Healthcare Subsides Expire, Trump and Minnesota, Mamdani Takes Office In NYC

Hey, Michelle. It feels like 2026. It's it really? It feels like the continuation of a long 2025. Well, happy New Year to you. You too. You too, Michelle. Now very quick before we start the show, we wanna say a big thanks to everyone who donated during NPR's end of year fundraising campaign. Yes. And thank you also to our NPR plus supporters. Yeah. Public radio is yours, and thanks to you, we're starting the new year strong even as the NPR network enters its first full year without federal funding for public media. Thank you again for your continued support moving into 2026 and beyond. 2025 is gone, and so are pandemic era subsidies for people who rely on the Affordable Care Act. That means higher monthly bills for millions of people and tough choices about health insurance coverage. I'm Michelle Martin. That's a Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Trump administration froze federal childcare funding after after a right wing influencer went viral, accusing Somali run daycares of fraud. Providers are warning the impact could be immediate. Many of the families at my center are one paycheck away from becoming homeless. I'm not exaggerating. What are the politics behind the White House move? And New York City has a new mayor, Zoran Mamdani, was sworn in just after midnight in a historic subway station. What's next on his agenda? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. This message comes from Capital One with the Quicksilver card. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase every day. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com for details. This message comes from BetterHelp. President Fernando Madera shares BetterHelp's commitment to expanding access to therapy. Our state of stigma report helped us understand that believing in mental health is easy, but asking for help is not. Now with the report on our hands, we can work to make mental health care more accessible. To get matched with a therapist, visit betterhelp.com/npr for 10% off your first month. This message comes from Bombas. When you're playing sports, you're focused. Your socks should be too. Bombas engineer socks to fight sweat and cushion impact for every sport. Visit bombas.com/npr and use code n p r for 20% off your first purchase. Health insurance is way more expensive this year for millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the Affordable Care Act. 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. Health reporter Sarah Bowden joins us, now to discuss what comes next. So, Sarah, higher premiums, what's, enrollment looking like so far? Yeah. So preliminary data from December show that enrollment is down …