NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-03-2026 11AM EST

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. President Trump is to speak within the hour from his Florida resort on the overnight operation in Venezuela. He said this morning that Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro and his wife have been taken to a U.S. warship. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports. President Trump said he watched the capture of the Venezuelan leader in real time from a room in Mara Lago.

In an interview on Fox News, Trump said there were few injuries but no deaths, at least on the U.S. side. And they just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be broke into, you know, steel doors that were put there for just this reason, and they got taken out in a matter of seconds. Trump said the U.S. would be involved in determining the future direction of Venezuela, saying the U.S. is making decisions now, and that they can't let just anyone run it.

Franco. Ordonias, NPR News. U.S. Attorney General Pem Bondi says Madi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges. They've been indicted in the Southern District of New York. The charges include conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons possession. Bondi says they will face the full wrath of American justice on American soil. NPR's Carrie Khan has been monitoring events in Venezuela from Rio de Janeiro. Report started flooding social media with videos of multiple explosions throughout the city, and I spoke right away with a reporter Vanessa Silva,

and she actually lives right in front of the military airport La Carlotta in Caracas. She says there were several fires on the runway, but they were put out quickly, but she could hear airplanes continuing to circle around the Caracas guys for hours. NPR's Carrie Khan reporting, Russia is condemning the U.S. actions against Venezuela. NPR's Charles Maines report. reports from Moscow, Maduro has been an ally of the Kremlin. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry called the Trump administration's pretext for attacking Venezuela unfounded. Instead of reports of Maduro's capture were true, the U.S. actions marked an unacceptable assault on Venezuela's sovereignty.

Despite such expressions of support, Moscow has stopped short of challenging the U.S. more forcefully amid a month's long pressure campaign by the Trump administration against the Venezuelan leadership. The Kremlin reportedly rebuffed a request by Nicholas Maduro for direct ministerial. military assistance in the fall, a result analysts say of Moscow's desire to maintain good relations with the Trump administration as it tries to broker its own peace deal for Russia's war in Ukraine. Charles Mainz, MPR News, Moscow. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini said today, the Islamic Republic will not yield to the enemy.

He was apparently responding to President Trump's comments that if Iran kills peaceful protesters, the U.S. will come to their rescue. At least 10 people have died in demonstrations in Iran. this week. This is NPR News. The investigation continues into the deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort in the early hours of New Year's Day. At least 40 people were killed. Officials say it appears that sparkling candles on top of champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling. Investigators are also looking into the foam material used to soundproof the ceiling over a dance floor and renovations made to the bar. Even though it's winter in the northern hemisphere, the Earth will make its

closest approach to the sun in about an hour at 12.15 p.m. Eastern time. As Joe Palco explains, distance from the sun is not what explains the seasons. If the orbit of the Earth around the sun were a perfect circle, then the two bodies would always be the same distance apart. But Earth's orbit is elliptical, a very slightly squashed circle, meaning every year there's a single time when it's closest and another when it's furthest away. But even if it were circular, there would still be seasons. That's because the Earth is tilted away from straight up and down in its orbit. The tilt is significant, 23 degrees. In winter, the North Pole points away from the sun and in summer towards the sun. Longer time bathed in sunlight does more to explain changes in temperature than

slight changes in distance. For NPR News, I'm Joe Palka. Health officials in South Carolina are reporting nine more confirmed cases of the measles in a county that has the lowest school vaccination rate of any county in the state. The total number in South Carolina is 185. The health department says the outbreak is affecting children at a greater ratio than current outbreaks in other states. I'm Nora Rom. NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR NewsNow Plus at plus.com. That's plus. npr.org.