NPR News Now
NPR News Now

NPR News: 01-29-2026 2AM EST

5 min
•Jan 29, 20263 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This NPR News episode covers major developments including immigration enforcement incidents, Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, and significant corporate layoffs. Key business stories include Home Depot cutting 800 jobs while requiring return-to-office, Amazon laying off 16,000 employees, and Meta posting strong Q4 results.

Insights
  • Major tech companies continue workforce reductions despite some showing strong financial performance
  • Return-to-office mandates are being coupled with workforce restructuring as companies seek operational efficiency
  • Federal Reserve maintains cautious approach to rate cuts despite presidential pressure, citing inflation concerns
  • International diplomatic engagement with China continues despite trade tensions and tariff threats
Trends
Tech industry layoffs accelerating with Amazon cutting 16,000 jobsCorporate return-to-office mandates becoming more stringentFederal Reserve maintaining independence from political pressure on monetary policyIncreased diplomatic engagement between Western leaders and ChinaCorporate restructuring combining workforce reductions with operational changes
Companies
Amazon
Announced layoffs of 16,000 employees in latest round of tech industry workforce reductions
Home Depot
Cutting 800 jobs and requiring corporate employees return to office five days per week
Meta
Posted stronger than expected fourth quarter financial results
Capital One
Sponsored content promoting Venture X credit card with travel benefits and airport lounge access
Granger
Sponsored content advertising professional grade products and technical support services
People
Jerome Powell
Fed Chair announced decision to keep interest rates unchanged, term ends in May
Ted Decker
Home Depot CEO announced workforce reduction and return-to-office policy in employee memo
Keir Starmer
British Prime Minister leading delegation to China, first UK leader to visit since 2018
Xi Jinping
Chinese President met with British Prime Minister during diplomatic visit
Mark Carney
Canadian Prime Minister who signed economic deal with Beijing, drew tariff threats from Trump
Tate Reeves
Mississippi Governor reported storm fatalities and damage numbers at press conference
Ilhan Omar
Minnesota Congresswoman was sprayed with unknown liquid at town hall, FBI investigating
Quotes
"We can confirm 10 fatalities with this event and multiple injuries as well, at least 14 that we can confirm, but we think those numbers are going to rise."
Tate Reeves•N/A
"While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization and inflation remains somewhat elevated."
Jerome Powell•N/A
"The Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy rate unchanged."
Jerome Powell•N/A
Full Transcript
7 Speakers
Speaker A

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0:00

Speaker B

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder in Minneapolis. The two immigration officers involved in Saturday's deadly shooting of 37 year old Alex Preddy are on administrative leave. NPR's Jimena bust reports that Customs and Border Protection says that's standard protocol.

0:17

Speaker C

The announcement comes after CBP's initial review found that the officers shot Preddy after he resisted their efforts to take him into custody. The agency's preliminary assessment contradicted the Trump administration's first narrative about the shooting, which accused Preddy of, quote, domestic terrorism and brandishing his weapon. It is not immediately clear how long the officer's leave will last. CBP and state officials are both investigating the shooting, and it is also under review by the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security. Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Washington.

0:36

Speaker B

The Minneapolis Police Department says the FBI is now leading the investigation into Tuesday night's incident in which Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown liquid. The incident happened at a town hall she was hosting. Minnesota court records show the suspect has a criminal history and made online posts supporting President Trump. At Mississippi state officials expect fatalities and injuries to rise amid ongoing efforts to recover from last weekend's winter storm. Elise Gregg of Mississippi Public Broadcasting has more.

1:07

Speaker D

Governor Tate Reeves held a press conference on Wednesday to share updated storm numbers.

1:42

Speaker E

We can confirm 10 fatalities with this event and multiple injuries as well, at least 14 that we can confirm, but we think those numbers are going to rise. We've had 51 counties make damage reports, as well as 37 municipalities.

1:47

Speaker D

Mississippi Highway Patrol is closing parts of I55 north from Batesville to Senatobia overnight, as well as all of I22 from Red Banks to the Tennessee state line to help clear out ice up north. For NPR News, I'm Elise Gregg in Jackson, Mississippi.

2:08

Speaker B

Mississippi and Tennessee account for the majority of power outages from last weekend's storm, and forecasters are warning of another storm expected to move into the region this weekend. Despite pressure from President Trump, the Federal Reserve decided Wednesday to keep interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell While job gains.

2:23

Speaker E

Have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization and inflation remains somewhat elevated. In support of our goals today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy rate unchanged.

2:43

Speaker B

The decision to leave the Fed's key rate at about 3.5 after lowering it three times last year, was widely expected, with Powell citing an improving economic outlook. Powell's term as Fed chair comes to an end in May. He did not say whether he intends to remain as a Fed governor. This is npr. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is leading a delegation on a visit to China, where he met Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Starmer is the first British leader to travel to China since 2018. Starmer's visit follows that of Canadian Prime Minister Minister Mark Carney. Carney drew tariff threats from President Trump after he signed an economic deal with Beijing. Home Depot says it's laying off hundreds of employees tied to its Atlanta headquarters. And Marlon Hyde from member station WABE reports that corporate employees will be required to return to the office five days a week.

2:57

Speaker F

Home Depot is eliminating about 800 positions, including 150 corporate employees based at its headquarters. The rest are remote roles. CEO Ted Decker announced the workforce reduction in a memo sent to employees on Wednesday, saying the decision positions the company to move faster as it undergoes restructuring. The home improvement giant also says corporate employees will have to return to the office Monday through Friday, starting the week of April 6th. In a statement to WABE, a spokesperson says impacted employees will receive severance packages, transitional benefits and help with finding a new job. For NPR News, I'm Marlon Hod in Atlanta.

3:53

Speaker B

Amazon is cutting about 16,000 jobs in the latest round of tech industry layoffs. The layoffs were announced in a blog post Wednesday. They affect nearly 10% of Amazon's corporate workforce. Amazon laid off some 14,000 workers in October. Meanwhile, Facebook parent company Meta posted stronger than expected fourth quarter results Wednesday. This is NPR News.

4:32

Speaker G

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4:56