NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

NPR News: 01-04-2026 1PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. President Trump did not consult Congress before the attack on Venezuela and the capture of Nicholas Maduro. A top Democrat on Capitol Hill is calling this illegal, but leading Republicans are backing Trump. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. Republican Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the president doesn't need to give Congress a heads up on what he called, quote, an arrest. On CNN, Cotton defended Trump's mission to, quote, run Venezuela. When the president said the United States is going to be running Venezuela, it means that the new leaders of Venezuela need to meet our demand. The Arkansas senator called for new elections.

But Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, told CNN the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the ensuing control of the country is illegal. The president cannot run a military operation of this size, cannot invade a foreign country without coming to Congress first, without allowing the American public to weigh in. A Senate vote on presidential war powers is expected this week. Luke Garrett. Washington. Ambassador Frederick Barton was the first assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations under President Obama. He says the U.S. has done the easiest part taking control. He says it won't be quite so easy from now on. It's going to be tough. In a way, they've done the easiest piece already, and we've seen that over and over again. These are a huge

task, a country of about 30 million people, twice the size of Iraq. We haven't really been in the country in the way we should be to know it before we get into it. We have not engaged the American public. The UN Security Council is to meet tomorrow on the U.S. strike on Venezuela and the capture of the Venezuelan president. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that he is alarmed by the operation. He's also concerned that the rules of international law were not respected. The deposed Venezuelan president is now in custody in New York City. where he's expected to face trial on federal drug trafficking charges. Trump's decision to oust Maduro came after he pardoned other high-level drug traffickers.

NPR's Brian Mann reports. Trump has accused Maduro of leading a campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens. But Jeffrey Singer, a drug policy expert at the Libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, says Trump has pardoned or freed other major drug traffickers. If this is what's motivating it, if it's, stopping drug trafficking, and why is he pardoning the Honduran president who was convicted of cocaine trafficking? Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted last year of helping

drug cartels smuggle more than 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S., but Trump freed him in December. During Trump's first term, his administration also freed a senior Mexican general accused of aiding the drug cartels. Brian Mann, NPR News. This is NPR News in Washington. A search is underway in northern Nigeria for 14 people missing after their boat capsized last night. 25 people are confirmed dead. The boat was carrying people home after visiting a local market. The leaders of South Korea and China are set to meet tomorrow, their second summit in two months. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, the meeting comes amidst. tensions over regional flashpoints, including North Korea and Taiwan.

Ahead of his arrival in Beijing, South Korean President E.J. Myeong said in an interview with Chinese state television that South Korea's cooperation with its main ally, the U.S. does not mean ties with China should be confrontational. Indeed, finding ways for Seoul and Beijing to cooperate despite U.S.-China tensions appears to be a major goal of E's trip. In talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, E is also expected to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons. North Korea launched its first ballistic missiles this year, just hours before he headed to China. He also told CCTV that South Korea sticks to a one-China policy on Taiwan days after China conducted large-scale military drills around the island. Anthony Kuhn,

NPR News, Seoul. Denmark's ambassador to the U.S. said today his country expects full respect for the territorial integrity of Denmark. He posted a link to a picture posted last night by the of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. It was an image of Greenland. The Danish autonomous territory was painted red, white, and blue, with one word soon. President Trump has repeatedly said Greenland should be part of the U.S. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.