NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

NPR News: 01-02-2026 1PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Federal authorities say they have thwarted an alleged ISIS-inspired attack on New Year's Eve outside Charlotte, North Carolina. FBI agents say the 18-year-old suspect is in custody. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. Authorities say the defendant, Christian Sturdivant, was plotting to use knives in a hammered, carry out an attack at a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in Mint Hill, North Carolina. Carolina. Court papers say Sturdivant had been in touch about his plans with two individuals who he thought were members of ISIS but were in fact undercover law enforcement officers. He allegedly

pledged allegiance to the terrorist group as well. The FBI conducted a court-authorized search of Sturdivant's home, where they found knives and a hammer under his bed, as well as a document that allegedly contained detailed plans for an attack. He was arrested on New Year's Eve before any attack took place. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Sparklers attached to champagne bottles likely caused the deadly fire in a Swiss alpine bar during a New Year's party. That was the preliminary finding of investigators who updated reporters earlier today. Police Chief Friedrich Gisler heard here through an interpreter on France 24's authorities are still trying to identify survivors. 14 of them, we still do not know from which country they come.

and I want to say that all these figures will change as we advance in the identification process with regard to the people who have deceased. We now know there are 40 deaths. More than 100 people were injured. Facing growing threats from the Trump administration, Venezuela and President Nicola Maduro says he is ready to improve relations with Washington.

Maduro call Venezuela a U.S. ally and offered to cooperate on fighting drugs and producing oil. Reporter John Otis has details. In recent months, the U.S. has sent warships to the Caribbean Sea, blown up alleged drug trafficking boats from Venezuela, and has tried to block Venezuelan tankers from exporting oil. All this is part of a campaign by the Trump administration to remove Maduro from power. But in an interview broadcast on Venezuela's state, TV, Maduro called for a fresh start. He said the two countries should engage in, quote,

serious talks about fighting drug trafficking and said U.S. companies could return to Venezuela to produce oil. Here in Venezuela, you have a brother country of the United States, Maduro said. Here you have a government that is a friend. For NPR news, I'm John Otis. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck central and southern Mexico today. No immediate report. of injuries or damage. It's NPR news. Today marks 10 years since armed militants seized a national wildlife refuge in Oregon to protest federal land policies. NPR's Kirk Sigler reports the standoff's legacy still shapes debates over how public land is managed. In late 2016, an Oregon jury acquitted right-wing extremist Amman Bundy for leading an armed takeover of the Malhear National Wildlife Refuge.

After a standoff two years earlier on their Nevada ranch, the Bundys traveled to eastern Oregon to protest the jailing of two ranchers. Western historian Patty Limerick recalls that many locals appreciated the attention given to their struggles with federal land managers, but most, including the jailed ranchers, told the Bundys to go home. They didn't. That is such an arrogant imposition of authority for people who are going to denounce arrogant imposition of authority in others, in land managers. The tense 41-day standoff between the men's. Militants, Oregon State Police, and FBI left one dead Bundy's supporter, LaVoy Finnecom.

Kirk Sigler, NPR News. Tesla is no longer the world's biggest maker of electric vehicles following a second straight year of declines in sales. It has been topped by Chinese competitor, B.YD. Tesla's reported sales in 2025 were 9% below 2024's numbers. In the first trading session of 2026 for U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones, Jones Industrial average is now up 72 points at 48,135. The SMP's fall in five, and the NASDAQ is down 45 points. This is NPR News.