Country singer Charley Crockett is ‘afraid of getting fenced in’ Charley Crockett has come a long way from his days busking on the streets of New Orleans. Now, he performs at theaters in front of thousands of people. To cap it all off, he’s up for his first Grammy. Read more on NPR

With a new home for DOGE in the White House, here’s what you need to know The Department of Government Efficiency, a post-election promise brought to life by President Trump via executive order looks different than its original proposal to broadly cut federal spending. Read more on NPR

Nearly 5 years after schools closed, the nation gets a new report card There’s some good news in math, mostly bad news in reading and lots of questions about why students are still struggling. Read more on NPR

Here’s how climate change fueled the Los Angeles fires Extreme conditions helped fuel the fast-moving fires that destroyed thousands of homes. Scientists are working to figure out how climate change played a role in the disaster. Read more on NPR

Several people are feared dead in a stampede at massive festival in India Millions continued to throng the site even as police urged them to avoid the area. Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas. Read more on NPR

Why members of two of EPA’s influential science advisory committees were let go Acting EPA Administrator James Payne sent an email to members of the agency’s Science Advisory Board and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee informing them that both are being “reset.” Read more on NPR

Trump asks SpaceX to “go get” two stranded ISS astronauts. They’re not stranded. Two NASA astronauts flew to the International Space Station in June on Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The test flight was planned for eight days but technical troubles forced the capsule to return empty. Read more on NPR

See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu Starbucks is trying to fix falling sales by changing its vibe back to coffee-house roots. The new CEO says parts of the plan, like free non-dairy milk, are helping bring people back. Read more on NPR

NJ Attorney General joins suit to stop Trump’s federal grant freeze NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin about his plans to block a federal funding freeze President Donald Trump ordered Monday. Read more on NPR

Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September Through an email blast, federal workers were given the opportunity to resign from their jobs before Feb. 6 and retain full pay and benefits through Sept. 30. Read more on NPR