NPR News: 01-31-2026 5PM EST

This message comes from Capital One. With the Venture X card, earn unlimited double miles, a $300 annual capital one travel credit and access to airport lounges. Capital One what's IN your wallet? Terms apply details@capital1.com.

0:00

Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. A federal judge has ordered the government to release a father and his five year old son who were taken into custody during the crackdown on immigration in a Minneapolis suburb last month. Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by officers at the same time his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, was arrested, with both moved to an immigration detention center near San Antonio. At Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas, Judge Fred Beery condemned what he called a perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty. A federal judge in Minnesota has declined to order a halt to President Trump's immigration enforcement surge there. Kat Lahnstorff reports.

0:17

Attorneys representing Minnesota and the Twin Cities argued in court that the federal actions on the ground were causing, quote, tremendous damage and asked the court to immediately halt the immigration surge with a temporary restraining order. U.S. district Judge Kate Menendez, a President Biden appointee, denied that request while acknowledging that the surge, quote, has had and will likely continue to have profound and even heartbreaking consequences for the state of Minnesota. But she said that an injunction halting the operation would go too far and harm the federal government's efforts to enforce immigration laws. The operation has sent thousands of immigration agents to the city, sparking weeks of protests and the killing of two US Citizens by federal agents. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Minneapolis.

1:00

Many parts of the US Are seeing wind chill temperatures in the single digits or even below zero this weekend. NPR's Rebecca Hersher reports. Wind chill can be dangerous.

1:41

Wind chill is basically how cold it feels outside. When you combine the air temperature with wind, it can cause frostbite and hypothermia. Dressing warmly can help protect people from windchill conditions. That includes covering all exposed skin, says Jessica Lee from the National Weather Service.

1:51

Your ears, your nose, your fingers, your toes, even your cheeks and your chin, you want to keep all of your exposed skin covered and then, of course, limit or avoid time outside as well.

2:08

People who work outside or don't have reliable housing are at particular risk in severe wind chill conditions. Rebecca hersher, NPR News.

2:18

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is preparing for an initial public offering this year. NPR's Bobby Allen has details.

2:27

OpenAI's $500 billion valuation makes it the second most valuable startup in the world behind only SpaceX and OpenAI is now taking steps to go public this year. It's according to a company source, not authorized to speak publicly. The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI is rushing to beat its AI rival, Anthropic, which is also planning an IPO this year. OpenAI denies this. There are, however, real questions about OpenAI's business. Massive infrastructure spending on AI data centers has meant it's losing billions of dollars a year, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he doesn't expect the company to break even until 2030. Yet investment money keeps pouring into the company. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

2:34

This is NPR News in Washington. The suspense thriller Send Help is narrowly beating the video game spinoff Iron Lung at the box office this weekend, but NPR's Bob Mondello says it's the third place finisher that's got both of the week's frontrunners.

3:13

The genre flick Send help from Disney and the scrappy indie Iron Lung, made by a YouTuber, are poised to take in about $17 million through Sunday. But the surprise of the weekend is the documentary Melania, about first lady Melania Trump.

3:31

I will move forward with purpose and, of course, with style.

3:45

Critics were brutal. The review aggregator Rot Tomatoes has the film made a catastrophic but while its box office prospects had been largely written off, Melania is now expected to earn $8 million this weekend, the best opening for a non concert documentary in a decade. Predictably, it's playing especially well in red states. The top grossing cities include Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Bob Mondello, NPR News.

3:49

The federal government has entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to meet a deadline to complete work on a spending package to prevent funding from expiring nine federal departments. While funding has technically expired with Senate action yesterday, Congress appears within striking distance of breaking the impasse that has led funds to expire at the Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Transportation and Treasury. The House returns Monday and is expected to vote. President Trump has agreed to the plan. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.

4:17

Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now. Plus@plus npr.org that's +npr.org.

4:56