Healthcare Subsides Expire, Trump and Minnesota, Mamdani Takes Office In NYC
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.5 • 52.8K Ratings
🗓️ 1 January 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Trump administration freezes child care funding nationwide after targeting Minnesota over unproven fraud claims tied to Somali-run day care centers.
And New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is sworn in at midnight as he prepares to take office.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Carrie Feibel, Cheryl Corley, Andrea De Leon, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
Our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
(0:00) Introduction
(02:33) Health care Subsidies Expire
(05:53) Trump and Minnesota
(10:06) Mamdani Takes Office in NYC
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Michelle, it feels like 2026. |
| 0:03.2 | It, really? |
| 0:05.5 | It feels like the continuation of a long 2035, but happy new year to you. |
| 0:10.2 | You too, you too, Michelle. |
| 0:11.2 | Now, very quick, before we start the show, we want to say a big thanks to everyone who donated |
| 0:15.5 | during NPR's end-of-year fundraising campaign. |
| 0:18.3 | Yes, and thank you also to our NPR Plus supporters. |
| 0:21.8 | Yeah, public radio is yours, and thanks to you, we're starting the New Year's |
| 0:25.0 | strong, even as the NPR network enters its first full year without federal funding for |
| 0:29.2 | public media. Thank you again for your continued support moving into 2026 and beyond. |
| 0:37.2 | 2025 is gone, and so are pandemic-era subsidies for people who rely on the Affordable Care Act. |
| 0:43.5 | That means hire monthly bills for millions of people and tough choices about health insurance coverage. |
| 0:48.4 | I'm Michelle Martin. That's A Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:55.7 | The Trump administration froze federal child care funding after a right-wing influencer went viral, accusing Somali-run daycares of fraud. |
| 1:03.9 | Providers are warning the impact could be immediate. |
| 1:06.4 | Many of the families at my center are one paycheck away from becoming homeless. I'm not exaggerating. |
| 1:13.4 | What are the politics behind the White House move? And New York City has a new mayor, |
| 1:18.5 | Zoran Mamdani, was sworn in just after midnight in a historic subway station. What's next on his |
| 1:24.2 | agenda? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. |
| 1:33.0 | Thank you. That's next on his agenda. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Health insurance is way more expensive this year for millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the Affordable Care Act. |
| 1:40.3 | Many people get government subsidies to help pay their monthly premium for that insurance. During the COVID pandemic, Congress created additional subsidies to help keep coverage affordable, but those additional subsidies expired last night and now consumers face a hard choice. On average, premiums for those marketplace plans are more than twice as high compared to 2025. |
| 2:00.4 | Health reporter Sarah Bowden joins us now to discuss what comes next. |
... |
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