Up First from NPR - U.S. Preparing for Winter Storm; Trump’s Use of Military; U.S Consumer Spending

At least half of the U.S. population will be hit by a powerful winter storm this weekend - we'll tell you how Oklahoma, and other states, are preparing. Plus, a look at how President Trump is using the military overseas as well inside the U.S. during his second term. Plus, a look at consumer spending in the U.S. and how sustainable it is at present levels. 

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Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Saving lives with the man who saved mine

Mesfin Dollar, who grew up in rural Ethiopia, had to travel to the US for two heart surgeries as a teenager. Twenty-five years later, by chance, he was reunited with the surgeon who saved his life -- when they both volunteered for a charity mission to his home country. Mesfin and Dr Jim Kauten went on to work together, performing hundreds of life-saving operations.

Also: a Paralympic athlete and musician who's blind talks of his joy at being sent a specially designed amplifier. It's thought to be the first to include braille on the controls, giving Anthony Ferraro the freedom to adjust the sound of his guitar himself.

How farmers in rural Malawi are getting help and advice from Articial Intelligence through a new chatbot.

Why a cow in Austria has found fame for using a broom to scratch her back -- suggesting cattle are far more intelligent than we think.

Plus a woman who's entered the male-dominated world of lorry driving in her fifties - and a girl who joined her father's photography business at the age of nine.

Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

WSJ Your Money Briefing - What’s News in Markets: Intel Slides, Gold Surges and the TACO Trade Is Back

How did the market react to President Trump’s proposed Greenland takeover? And why wasn’t the AI hype enough to save Intel’s stock price? Plus, why investors just can’t get enough gold these days. Host Hannah Erin Lang discusses the big gest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.
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WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Intel Slides, Gold Surges and the TACO Trade Is Back

How did the market react to President Trump’s proposed Greenland takeover? And why wasn’t the AI hype enough to save Intel’s stock price? Plus, why investors just can’t get enough gold these days. Host Hannah Erin Lang discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.


Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

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The Daily - ‘The Interview’: Chloé Zhao Is Yearning to Know How to Love

The “Hamnet” director on trying to overcome her deepest fears — and open her heart.

 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Who Gave ICE Permission to Trample the Constitution?

The evidence is mounting that ICE is not only unbothered by moral boundaries, but immigration and customs enforcement agents acting on behalf of President Trump believe they are not constrained by constitutional red lines, either. According to a super-secret internal memo flagged in a whistleblower complaint this week, the Fourth Amendment simply doesn’t apply to ICE. That sense of impunity is also clear in a growing chamber of horrors from their enforcement operations; from masked agents taking a child in a blue bunny hat, to the shooting of Renee Good. Worryingly, this sweeping concept of immunity is kind of true—though maybe not for the reason you think. This week on Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick talks with Alex Reinert, the Max Freund Professor of Litigation & Advocacy at Cardozo School of Law. He is also the director of the Center for Rights and Justice and Co-Director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy. Alex explains the origins of qualified immunity—a legal theory that allows law enforcement officers to be free from consequences for their actions—why ICE’s lawlessness is not a new phenomenon (even if it is a phenomenon in hyperdrive under Trump), and what we can do about the obvious problem of maximal impunity for the people who have the most power to inflict harm.


Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.


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More or Less - Is Greenland as big as Africa?

The vast island of Greenland has found itself at the centre of a geopolitical crisis. But a little bit of geography can help us see the situation in a new light.

YouTuber and map expert Jay Foreman explains how Mercator maps - the maps that the vast majority of us use to understand the world - contain necessary but massive distortions and hugely exaggerate the size of the Arctic island.

So, why is making a flat map of a round globe so difficult? Why did we end up with a problematic map in the first place? And are there any alternatives?

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Engineer: James Beard

It Could Happen Here - It Could Happen Here Weekly 216

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. 

- The Campaign to Free Albeiro From ICE

- The Alleged Far-Left Bombing Plot

- Why the Federal Reserve Crisis Matters

- Executive Disorder: ICE in Minneapolis, Greenland, DAVOS, Iran & Syria

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone

Sources/Links:

The Campaign to Free Albeiro From ICE

Albeiro's Family's Crowd Fund

Change.org Campaign

Instagram Campaign Post #1

Instagram Campaign Post #2

Instagram Campaign Post #3

Elly Belle on Instagram

Elly Belle Website

The Alleged Far-Left Bombing Plot

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/grand-jury-charges-four-members-anti-government-group-terrorism-felonies-stemming-new

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-anti-capitalist-and-anti-government-group-arrested-and-charged-threatening-ice

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/turtle-island-indictment.pdf

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26378204-tilf-complaint-signed-redacted/

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26379390-08918333876/ 

https://www.instagram.com/turtleislandliberationfrontla/

Why the Federal Reserve Crisis Matters

https://fortune.com/2025/08/09/trump-fed-pick-stephen-miran-existential-threat-central-bank-independence/
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/supreme-court-weighs-trumps-firing-feds-lisa-cook-by-social-media-2026-01-20/
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/20/powell-could-stay-at-fed-even-after-being-removed-as-chair.html
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RPONTSYD#
https://apnews.com/article/jerome-powell-federal-reserve-trump-af06d80b28be9c8a5de9c3b2fe33fa3d
https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/the-fed-explained.htm
https://www.cfr.org/articles/mar-lago-accord-not-recipe-success
https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr1047.html
https://fortune.com/2025/08/08/what-to-know-about-stephen-miran-the-tariff-proponent-trump-just-nominated-to-join-the-feds-board-of-governors/
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0sg0782h
https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/goldvault.html
https://libcom.org/article/debt-first-5000-years-david-graeber
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenspanput.asp
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-fed-chair-search-becoming-163021470.html
https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/more-about-what-we-do
https://www.stlouisfed.org/in-plain-english/who-owns-the-federal-reserve-banks
https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.htm
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/politics/supreme-court-shield-federal-reserve-from-donald-trump

Executive Disorder: ICE in Minneapolis, Greenland, DAVOS, Iran & Syria

Fundraiser: https://heyvasor.com/en/2026/01/19/urgent-call-for-humanitarian-aid-for-rojava/  

https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2011965846739173833

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/alleged-latin-kings-gang-member-arrested-federal-charges-after-stealing-rifle-fbi

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/us/ice-shooting-minneapolis-charges.html

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/01/15/dhs-releases-more-details-about-three-violent-criminal-illegal-aliens-who-violently

https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaNationalGuard/photos/members-of-the-minnesota-national-guard-are-on-standby-ready-to-assist-local-law/1285981430233367/ 

https://x.com/MnDPS_DPS/status/2012614253090619619?s=20 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/active-duty-soldiers-standby-possible-deployment-minneapolis/

https://www.citieschurch.com/leadership

https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2013093526867689835

https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/senate-bill/636

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AjH7MbFrd/

https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2013283898935882195?s=20 

https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present 

https://x.com/PressSec/status/2014020416860573726?s=20

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115911344443637897

https://www.forsvaret.dk/en/news/2026/exercise-arctic-endurance-continues-to-develop/

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/foreign-secretary-statement-to-the-house-on-greenland-and-wider-arctic-security

https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2012608782593827232

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7ynwzn8pqo

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115925848634299232 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115926107400617491 

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/whats-new/statement-from-the-prime-minister/id3146486/ 

https://hengaw.net/en/news/2026/01/article-167 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r4957rq8ro 

https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump

https://gordyaen.substack.com/p/voices-from-inside-east-kurdistaniran?r=33a5nb&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=post-publish&triedRedirect=true 

https://www.reuters.com/business/davos/bessent-says-deutsche-bank-ceo-called-distance-bank-analysts-greenland-report-2026-01-21/

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2675/oj/eng

https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20240401-the-eu-anti-coercion-regulation-a-new-tool-against-economic-pressure

https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/enforcement-and-protection/protecting-against-coercion/qa-regarding-anti-coercion-instrument_en

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2026/01/20/eu-anti-coercion-instrument-trump-greenland-tariffs/

https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/0c873dd6/eu-anti-coercion-instrument-key-takeaways-for-businesses

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/eu-trade-deal-trump-greenland-tariff-rcna255199

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-eu-magical-mystery-trade-weapon-other-options-donald-trump/

https://www.wsj.com/business/the-100-billion-of-u-s-goods-at-risk-of-tariffs-in-trumps-greenland-push-d7fbda31

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/trump-tariffs-nato-greenland-davos.html

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260119-what-is-eu-anti-coercion-instrument-could-use-against-us-over-trump-greenland-tariffs

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/18/greenland-eu-trump-trade-bazooka/88245951007/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-greenland-anti-coercion-instrument-macron-bessent-eu-b2903967.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/1/20/trumps-greenland-tariffs-whats-europes-bazooka-option-to-hit-back

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5345ylk0o

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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