NPR News: 01-30-2026 5PM EST

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwahilisai Kowtel. Republican Senator Thom Tillis says he will oppose President Trump's nomination for chair of the Federal Reserve until the controversial criminal probe of current Chair Jerome Powell is resolved. NPR's Franco Ordonez has the latest.

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Senator Tillis calls Trump's pick to lead the Fed a qualified nominee with deep understanding of monetary policy, but he says the central bank's independence from political interference or legal intimidation is non negotiable. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump called the North Carolina Republican an obstructionist.

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That kind of thinking is why he's no longer a senator. You know, he's going to be out of office. It's too bad. I always liked Senator Tillis actually, but he did some things that were not smart and whatever. I mean, you know, if he doesn't approve, we'll just have to wait till somebody comes in that will approve it.

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Jerome Powell says the White House is using the probe to pressure the Fed to cut interest rates. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.

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The Justice Department released more than 3 million pages tied to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein today. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports. The new videos and photos are emerging weeks after it deadline from Congress had passed.

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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch says more than 500 lawyers and other Justice Department staff worked through weekends and holidays to comply with the mandate from Congress. He says the reviewers had to examine the equivalent of two Eiffel Towers of pages to decide what materials to release. The Justice Department continues to withhold papers that depict violence or involve attorney client privilege. DOJ says some of the material contains sensational and false claims about President Trump. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to release the Epstein files once in office. He fought efforts in Congress to press for their full release. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

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Brown University has begun to pay out workforce grants under a deal with the Trump administration that restored the school's federal research funding. NPR's Elisa Nadwarny reports. The payments, which so far total $3 million, mark the first step to fulfilling a settlement reached last summer.

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In exchange for millions of dollars in federal research funding and an end to federal investigations into alleged anti Semitism on campus, the university agreed to pay $50 million to organizations in Rhode island focused on workforce training. According to the University. The money will create a new certificate program and pipeline for bilingual early childhood education and fund a construction apprenticeship readiness program for people who are incarcerated. Alyssa Nadworny, NPR News.

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On Wall street, the Dow closed down 179 points to end at 48,892. The Nasdaq closed down 223 points. This is NPR. More faith leaders across the country are asking Congress to withhold funding for federal immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two Minnesotans this month and the arrest of journalists who covered a protest at a Minnesota church earlier in the week, more than one organizations, including prominent churches, signed a letter to Congress demanding DHS to, quote, stop these out of control agencies from continuing to violently attack our immigrant communities and communities of color. The US Government has told Gavi, the International Vaccine alliance to remove thimerosal from its vaccines. And until that happens, NPR's Gabriel Emmanuel reports. The US says it won't fund the organization.

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Thimerosal is a preservative that prevents vaccine vials from getting contaminated. It's been safely used in this way since the 1930s. However, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Says the mercury in thimerosal is a neurotoxin. William Moss of Johns Hopkins says this ingredient is rare in the US which mostly relies on single dose vials, but it's necessary in less expensive multi dose vials.

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The stakes are much higher in low income countries that are dependent on these multi dose vials.

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In a statement, Gavi said any changes would be guided by scientific consensus. 14% of its vaccines currently contain thimerosal. Gabriela Emanuel, NPR News.

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The S and P closed down 29 points to end at 6930, 939. This is NPR News from New York.

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