent months learning Bad Bunny’s songs ahead of the superstar’s Super Bowl halftime show. Millions of fans have tagged along for the journey. You can check out his progress and be one too.
- Two senior staffers have exited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. — one of them worked on the job for less than two weeks.
- LAist’s Inheriting returns for Season 2, and the podcast wants your family’s immigration stories. Share your experience by answering a few questions.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
