Daycare Fraud Claims Fallout, Epstein Files Mess, Swiss Nightclub Fire
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.5 • 52.8K Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
The Justice Department misses its deadline to release the Epstein files, fueling confusion and conspiracy theories as heavily redacted and unreliable documents trickle out.
And Switzerland begins days of mourning after a deadly New Year’s Eve fire rips through a crowded nightclub at a ski resort, killing dozens and injuring many more.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Luis Clemens, Dana Farrington, Miguel Macias, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Kaity Kline and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is David Greenburg..
Our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:54) Daycare Fraud Claims Fallout
(05:31) Epstein Files Mess
(09:27) Swiss Nightclub Fire
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Somali American daycare centers in Minnesota say they're being threatened. |
| 0:06.1 | Our families and teachers work hard enough without feeling scared to come to work. |
| 0:11.3 | Federal officials have not answered questions about what comes next. |
| 0:14.7 | I'ma Martinez. That is Michelle Martin, and this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:22.1 | The Justice Department missed its deadline to release the Epstein files. |
| 0:25.4 | The documents that are already out are heavily redacted, disorganized, and sometimes misleading. |
| 0:30.6 | So is this transparency or a mess that's fueling even more conspiracy theories? |
| 0:35.2 | And in Switzerland, at least 40 people were killed when a fire tore through a packed |
| 0:39.2 | nightclub at a ski resort. Many others were injured at a New Year's party. |
| 0:43.5 | Investigators are searching for what rent wrong. Stay with us. We'll give you news you |
| 0:47.0 | need to start your day. |
| 0:54.1 | Somali Americans in Minnesota who operate child care centers say they've received violent threats and been targeted by vandalism. |
| 1:01.4 | Yeah, this follows a posting of a video last week by a right-wing YouTube influencer who claims to have found evidence of fraud at Somali-American-run child care centers. |
| 1:10.5 | The Trump administration responded to that video by cutting federal funding for child care centers, not just in Minnesota, but also around the U.S. And Paris, Brian Mann, is reporting on this, and he's with us now. Good morning, Brian. Good morning, Michelle. So Somali American daycare operators in Minneapolis say they're facing harassment and vandalism? What more can you tell us about this? |
| 1:29.8 | Yeah, Nasrullah Muhammad spoke at a press conference at the Nukomas Daycare Center where he works in Minneapolis. |
| 1:35.2 | And he said there's been a break-in, there's been vandalism, and some people in the community are scared. |
| 1:39.7 | We've been receiving hateful messages through our voice notes threatening us, including one that |
| 1:46.4 | happened yesterday morning after the break-in. |
| 1:49.0 | This is frightening and exhausting. |
| 1:51.2 | And Muhammad says sensitive documents have been stolen. |
| 1:53.9 | After that press conference on Wednesday, President Trump posted on social media calling |
| 1:58.1 | Muhammad's account of the break-in a total fraud. |
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