NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-03-2026 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. President Trump says the U.S. will run Venezuela now that U.S. forces removed President Nicholas Maduro and his wife in a military operation overnight. He spoke a short time ago from his Florida resort. He said there were some injuries among the U.S. forces. Now he says the U.S. will be in charge until there is a safe, proper, and judicious transition. Trump also says U.S. oil companies will step in. We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country. The U.S. Attorney General says Maduro and his wife have been indicted in New York, and will be put on trial there. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Nicolas Maduro,

and his wife will, quote, face the full wrath of American justice on American soil. Bondi says they've been indicted in the Southern District of New York. She says the charges against Maduro include narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. The Attorney General says the U.S. military conducted an overnight operation to capture the alleged narco-traffickers. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee says, He spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio after Lee raised questions about a constitutional basis for the U.S. to act without explicit authorization from Congress.

Kerry Johnson, NPR News, Washington. The news that Maduro was captured was celebrated in Dural, Florida, home to a number of expat Venezuelans. European leaders have refrained from expressing any criticism of the Trump administration for its actions in Venezuela. But as Terry Schultz reports from Brussels, they're emphasizing the need for international law to be respected amid questions about the legality of apprehending the Venezuelan President. European Council President Antonio Costa has been the most outspoken of European Union leaders, saying he's following the situation in Venezuela with great concern and calling for de-escalation. The bloc's foreign policy chief, Kayakalus, says she's spoken with Secretary

of State Marco Rubio and is focused on the safety of EU citizens. who may be stuck in Venezuela amid the chaotic aftermath of a major U.S. strike and the seizure of President Nicholas Maduro, whose election in 2024 was deemed flawed. Terry Schultz reporting, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah al-Qamese said today, the Islamic Republic will not yield to the enemy. President Trump had said yesterday, if Iran kills peaceful protesters, the U.S. will come to their rescue. At least 10 people have died in demonstrations.

This is NPR News in Washington. Washington. Syria is circulating new currency bills to replace the old Syrian pounds, which will gradually be withdrawn from circulation. The government is attempting to stabilize the economy a year after the fall of the government of Bashar Assad. Some of the old banknotes notes bear the image of Assad and his late father and predecessor of Hez Assad. It's been 10 years since armed militants occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon, trying to take control of federal public land. Ammon Bundy and his followers were later acquitted, which experts say has emboldered laudeness on federal land. NPR's Kirk Ziegler has more.

A 2014 arm standoff led by the Bundy family in Nevada over cattle grazing ended in federal agents standing down. That was widely credited for inspiring Amman Bundy to travel to Oregon in 2016 to take over a federal wildlife refuge. All the federal cases against the Bundys have since collapsed. It seems like the federal prosecutors could have thought a little bit more about how they were pitching their case. Patty Limerick is a Western historian at the University of Colorado. And centering much of their argument on the fact that federal employees had been kept from going to work was probably not exactly the way to get to the reality of how armed and dangerous people were there. The 41-day armed standoff

in Oregon left one dead. Kirk Sigler and PR News. The National Hockey League held its winter classic last night when it plays a game outside during the regular season. This year was in Miami. The New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5 to 1. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.