NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 2PM EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Nicholas Maduro is expected in federal court in New York as soon as tomorrow. The U.S. military sees the former Venezuelan president and his wife in an early morning raid yesterday. They face drug and weapons charges. The Justice Department accuses them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. Venezuela's defense minister says the country is taking action to guarantee its sovereignty and that citizens were killed during the U.S. operation, NPR's Chandelis Duster has more.

Venezuelan defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez says the country's armed forces have been activated to, in his words, guarantee sovereignty. He also says both citizens and a large part of Maduro's security team were killed during the United States military operation. The Venezuelan government says military targets in several states were hit by U.S. strikes. NPR has reached out to the State Department for comment, but has not received a response. President Trump has said some U.S. service members were injured during the operation, but there were no deaths. He also said the U.S. was prepared with a second wave of troops that was ultimately not needed.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. does not currently have forces on the ground. Shandalee's Duster, NPR News. President Trump has said the U.S. will run Venezuela until there is a safe, proper, and judicious transition. But it's not clear how that will work. Here's how Defense Secretary Pete Exeth answered that question on CBS Evening News. Well, it means we set the terms. President Trump sets the terms. And ultimately, he'll decide what the iterations are of that.

President Trump says American companies will take over Venezuela's oil reserves. The city of Houston is home to many of those firms. Houston public media's Natalie Weber has more. After the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, American officials sent it to the Texas coast, about an hour south of Houston. The city also serves as the headquarters for Chevron, the only American oil producers still operating in Venezuela. Francisco Manaldi is the director of the Latin America Energy Program

at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. He says many oil firms direct their Latin American operations from the city. Houston is going to be the center of a lot of the potential activity of investment. in Venezuela. It has a long history of connection to Venezuela. In a statement, Chevron said it continues to, quote, operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. For NPR news, I'm Nudley Weber in Houston. Officials in Berlin said today that yesterday's fire was a politically motivated attack by, quote, left-wing extremists. It knocked out power to 45,000 homes and more than 2,000 businesses. Power is being restored, but may still be out for,

some until Thursday. This is NPR News in Washington. The British government says it conducted airstrikes in central Syria last night against a suspected Islamic state site. French war planes also took part. The target was an underground facility occupied by ISIS and believed to be storing weapons and explosives for the Islamic State. The painstaking process of identifying badly burned victims continues in a Swiss village where a fire to bar killed 40 people during a New Year's celebration. Terry Schultz reports dozens of survivors have been evacuated to other countries for treatment. mourners are attending the first Sunday mass in Cromontana since the New Year's Day incident being described as one of the worst disasters in recent

Swiss history. Police say they've been able to identify more than half the people who died when a bar caught fire during New Year's Eve celebrations. Many of them are expected. to be teenagers as the location was popular with youth. The bar's owners, a French couple, are under criminal investigation, including charges of manslaughter by negligence. Investigators say sparklers likely ignited foam on the ceiling. The European Union is coordinating evacuation and treatment for some of the worst affected survivors in nearby countries. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. South Korea says North Korea launched ballistic missiles towards the East Sea today.

Its first missiles test in two months. It comes the same day that South Korean President Li Jiameng began its date visit to China. Lee is to meet in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. They discuss efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.